A large sinkhole several metres wide has opened up on a sports field in Melbourne’s east, leaving onlookers unable to believe their own eyes.
The hole has opened up in an area where tunnel boring machines are carving out the North East Link project.
The sinkhole at AJ Burkitt Reserve on Monday evening.Credit: Steve Andrews
Photos posted on social media show the hole at AJ Burkitt Reserve in Heidelberg.
There have been no reports of injuries, but the State Emergency Service is urging people to stay away from the area and set up an exclusion zone around it.
The sinkhole drew quite a crowd.Credit: Steve Andrews
The oval is one of two used by Banyule Football Club and Banyule Cricket Club – though Heidelberg West Football Club has its own home ground nearby, which looks very similar.
Steve Andrews, a volunteer with Heidelberg West, said his club was made aware of the incident by people who thought the affected ground was Heidelberg’s.
Andrews said the junior girls’ cricket team would need to relocate at least two of their matches before the end of their season.
The North East Link’s website shows that its two tunnel boring machines – Gillian and Zelda – are currently just north of the oval where the sinkhole emerged.
The North East Link project has been contacted for comment.
In February 2025, a sinkhole emerged near the tunnel’s two boring machines in Lower Plenty.
The North East Link, which will connect the Eastern Freeway in Bulleen with the Metropolitan Ring Road at Greensborough, is predicted to take 15,000 trucks off suburban streets and cut travel times by half an hour.
