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Alexander Bain Moncrieff CMG (22 May 1845 – 11 April 1928) was an Irish-born engineer, active in Australia.
Moncrieff was the son of Alexander Rutherford Moncrieff, and was born in Dublin, Ireland. His family was of Scottish ancestry. He was educated principally at the Belfast Academy, and at 15 was articled to C. Miller, engineer in Dublin to the Great Southern and Western railway. His seven years apprenticeship included manual work in the blacksmith's shop, and he obtained there an understanding of his fellow workers which was valuable in later years. He was afterwards employed at the Glasgow locomotive works for two years, and subsequently at Dublin again, and in private practice in Hertfordshire, England. In November 1874 he obtained a position as engineering draftsman with the South Australian government, and arrived at Adelaide in February 1875. In 1879 he was made a resident engineer on the South Australian railways, and took charge of the Port Augusta to Oodnadatta line as it was gradually extended.
In 1888 Moncrieff became engineer in chief of South Australia at a salary of £1000 a year, and a little later the departments of waterworks, sewerage, harbours and jetties, were placed under his charge. He was elected M.I.C.E., England, in 1888, and America in 1894. He was chairman of the supply and tender board, and afterwards president of the public service association. He was Chairman of the Municipal Tramways Trust from its inception and appointment of W. G. T. Goodman as its Chief Engineer in May 1907 then General Manager fifteen months later. He was appointed railway commissioner of South Australia in 1909 but also did important work outside that department. He was responsible for the planning of the outer harbour, the Bundaleer and Barossa water scheme, and the Happy Valley waterworks. He retired from the position of railway commissioner in 1916, succeeded by James McGuire, and took pride in the fact that during the seven years he was in charge, no serious accident occurred for which any railway employee could be blamed. Moncrieff's motto had always been "safety first". He retired as chairman of the Municipal Tramways Trust in January 1922, after 15 years service. [1] He had much to do with the early stages of the Murray Water scheme, though the actual work was not begun in his time. He was also responsible for the south-eastern drainage scheme. He died at Adelaide on 11 April 1928. He married in 1877 Mary Benson, daughter of Edward Sunter, who survived him with a son and a daughter. He was created C.M.G. in 1909.
Moncrieff was a man of outstanding capability, versatility and energy. During his 42 years connexion with the South Australian government he never had more than a few days holiday at a time, and never applied for sick leave. He made many improvements in the service, and filled a variety of offices with distinction. In private life he was interested in gardening, church work and mechanics, and was an omnivorous reader.
Charles Yelverton O'Connor,, was an Irish engineer who is best known for his work in Western Australia, especially the construction of Fremantle Harbour, thought to be impossible, and the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme.
The Newry Canal is an abandoned canal in Northern Ireland. Opened in 1742, it was built to link the Tyrone coalfields to the Irish Sea. The navigable route ran from Lough Neagh via the Upper Bann river to Portadown, then approximately 20 miles from Portadown via the canal proper to Newry, terminating in the Albert Basin.
Sir Richard Butler was an Australian politician. He was a member of the South Australian House of Assembly from 1890 to 1924, representing Yatala (1890–1902) and Barossa (1902–1924). He served as Premier of South Australia from March to July 1905 and Leader of the Opposition from 1905 to 1909. Butler would also variously serve as Speaker of the House of Assembly (1921–1924), and as a minister under Premiers Charles Kingston, John Jenkins and Archibald Peake. His son, Richard Layton Butler, went on to serve as Premier from 1927 to 1930 and 1933 to 1938.
The Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT) was established by the Government of South Australia in December 1906 to purchase all of the horse-drawn tramways in Adelaide, South Australia. The Trust subsequently also ran petrol and diesel buses and electric trolleybuses. It ceased to exist on 8 December 1975, when its functions were transferred to the State Transport Authority, which also operated Adelaide's suburban train services.
John Robinson McClean CB FRS FRSA FRAS, was a British civil engineer and Liberal Party politician. He carried out many important works, and for a time was the sole owner of a main line railway, the first individual to do so. He carried out philanthropic works including securing a fresh water supply to overcome persistent outbreaks of cholera, taking no salary for his work.
William Clark was an English civil engineer and inventor.
John Frederick La Trobe Bateman was an English civil engineer whose work formed the basis of the modern United Kingdom water supply industry. For more than 50 years from 1835 he designed and constructed reservoirs and waterworks. His largest project was the Longdendale Chain system that has supplied Manchester with much of its water since the 19th century. The construction of what was in its day the largest chain of reservoirs in the world began in 1848 and was completed in 1877. Bateman became "the greatest dam-builder of his generation".
William Alfred Webb (1878–1936) was an American railroad executive who had wide experience with US railroads, including the management of nationwide railroad operations during World War I, before serving as Commissioner of the South Australian Railways from 1922 to 1930. In that role, he undertook a significant rehabilitation program, transforming the inefficient and technologically backward state railway system into one with a pre-eminent position among Australian railways.
Sir Robert William ChapmanMIEAust was an Australian mathematician and engineer.
Sir Edward Lucas was an Australian politician. He was a member of the South Australian Legislative Council from 1900 to 1918, associated with the Australasian National League and its successor, the Liberal Union. He resigned in 1918 to become Agent-General for South Australia, a role he held until 1925.
Lawrence Birks was an Australian-born electrical engineer noted for his pioneering work on hydro-electric power generation in New Zealand.
The city of Geelong in Victoria, Australia, operated an extensive tramway system from 1912 until 1956, when the service was replaced by buses. Unlike Victoria's other major regional cities, Ballarat and Bendigo, which have kept some track and trams as tourist attractions, no trams or tracks remain in Geelong.
Joseph Brady was an Irish born, civil engineer active in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, undertaking works on railways, water supplies and ports. Among his more important works were the Coliban Water Supply for Bendigo, and Melbourne Port improvements.
Edward Howard Bakewell was a South Australian pastoralist, businessman and administrator.
Lewis Edgar Roberts was an Australian rules footballer, railwayman and businessman, best known as a prominent player for the Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
George Ernest Hamilton CE was a British civil engineer who played a leading role in development of the Colony of South Australia.
Sir William George Toop Goodman KBE MICE MIEE MIEAust, was an engineer and administrator who supervised the installation of New Zealand's first electric tramway and went on to oversee the foundation and growth of the Municipal Tramways Trust in Adelaide, South Australia.
Noyes Brothers is an Australian engineering firm established in 1888 by Edward and Henry Noyes.
Hugh Thomas Moffitt Angwin CMG was Engineer-in-Chief of South Australia from 1936 to 1949.
James McGuire was Commissioner of Railways in South Australia at the end of a career which lasted 57 years.