William Bennett (Australian engineer)

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William Christopher Bennett (4 July 1824 – 29 September 1889) [1] was an Irish born surveyor and engineer active in colonial Australia, Commissioner and Engineer-in-Chief for Roads and Bridges in New South Wales.

New South Wales State of Australia

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Tasman Sea to the east. The Australian Capital Territory is an enclave within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. In September 2018, the population of New South Wales was over 8 million, making it Australia's most populous state. Just under two-thirds of the state's population, 5.1 million, live in the Greater Sydney area. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

Contents

Early life

Bennett was born in Dublin, Ireland, the eldest son of Ignatius Bennett, a traffic manager, and his wife Alicia, née Garvey. [1] Bennett was employed as a pupil on various territorial and railway surveys and other works in Ireland from 1840 to 1845, and as assistant engineer in charge of drainage works, under the Board of Public Works in Ireland, from 1845 to 1852. [2]

Dublin capital and largest city in Ireland

Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. It is on the east coast of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, at the mouth of the River Liffey, and is bordered on the south by the Wicklow Mountains. It has an urban area population of 1,173,179, while the population of the Dublin Region, as of 2016, was 1,347,359, and the population of the Greater Dublin area was 1,904,806.

Surveyor

During 1852-3 Bennett was employed in reporting on the navigation of the Rhone and Saône, and making surveys and reports on the navigation of the Magdalena River, with connecting canals, roads or railways, in New Grenada. Bennett was engaged on the International (French, American and English) Ship Canal Survey at the Darién Gap, in 1854, having charge of the English survey on the Pacific side in the absence of Mr. Forde, M.I.C.E., on which occasion Bennett received the thanks of the American Government for having, in conjunction with Lieut. Forsythe and a party from H.M.S. Virago, relieved Lieut. Isaac Strain, United States navy, and his missing exploring party, at no small personal risk. [2]

Saône river of France

The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, just south of the Presqu'île.

Magdalena River river in Colombia

The Magdalena River is the principal river of Colombia, flowing northward about 1,528 kilometres (949 mi) through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, in spite of the shifting sand bars at the mouth of its delta, as far as Honda, at the downstream base of its rapids. It flows through the Magdalena River Valley.

Republic of New Granada former republic in South America and Central America between 1831–1858

The Republic of New Granada was a centralist republic consisting primarily of present-day Colombia and Panama with smaller portions of today's Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and Brazil. It was created after the dissolution in 1830 of Gran Colombia, with the secession of Ecuador and Venezuela and was formed by the departments of Boyaca, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Magdalena, and Istmo, all parts of the present Republic of Colombia. except Istmo, which is part of present-day Panama). In November 1831, those departments created the Republic of New Granada, but nothing was established about a flag. Old flags were confirmed provisional by the National Convention of 17 December 1831. However, it is not clear what flag it was: Restrepo believes that it is the flag with two cornucopias of Gran Colombia. While new flags were discussed, some proposals were issued. On 9 May 1834, the national flag was adopted and was used until 26 November 1861, with the Gran Colombian colors in Veles' arrangement. The merchant ensign had the eight-pointed star in white.

Career in Australia

At the end of 1854 Bennett proceeded, viâ New Zealand, to New South Wales, and was for about ten months attached to the Survey Department as an assistant surveyor. In April 1856 he was appointed assistant engineer to the Commission for the Sewerage and Water Supply of Sydney; was engaged in the Railway Department, New South Wales, from January to September 1857, and was then transferred to the Department of Roads, which, as assistant engineer, and ultimately as engineer, he assisted Captain (afterwards Colonel) Ben Martindale, C.B., R.E., in organising. [2] Bennett left the colony for Europe in January 1861, and on his return he was appointed, in November 1862, commissioner and engineering-chief for roads, New South Wales, which office he occupied until a short time before his death. Bennett designed the Prince Alfred Bridge over the Murrumbidgee River, and was engineer for the Denison Bridge over the Macquarie River, New South Wales. Bennett was also occasionally employed on the western goldfields and narrow gauge railways, the water supply of Sydney, and the drainage of the Hunter River. Bennett died on 29 September 1889, at the age of sixty-five [2] in St Leonards, New South Wales. [1]

New Zealand Country in Oceania

New Zealand is a sovereign island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, and the South Island —and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Sydney City in New South Wales, Australia

Sydney is the state capital of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Port Jackson and extends about 70 km (43.5 mi) on its periphery towards the Blue Mountains to the west, Hawkesbury to the north, the Royal National Park to the south and Macarthur to the south-west. Sydney is made up of 658 suburbs, 40 local government areas and 15 contiguous regions. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders". As of June 2017, Sydney's estimated metropolitan population was 5,230,330 and is home to approximately 65% of the state's population.

Prince Alfred Bridge

The Prince Alfred Bridge is a wrought iron truss and timber beam road bridge over the Murrumbidgee River and its floodplain at Gundagai, New South Wales.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Johnson, Robert. "Bennett, William Christopher (1824–1889)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Mennell,Philip (1892)." Wikisource-logo.svg   Bennett, William Christopher".The Dictionary of Australasian Biography.London:Hutchinson & Co. Wikisource