Hudson, William (1896 - 1978)

Summary

Sir William Hudson was Commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority 1949-1967 and previously was responsible for the construction of many other dams. Hudson's other roles included Chairman of the Road Safety Council of New South Wales and President of the National Safety Council of Australia. He is commemorated by the Sir William Hudson Memorial Home for aged persons in Cooma.

Details

Chronology

1920

Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of London

1920 - 1922

Career position - Assistant Engineer, Hydro-Electric Section, Armstrong Whitworth & Co. London

1922 - 1924

Career position - Assistant Engineer, railway construction, New Zealand Public Works Department and on the Mangahao hydro-electric scheme

1924 - 1927

Career position - Engineer in charge of construction, Arapuni Dam, New Zealand

1927

Career position - Engineer, Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board of Sydney

1928 - 1931

Career position - Assistant Research Engineer, Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board, working on the construction of Nepean Dam, New South Wales

1931 - 1937

Career position - Engineer in charge of construction, Gallaway Hydro-Electrical Scheme in Scotland [working for Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners (London)]

1937 - 1943

Career position - Research Engineer, Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board, working on the construction of the Woronora Dam in Sydney

1943 - 1948

Career position - Chief Construction Engineer, Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board

1948 - 1949

Career position - Engineer-in-Chief, Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board

1949 - 1967

Career position - Commissioner, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority

1955

Award - Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) - In recognition of service as Chairman of the Snowy Mountains Authority

1957

Award - Australian Engineering Award received

1958

Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne

1962

Award - Honorary Member (HonMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1964

Award - Fellow, The Royal Society, London (FRS)

1966

Award - James Cook Medal, Royal Society of New South Wales

1968

Award - Honorary Fellow (HonFIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Honorary Members were designated Honorary Fellows on this date.]

1975

Award - W D Chapman Medal, for outstanding contribution to the field of welding in Australia. Australian Welding Institute

1975

Award - Order of the White Cross, Annual Award for services to Australia

1975 - 1978

Award - Foundation Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)

Related entries

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Oral History Collection

• William Hudson - Records, 1896 - 1970, TRC 121/5; National Library of Australia Oral History Collection. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

• Sparke, Eric, 'Hudson, Sir William (1896-1978), Civil Engineer' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 14 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1996), pp. 510-512. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140579b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Hudson, W., 'Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric project', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 34 (6) (1962), 107-113. Details

Resources

• Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, Royal Society of London, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.1979.0011. Details
• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q8012625. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/92736312. Details
• 'Hudson, William (1896-1978)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-535561. Details

Resource Sections

• 'William Hudson - Commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority', in The 1997 Australian Science Festival, 1997, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/other/asf_scientists.htm#william. Details
• 'William Hudson', in Heroes, 2000, http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/hudson.html. Details

See also

• 'Dr Keith Thomas Henry Farrer OBE MA DSc FTSE - Biographical Note', Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=648. Details
• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_h.html. Details
• Engineers Australia ed., Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 236 pp. pp.36-37. Details
• Engineers Australia ed., Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders (Barton, A.C.T.: Institution of Engineers Australia, 2019), 136 pp. 'The Father of the Snowy - Sir William Hudson' p.76. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia. Sydney Division. Engineering Heritage Committee, The Historic Engineering Plaques of Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales: The Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1994), 38 pp. p.27. Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, Tumut 3 Power Station, N.S.W. Details
• Lister, Ken, 'The Snowy Mountains Scheme - More than Engineering Heritage', in Eleventh National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Federation Engineering a Nation; Proceedings (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2001), pp. 245-252., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.521126347362503. Details
• Thorpe, Noel, 'Chapter 2: Water supply and sewerage' in Sydney: from settlement to city: an engineering history of Sydney, Don Fraser, ed. (Crows Nest, New South Wales: Engineers Australia, 1989), pp. 17-40. Details