Corporate Body

Institution of Engineers, Australia (1919 - )

From
1 August 1919
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Functions
Association and Society or membership organisation
Alternative Names
  • Engineers Australia (Business name, 1 April 2003 - )
Website
https://engineersaustralia.org.au/About-Us
Reference No
ABN: 63 020 415 510
Location
Engineering House, 11 National Circuit, Barton, Australian Capital Territory 2600

Summary

The Institution of Engineers, Australia was established in 1919, as a result of the amalgamation of most of the then existing engineering societies in Australia. On 1 May 1926, it was incorporated under the Companies Act (1899) of New South Wales, and on 10 March 1938, it was incorporated under Royal Charter.

The functions of the Institution are: to act as a learned society; to act as a qualifying body; to maintain high standards of professional conduct; to raise the status of the profession; and to speak and act on behalf of the profession. Within the Institution, the learned society functions are managed by Colleges and Societies, that provide a wide range of professional activities such as lectures, seminars, conferences and publications for its members and the public.

From its Web site, July 2002: "The Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust) is the largest and most diverse engineering association in Australia, with approximately 60 000 members. Like most professional associations, it provides a wide range of benefits, facilities and services to help members achieve their personal and professional goals. It delivers these benefits and services efficiently, providing maximum benefit for the lowest cost."

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Details

In the first Bye-laws under the Institution's Royal Charter, 12 May 1941, gazetted 12 June 1941, the following organisations were listed as being 'Foundation Societies':

* Institute of Local Government Engineers of Australasia (1909 - 1919);
* The Electrical Association of Australia (1915 - 1919);
* The Engineering Association of New South Wales (1870 - 1919);
* The Melbourne University Engineering Society (1889 - 1919);
* The Northern Engineering Institute of New South Wales (1889 - 1919);
* The Queensland Institute of Engineers (1900 - 1919);
* The South Australian Institute of Engineers (1913 - 1919);
* The Sydney University Engineering Society (1895 - 1919);
* The Tasmanian Institution of Engineers (1918 - 1919);
* The Western Australian Institution of Engineers (1909 - 1919); and
* The Institution of Municipal Engineers of Victoria (1878 - c1895, 1912 - 1926)

The first two named organisations were Federations with a Federal Council and independent State bodies:

* Institute of Local Government Engineers of Australasia, [Federal Council] (1909 - 1919);
* Institute of Local Government Engineers of Australasia, New South Wales section (1909 - 1919);
* Institute of Local Government Engineers of Australasia, Queensland section (1913 - 1919); and also linked was the
* Institute of Municipal Engineers of Victoria (1878 - c1895, 1912 - 1926).

* Electrical Association of Australia [Federal Council] (1915 - 1919);
* Electrical Association of Australia, New South Wales section (1915 - 1919);
* Electrical Association of Australia, Victorian section (1915 - 1919).

The federal council of the 'Institute of Local Government Engineers of Australasia' did not join, however it appears to have continued as a trade union for municipal engineers.

The 'Institute of Local Government Engineers of Australasia, New South Wales section' amalgamated in 1919, with provisions that included that a 'Local Government Branch' be established within the Sydney Division.

The 'Institute of Municipal Engineers of Victoria' argued for a federation of societies rather than an amalgamation. It was originally established in 1878 as the 'Shire Engineers' Association', was in recess in the 1890s, reformed in 1912, and then in 1914, absorbed the separate Victorian section of the 'Institute of Local Government Engineers of Australasia' (-1914). When it amalgamated with the Institution's Melbourne Division, in 1926, provisions included that a 'Local Government Branch' be established within the Melbourne Division.

Other engineering related societies existed at the time of the formation of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, but did not amalgamate:
* local groups of members of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London; the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, and the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London;
* State-based 'Institutes of Surveyors' (c1870s - );
* Victorian Institute of Engineers (1883 - 1949);
* Australasian Institute of Mining Engineers (1893 - ).

The State-based 'Institutes of Surveyors' members were civil engineers, land and municipal surveyors, who were mostly registered under State-based registration. So these institutes did not amalgamate with the Institution of Engineers, but later formed its own separate 'federal council'.

The 'Australasian Institute of Mining Engineers', argued for a federation of societies rather than an amalgamation, did not join, and instead, changed its name to the 'Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy'.

The 'Victorian Institute of Engineers' (VIE), argued for a federation of societies rather than an amalgamation, and found that legally, it could not join an organisation that was to be incorporated in New South Wales. At that time, VIE was also fostering the many emerging engineering disciplines - welding engineers, automotive engineers, aeronautical engineers, refrigeration engineers, radio engineers, and manufacturing engineers - and their related associations. On 15 December 1948, at its Annual Dinner, the VIE announced that representatives of its Council and The Institution's Melbourne Division, had agreed to terms of amalgamation. During 1949, the VIE was "wound up voluntarily" and the majority of the past members of the VIE applied to transfer to the Melbourne Division, "in accordance with the principles approved by the Council." By 1951, 86 former members of the VIE had been approved for admission, 4 as Members, 78 as Associate Members, and 4 as Associate Members conditional on presentation of a satisfactory thesis. A 'Mechanical Engineers Branch' was formed within the Melbourne Division, to provide for the interests of these many new members.

Timeline

 1898 - 1911 Queensland Electrical Association
       1870 - 1919 Engineering Association of New South Wales
       1878 - 1926 Institution of Municipal Engineers of Victoria
       1883 - 1949 Victorian Institute of Engineers
       1889 - 1919 Melbourne University Engineering Society
       1889 - 1919 Northern Engineering Institute of New South Wales
       1895 - 1919 Sydney University Engineering Society
       1900 - 1919 Queensland Institute of Engineers
       1909 - 1919 Institute of Local Government Engineers of Australasia
       1909 - 1919 Western Australian Institution of Engineers
       1913 - 1919 South Australian Institute of Engineers
       1915 - 1919 Electrical Association of Australia
       1918 - 1919 Tasmanian Institution of Engineers
             1919 - Institution of Engineers, Australia

Subordinate

Related Awards

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

Archival resources

State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection

  • Records, ca. 1883-1980. [manuscript], c. 1883 - 1980, YMS 11170; Institution of Engineers, Australia. Victoria Division.; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Corbett, Arthur Hardie, The Institution of Engineers, Australia: a history of the first fifty years, 1919-1969 (Sydney: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1973), 288 pp. Details
  • Institution of Engineers Australia, Author and Subject Index of publications 1920-1968 (Sydney: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1969), 187 pp. Publisher. Details
  • Quinn, S. (ed), Yearbook 1990 / The Institution of Engineers, Australia (Barton, ACT: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1990), 266 pp. Details

Edited Books

  • Armstrong, John ed., Shaping the Hunter: a story of engineers, and the engineering contribution to the development of the present shape of the Hunter Region, its river, cities, industries and transport arteries (Newcastle, New South Wales: Institution of Engineers, Newcastle Division, 1983), 192 pp, https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2021-09/Shaping-the-Hunter_0.pdf. Details
  • Carroll, Brian ed., The Engineers: 200 Years at Work for Australia (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1988), 311 pp. Publisher. Details
  • Engineers Australia ed., Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders (Barton, A.C.T.: Institution of Engineers Australia, 2019), 136 pp. Publisher. Details
  • Engineers Australia ed., Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 236 pp. Details

Gazette Articles

Journal Articles

  • 'Professor W. H. Warren - First president of the Institution of Engineers of Australia', Commonwealth Engineer, 7 (4) (1919), 98. Details
  • Avigdor, Josephine, 'The Journal of the Institution of Engineers Australia 1929-1976', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 48 (9-10) (1976), 3-9. Details
  • Corbett, Arthur H., 'Australian engineering, 1788-1969', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 41 (9) (1969), 141-147. Details
  • Corbett, Arthur H., 'The Institution 1919-1979 [Diamond Jubilee feature article]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 51 (20) (1979), 23-28. Details
  • Georg, Dietrich; Reztsov, Kirill, '90 years on - the Institution has become a strong voice for engineering in Australia', Engineers Australia: Civil Edition, 81 (10) (2009), 28-31, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.816888111091537. Details
  • Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Historical account of the formation of the Institution of Engineers, Australia.', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers Australia, 1 (1921), 28-46, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.628107070347674. Details

Reports

  • Institution of Engineers Australia, Engineers Australia Annual Report 2003-4 (2004), 77 pp. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

  • 'Victorian Institute of Engineers - A Federal movement', Commonwealth Engineer, 1 (12) (1914), 390. 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_i.html. Details

Ailie Smith; Ken McInnes

Created: 17 March 2000, Last modified: 19 September 2023

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