Person

Bradfield, John Job Crew (1867 - 1943)

CMG

Born
26 December 1867
Sandgate, Queensland, Australia
Died
23 September 1943
Gordon, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Civil engineer

Summary

John Bradfield was associated with a great range of engineering works including the Cataract and Burrinjuck Dams, the Sydney Underground Railways and Brisbane's Story Bridge. He was, however, best known as one of the original designers of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. For his thesis on the design and construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the city railway system, Bradfield was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science in Engineering by the University of Sydney, as well as the University medal.

He is commemorated by the Bradfield Highway over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Details

Associated Engineering Works:
* Pyrmont Bridge (electric swing);
* Glebe Island Bridge;
* Bridge over Clarence River, Tabulan;
* Bridge over Murray River, Cobram (lift);
* Bridge over Hunter River, Morpeth;
* Bridge over Manning River at Killawarra;
* Bridge over Murray, Barham-Koondrook;
* Bridge over Murrumbidgee, Darlington (bascule);
* Bridge over Clarence River, Maclean (bascule);
* Bridge over Hunter River, Singleton;
* Bridge over Macquarie River, Dubbo;
* Bridge over Hunter River, Luskintyre;
* Cataract Dam;
* Burrinjuck Dam;
* Country railway lines (incl. North coast - West Maitland to Taree);
* Tramway lines (suburban Sydney);
* Sydney Harbour Bridge;
* Sydney Underground Railway;
* Story Bridge, Brisbane;
* Hornibrook Highway, Brisbane;
* University of Queensland.

Chronology

1888 -
Career event - Original [founding] member, Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
1889
Award - University Gold Medal, University of Sydney
1889
Education - Bachelor of Engineering (BE), University of Sydney
1889 - 1890
Career position - Draftsman, Queensland Railways
1891 - 1893
Career position - Designing draftsman, New South Wales Department of Public Works
1893 - 1913
Career position - Assistant engineer, New South Wales Department of Public Works
7 Feb 1893
Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1896
Award - University Medal, University of Sydney
1896
Education - Master of Engineering (ME), University of Sydney
10 Jan 1911
Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1913 - 1930
Career position - Chief engineer for metropolitan railway construction, New South Wales Department of Public Works
1919
Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1920
Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1921 -
Career position - Foundation Councillor (Engineering), Australian National Research Council
c. 1930 - 1933
Career position - Government representative, in dealings with the contractors and to supervise construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
1932
Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering, Institution of Engineers Australia
1933
Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne
2 Jan 1933
Award - Companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG), as Government Engineer - Sydney Harbour Bridge
1934
Award - Telford Gold Medal, Institution of Civil Engineers, London - for paper: "The Sydney Harbour Bridge and approaches"
1934 - 1940
Career position - Consulting engineer for the Story Bridge, Brisbane
1935
Award - King's Silver Jubilee Medal
1935 - 1937
Career position - Member, NSW Advisory Committee of Council, Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1937
Career event - Fellow, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)
1940 - 1942
Career position - Technical adviser to the constructors of the Hornibrook Highway near Brisbane and helped to plan and design the St Lucia site of the University of Queensland.
1942 - 1943
Career position - Deputy Chancellor, University of Sydney

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

Archival resources

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • John Job Crew Bradfield - Records, 1923, D9; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
  • John Job Crew Bradfield - Records, D68-D71, D105-D106; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • John Job Crew Bradfield - Records, 1908 - 1943, MS 4712; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Private hands (Bradfield, K.N.E.)

  • John Job Crew Bradfield - Records, 1867 - 1943; Private hands (Bradfield, K.N.E.). Details

State Records New South Wales, Sydney Reading Room

  • John Job Crew Bradfield - Records, 1911 - 1933, 4/7582-8; State Records New South Wales, Sydney Reading Room. Details

University of Sydney, Engineering School

  • John Job Crew Bradfield - Records, 1900 - 1940; University of Sydney, Engineering School. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Ellyard, David and Wraxworthy, Richard, The Proud Arch: the story of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Sydney: Bay Books, 1982). Details
  • Raxworthy, Richard, The unreasonable man: The life and works of J. C. C. Bradfield (Sydney: Hale and Iremonger, 1989), 152 pp. Details
  • Raxworthy, Richard, From footbridge to Harbour Bridge : the life and works of J. J. C. Bradfield (Sydney: Bridge Climb, 1999), 152 pp. Details

Book Sections

  • 'Awards : The Telford Gold Medal [1838-1967]' in Institution of Civil Engineers Yearbook 1969 (London, United Kingdom: Institution of Civil Engineers, 1969), pp. 11-18. Bradfield was awarded the Telford Gold Medal 1934, for paper: "The Sydney Harbour Bridge and approaches". Details
  • Spearritt, Peter, 'Bradfield, John Job Crew (1867-1943), civil engineer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 7: 1891 - 1939 A-Ch, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1979), pp. 381-384. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070391b.htm. Details

Edited Books

  • Chrimes, M. M.; Cox, R. C.; Cross-Rudkin, P. S. M.; Elton, J. M. H.; Hurst, B. L.; McWilliam, R. C.; Rennison, R. W.; Sutherland, R. J. M.; Thomas, R. E. ed., Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 3: 1890-1920 (London, United Kingdom: Thomas Telford Publishing, 2014), 775 pp. 'Bradfield, John Job Crew, CMG', pp.86-87. Details
  • Cossins, Geoffrey ed., Eminent Queensland Engineers - Volume 2 (Brisbane, Queensland: The Institution of Engineers, Australia, Queensland Division, 1999), 113 pp. https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2017-02/eqe_vol_2.compressed_0.pdf. pp.18-19 'J.J.C. Bradfield CMG DSc(Eng) ME(Syd) MInstCE MIEAust'. Details

Journal Articles

  • 'Abstracts of proceedings of Divisions, 1920.', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1 (1920), 151-161, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.633491999041294. '"Engineering Developments in New South Wales since the Inauguration of the Commonwealth," J.J.C. Bradfield, M.E.,M.Inst.C.E.', p.156. Details
  • 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal [1932 award to Dr. J. J. C. Bradfield]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 4 (1932), 429. 'Council unanimously decided that the 1932 award of the above medal be made to Dr J J C Bradfield, Member, Sydney Division.'. Details
  • 'Obituary: Dr. J. J. C. Bradfield', Australian Journal of Science, 6 (2) (1943), 59-60. Details
  • 'First members of institution [Diamond Jubilee feature article]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 51 (20) (1979), 69. 'Registered member number 4'. Details
  • Bradfield, J. J. C., 'Proposed Metropolitan Underground Electric Railway for Sydney (Illustrated)', Commonwealth Engineer, 2 (4) (1914), 146-148. Details
  • Bradfield, J. J. C., 'Brisbane River Bridge - the progress of construction to December, 31, 1936.', Report of the twenty-third meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, Auckland meeting, January, 1937 (1937), 219. Details
  • Bradfield, John J.C., 'Some notes on Monier construction', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 5 (1900), 55-62, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/1994. Details
  • Bradfield, John J.C., 'Design of retaining walls, Pyrmont Bridge', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 8 (1903), 169-175, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2038. Details
  • Bradfield, John J.C., 'Presidential address. Sydney University Engineering Society', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 8 (1903), 1-20, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2033. Details
  • Bradfield, John J.C., 'Linking Sydney with North Sydney', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 18 (1913-14), 95-163, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2213. Details
  • Bradfield, John J.C., 'Presidential address. [Engineering Developments in New South Wales since the Inauguration of the Commonwealth]', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 21 (1917-20), 121-151, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2074. Details
  • Bradfield, John Job Crew, 'Electrification of Sydney and suburban railways. (v) The City Railway', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 7 (1926), 495-574, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.865813570413004. Details
  • Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Thirteenth Annual Report [1932]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 5 (1933), 168-172. 'Prizes awarded during the session: The P. N. Russell Memorial Medal [1932], to Dr J J C Bradfield, Sydney Division', p.169. Details
  • Phippen, Bill, 'Railway bridge over Eddy Avenue in Sydney: was this the first reinforced concrete bridge to carry trains in New South Wales?', Engineering Heritage Australia magazine, 2 (7) (2018), 20-6, https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2018-02/EHA_%20Magazine_Vol2_No7_January_2018.pdf. Details

Resources

See also

  • Men of Queensland, 1937 (Brisbane: Osborne Publishing, 1937), 196 pp, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-591968616/. pp.24-25. 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_b.html. Details
  • Chrimes, Mike, 'Lost in space?: Biography across the hemispheres', in 16th Engineering Heritage Australia Conference: Conserving Our Heritage - Make a Difference! (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Engineers Australia, 2011), pp. 389-403., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.895272297972218. Details
  • Coltheart, Lenore; and Nicholas, Amie eds, The timber truss bridge book ( Auburn, N.S.W.: Transport for NSW, 2019), 210 pp, http://heritagensw.intersearch.com.au/heritagenswjspui/handle/1/10518. Details
  • Contessa, A., 'Story Bridge - design and construction', Technical Papers (Institution of Engineers Australia, Queensland Division), 29 (3) (1988), 9-16. Details
  • Dorman, Selwyn; Hagarty, Don; Johnson, Geoff; Reid, Noel; Sharp, Stuart; Winney, Ken, 'Chapter 4: Sydney's railways' in Sydney: from settlement to city: an engineering history of Sydney, Don Fraser, ed. (Crows Nest, New South Wales: Engineers Australia, 1989), pp. 63-96. Details
  • Engineers Australia ed., Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders (Barton, A.C.T.: Institution of Engineers Australia, 2019), 136 pp. 'Bradfield's Bridge - John Bradfield' p.20. Details
  • Engineers Australia ed., Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 236 pp. pp.74,80-81,82-83. Details
  • Fraser, Don, 'Chapter 5: Bridges' in Sydney: from settlement to city: an engineering history of Sydney, Don Fraser, ed. (Crows Nest, New South Wales: Engineers Australia, 1989), pp. 97-122. Details
  • Fraser, Don, 'American Bridges of the NSW North Coast Railway', Australian Journal of Multi-disciplinary Engineering, 7 (2) (2009), 109-115, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.311400883471193. 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.29. Story Bridge, Kangaroo point, Brisbane, QLD.; pp.30-31. Sydney Harbour Bridge, Pylon Lookout, Sydney, N.S.W. Details
  • Lawson, J. D., 'Watering Australia's Inland', in Conference on Hydraulics in Civil Engineering 1987: Preprints of Papers. (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1987), pp. 7-10., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.525225601039307. Details
  • Ludlow, Christa; Bowie, Ian; Neville, Pamela, 'Chapter 15: Engineering education in Sydney' in Sydney: from settlement to city: an engineering history of Sydney, Don Fraser, ed. (Crows Nest, New South Wales: Engineers Australia, 1989), pp. 285-298. Details

Gavan McCarthy; Ken McInnes

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