Bradfield, John Job Crew (1867 - 1943)

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

1924

Education - Doctor of Science in Engineering (DScEng), University of Sydney

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 George V 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)

11 May 1937

Award - King George VI Coronation Medal

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 entries

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. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bradfield-john-job-crew-5331. 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
• Engineers Australia ed., Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders (Barton, A.C.T.: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 136 pp, https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2025-08/EA2_Anything%20is%20possible_0.pdf. 'Bradfield's bridge - John Bradfield' p.20. Details

Journal Articles

• 'Abstracts of papers read before Divisions, 1920', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1 (1920), 471-480, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.633491999041294. "Engineering development in New South Wales since the inauguration of the Commonwealth (Abstract only). Read before Newcastle Division, 17 Jul 1920.", p.475. Details
• 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal [1932 award to Dr. J. J. C. Bradfield]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 4 (12) (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 (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

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6222848. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/23782584. Details
• 'Bradfield was awarded the Telford Gold Medal 1934, for paper: "The Sydney Harbour Bridge and approaches"', Award : Telford Gold Medal [1838 - ], Institution of Civil Engineers, 2022. https://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/page/awards/telford-gold-medal. Details
• 'Obituary. John Job Crew Bradfield. 1867-1943.', Journal of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/ijoti.1943.13971. Details
• Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 'Application: 8431, 1892', Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/3585/. Details
• 'Bradfield, J J C (1867-1943)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-632616. Details

Resource Sections

• 'Engineering Heritage : Biographies', in Engineering Heritage Australia : wiki website, Engineering Heritage Australia, 2024, https://heritage.engineersaustralia.org.au/wiki/Person:Bradfield,_John. Biography: John Bradfield. Details

See also

• 'John Job Crew Bradfield', Grace's Guide to British Industrial History, Grace's Guide Ltd, https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/John_Job_Crew_Bradfield. Details
• 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., Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 236 pp, https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2025-08/EA1_Wonders%20never%20cease.pdf. "The wonder of wood", p.74; "Bringing a city together", pp.80-1; "Spanning the Brisbane River",pp.82-3. 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, 'Third Annual General Meeting [March 1923] and Third Annual Report [1922]', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (1924), xiv-xxxix, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.632839845047257. 'Engineering Standardisation - The Institution's representatives are: Messrs J J C Bradfield, O W Brain, A J Gibson, G A Julius, Senator J D Millen, Professor W H Warren', pp.xxiii-xxiv. 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