Person

Davidson, William (1844 - 1920)

ISO

Born
6 December 1844
Moy, County Tyrone, Ireland
Died
2 September 1920
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Civil engineer and Public servant

Summary

William Davidson worked as a civil engineer in Victoria for over 30 years (1873-1912). Much of his work was on improving Melbourne's water supply and catchment facilities. During a major flood in March 1878, the water supply aqueduct from Yan Yean was destroyed, and Davidson supervised its three-day around-the-clock restoration. He was rewarded by being appointed superintending engineer and later transferred to the newly formed Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works. Davidson's other achievements include the extension of the Yan Yean catchment, construction of the Warrnambool breakwater and Portland harbour, and consultant to the English developers of Melbourne harbour (Station Pier at Port Melbourne).

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Details

Chronology

1859
Life event - Arrived in Australia (Victoria)
1864
Education - Completed a surveyor's certificate
1873 - 1878
Career position - Assistant to the Superintending Engineer, Charles Taylor, Melbourne Water Supply
1878 - 1888
Career position - Superintending Engineer, Melbourne Water Supply
8 Jan 1878
Career event - Victorian public servants summarily dismissed on 'Black Wednesday'
1883 - 1884
Career position - Yan Yean catchment extension undertaken in Victoria
1885 - 1888
Career position - Superintending Engineer, Geelong Water Supply
4 Dec 1888
Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1889 - 1891
Career position - Inspector-General of Public Works, and Chief Engineer, Melbourne Water Supply.
1891 - 1912
Career position - Chief Engineer, Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works
19 Jun 1911
Award - Companion of the Imperial Service Order (ISO) - Inspector-General of Public Works of Victoria
1912
Life event - Retired
1914 - 1919
Career position - Chair of the Victorian branch, Institution of Civil Engineers.
1920
Life event - Buried, Boroondara Cemetery, Victoria

Related People

Published resources

Books

  • Cumming, D. A., Some Public Works Engineers in Victoria in the Nineteenth Century (Melbourne: University of Melbourne, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 1985), 59 pp. pp.9-10. Details

Book Sections

  • McNicoll, Ronald, 'Davidson, William (1844-1920), civil engineer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 230-231. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080253b.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. 'Davidson, William ISO', p.168. Details

Journal Articles

  • Davidson, W., 'Wrought iron pipes', Transactions and Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Surveyors, 3 (1885-1891), 52-60. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

  • Rasmussen, Carolyn, 'From the Significant to the Indispensible: The Working Lives of Seventeen Figures in the History of the Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works', in Australian dictionary of biography, Australian National University, 2019, http://adb.anu.edu.au/essay/20. Details

See also

  • Trethowan, Bruce, 'The Public Works Department of Victoria - 1851-1900 : an architectural history', UnderGrad thesis, Department of Architecture and Building, University of Melbourne, 1975, 2 volumes: Vol.1 - text, Vol.2 - appendices pp. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/279542. Appendix 1, p7. Details

McCarthy, G.J.; Ken McInnes

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 15 March 2023

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