Corlette, James Montagu Christian (1880 - 1969)

Summary

James Corlette was the Chief engineer of the Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board from 1925 until 1945, after commencing as an engineer with the Board in 1908.

As Chief Engineer, Corlette was in charge of the operation, maintenance and expansion of the water supply, sewerage and drainage services of a rapidly growing coal mining, industrial and agricultural area, comprising Newcastle, Maitland, Cessnock, Kurri and a number of other towns, with a total population of nearly 250,000. The investigations which he carried out for the Board and the methods of construction developed by him were many and varied, and included the development of a water supply from watercharged sandbeds north of Newcastle, with a daily capacity of fifteen million gallons, and the elimination of foul odours from sewer ventilations, the latter being the result of a considerable amount of original experimental research.

He also had a long and distinguished military career: serving in the Volunteer Militia 1900-1913; serving at Gallipoli and France during World War I - rising to Lieutenant-Colonel and Commander Royal Engineers, 2nd Australian Division; serving between the wars as a brigadier with the Australian Military Forces; and serving with the Volunteer Defence Corps during World War II.

In 1966, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the University of Newcastle, and the Corlette Fountain Court in the engineering school of the University was given in his memory in 1973.

His wife, Ruby, was awarded the British War Medal for her full-time voluntary service in London during World War I.

Details

Major Projects:
* Surveyed and mapped 750 sq. miles (1942 km²) around Newcastle for the Australian Military in 1908;
* Designed and constructed Tomago Sandbeds water-supply for Newcastle;
* Pioneered the use of 54 in. (137 cm) continuously welded steel water-mains;
* Completed sewerage works for Wallsend, Kurri Kurri, Belmont, Toronto, Cardiff and Boolaroo;
* Member, NSW Committee of Enquiry to investigate waterlogging of Yanco No.1 Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.

Chronology

1900 - 1913

Military service - Voluntary Militia, Sydney, Kalgoorlie, Newcastle

1902

Education - Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) (BE Hons), University of Sydney

1903

Education - Bachelor of Mining and Metallurgy (Hons), University of Sydney

1904 - 1905

Career position - Demonstrator, Engineering school, University of Sydney

1905 - 1907

Career position - Lecturer, Kalgoorlie School of Mines

1908

Career event - Member, Northern Engineering Institute of New South Wales [Foundation member when it re-formed in 1908]

1908 - 1925

Career position - Engineer, Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board

6 Dec 1910

Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1914

Life event - Married Ruby Saunders, St James Church, Sydney NSW

1914 - 1919

Military service - First World War. Major rising to Lt.Col commanding 2nd Australian Division, Australian Military Forces, Gallipoli and Europe.

1917

Award - Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) - AIF - Engineers

1919

Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1919

Award - Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) - AIF, Engineers - France & Flanders

1919

Award - Croix de Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (France)

1920 - 1969

Career position - Committee member, Newcastle division, Institution of Engineers Australia

1923

Award - Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration (VD), for long and meritorious service as a part-time commissioned officer

1925 - 1945

Career position - Chief Engineer, Hunter District Water Supply and Sewerage Board

1927 - 1928

Career position - Chairman, Newcastle division, Institution of Engineers Australia

1927 - 1956

Career position - President, United Service Club, Newcastle

1927 - 1959

Career position - Councillor, Institution of Engineers Australia

11 Jan 1927

Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1930

Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia

1941 - 1943

Military service - Group commander, Volunteer Defence Corps, Newcastle area

1944

Award - Warren Memorial Prize 1945, Institution of Engineers Australia

1945

Career position - Member, NSW Committee of Enquiry to investigate waterlogging of Yanco No.1 Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area

1945

Life event - Retired

1945

Career position - Consulting engineer

1947

Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia

1954

Career position - President, Newcastle division, Australian Planning Institute

1960

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

1966

Award - Doctor of Engineering (DEng), honoris causa, University of Newcastle

1968

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

Related entries

Published resources

Book Sections

• Greville, P. J., 'Corlette, James Montagu Christian (1880-1969), soldier and engineer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 116-117, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/corlette-james-montagu-christian-5783. Details

Journal Articles

• 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal: 1947 Award [Colonel James Motagu Christian Corlette]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 19 (1947), 205. Details
• 'Obituary: James Montagu Christian Corlette', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 42 (1-2) (1970), N26. Details
• Corlette, J. M. C., 'Floating barrel jetties - An episode at Gallipoli', Commonwealth Engineer, 3 (11) (1916), 319. Details
• Corlette, J.M.C., 'Some investigations into the ventilation of sewers and deodorisation of sewer gases', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 8 (1927), 71. Details
• Corlette, J.M.C., 'Presidential address', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (1931), 126. Details
• Corlette, J.M.C., 'Small sewage pumping stations', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (1931), 113. Details
• Corlette, J.M.C., 'New water screening system at Chichester Dam', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 6 (1934), 287. Details
• Corlette, J.M.C., 'Ventilation of sewers by exhaust fan', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 16 (1944), 214. Details
• Corlette, J.M.C., 'Water Supply for Newcastle, N.S.W., from the Tomago Sandbeds', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 16 (1944), 137-147, 161-171. Details
• Corlette, J.M.C. and Smallman, W.S., 'Construction of a 54-inch continuously welded steel watermain laid above ground', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 18 (1946), 93. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twenty-seventh Annual Report [1946]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 19 (1947), 10-23. 'Prizes - Warren Memorial Prize (1945 Award), to Colonel James Montague Christian Corlette, CMG DSO VD BE MIEAust, Newcastle Division, for his paper "Water Supply for Newcastle, N.S.W., from the Tomago Sandbeds', p.12. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twenty-eighth Annual Report [1947]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 20 (1948), 1-12. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1947 Award), to Colonel J M C Corlette, CMG DSO VD BE MIEAust, Newcastle Division', p.2. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21539599. Details
• Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 'Application: 13182, 1910', Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/3585/. Details
• 'Corlette, James Montagu Christian (1880-1969)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1465014. Details
• 'Awarded honorary DEng, 1966', Honorary degrees, University of Newcastle, 2023, https://www.newcastle.edu.au/engage/alumni/stories/honorary-degrees. Details