McLennan, Ian Munro (1909 - 1998)

Summary

Sir Ian McLennan was responsible for major developments in the iron and steel industry in Australia. In particular the development of the manufacture of ferro-alloys, tungsten carbide and magnesium during the Second World War; the establishment of a new steel plant at Port Kembla, and a steel rolling mill at Kwinana; prospecting for new sources of raw materials; the introduction of large-scale sintering plants; the extension of colliery mechanisation; the establishment of the electro-metallurgical industry in Tasmania; and the installation of large basic oxygen steel making facilities. He was appointed Managing Director of Broken Hill Proprietory Co. Ltd in 1967, after a long association with the company.

His industrial and engineering achievements were recognised and acknowledged when he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1956; was awarded the The Institute Medal, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy in 1959; was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1963; was awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1967; was awarded the Kernot Memorial Medal in 1970; was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1978, and was later awarded many other honorary distinctions.

Details

Chronology

1932

Education - Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (BEE), University of Melbourne

1933 - 1935

Career position - Cadet engineer, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd [Whyalla, South Australia]

1935 - 1937

Career position - Assistant to the Superintendent of Mines and Quarries, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd [Melbourne]

1937 - 1941

Career position - Special Cadet, Newcastle and Port Kembla steelworks, rising to Executive Officer, Newcastle, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd

1943 - 1945

Career position - Chairman, Joint War Production Committee [Included visits to USA and Canada]

1946

Career event - Overseas assignment, visiting steelworks in Great Britain, Europe and USA

1947 - 1950

Career position - Assistant General Manager, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd

1950 - 1956

Career position - General Manager, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd

1951

Career position - President, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

1952

Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1953 - 1967

Career position - Member, Victorian State Committee, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Reseach Organization (CSIRO)

1953 - 1967

Career position - Director, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd

1955 - 1961

Career position - Member of Council, Australian National University, Canberra

1956

Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) - Member of the Immigration Planning Council

1956 - 1959

Career position - Senior General Manager, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd

1957

Career position - President, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

1959

Award - The Institute Medal, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy - "In recognition of his long service to the steel industry both in production and in utilisation, of his national service in many phases of the Australian economy and of his contribution to the welfare of The Institute."

1959 - 1967

Career position - Chief General Manager, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd

1960

Career position - First chairman of Council, Australian Mineral Development Laboratories (AMDEL)

1963

Award - Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) - For services to industry

1964

Award - James N. Kirby Medal, Institute of Production Engineers

1967

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

1967 - 1970

Career position - Managing Director, Broken Hill Proprietory Co Ltd

1968

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

1968

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

1970

Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne

1970 - 1977

Career position - Chairman and Director of Administration, Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd

1972

Career position - President, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

1973 - 1979

Career position - Chairman Tubemakers of Australia Ltd

1975

Award - Foundation Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)

1975 - 1983

Career position - President, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences

1977 - 1982

Career position - Chairman, ANZ Banking Group Ltd

1978

Award - Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) - for services to youth, the community and industry

1978

Award - Charles F. Rand memorial Gold Medal, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers

1978 - 1984

Career position - Chairman, Interscan Australia Pty Ltd

1979

Award - Honorary Fellow (HonFAusIMM), Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy - in recognition of his long and dedicated service to The Institute and its members, to the support and enhancement of the professions represented by the membership of The Institute, and to the development of the mining and metallurgical industries

1980 - 1998

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1981 - 1985

Career position - Chairman, Elders (IXL) Ltd

1981 - 1998

Award - Honorary Fellow, Institution of Engineers, Australia

1982

Award - Honorary Fellow (HonFIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1987 - 1998

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) [Foundation Fellow AATS 1975]

1988

Award - Doctor of Laws (LLD), honoris causa, University of Melbourne

1993

Award - Beryl Jacka Award, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy

Related entries

Archival resources

The University of Melbourne Archives

• Ian Munro McLennan - Records, 1950 - 1975; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Ian Munro McLennan - Records, 1937 - 1977, 78/95; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Ian Munro McLennan - Records, 1969 - 1981, 83/78; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Ian Munro McLennan - Records, 1973 - 1986, 89/67; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Ian Munro McLennan - Records, 1983 - 1985, 93/11; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details
• Ian Munro McLennan - Records, 1973 - 1974, 85/149; The University of Melbourne Archives. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

• Langley, S. K.; McLennan, Ian; Murray, R. A.; Ward, R. G., 'Section - Oil and Natural Gas' in Chapter 11: Energy. Technology in Australia, 1788-1988, Roger N. Morse, ed. (Melbourne: Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 1988), pp. 798-802, https://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/770.html. Details

Journal Articles

• 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal: 1967 Award [Sir Ian McLennan, KBE BEE MIEAust]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 39 (12) (1967), N121. Details
• 'Sir James Rowland and Sir Ian McLennan become Honorary Fellows', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 54 (2) (1982), 9. Details
• McLennan, I. M., 'The steel industry in Australia', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 34 (6) (1962), 115-124. Details
• Richards, P. N., 'Ian Munro McLennan, 1909-1998', Historical Records of Australian Science, 15 (2) (2004), 251-268. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR04006. Details

Reports

• Institution of Engineers Australia, Forty-eighth Annual Report [1967] (1968), 16 pp. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1967 Award) to Sir Ian McLennan, KBE BEE MIEAust', p.3. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, Annual Report 1981 [Sixty-second Annual Report] (1982), 16 pp. 'Institution Honours - Sir Ian McLennan, KCMG KBE FIEAust elected Honorary Fellow', p.11. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q15439989. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/92167304. Details
• 'McLennan, Ian (1909-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-504893. Details
• 'Awarded honorary LLD, 1988', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details
• 'Awarded honorary DEng, 1968', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details
• 'Awarded honorary DEng, 1968', Honorary degrees, University of Newcastle, 2023, https://www.newcastle.edu.au/engage/alumni/stories/honorary-degrees. Details

See also

• 'Dr Keith Thomas Henry Farrer OBE MA DSc FTSE - Biographical Note', Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=648. Details
• Who's who in Australia 1995 (Melbourne: Information Australia Group, 1995), 1622 pp. 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_m.html. Details
• Engineers Australia ed., Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders (Barton, A.C.T.: Institution of Engineers Australia, 2019), 136 pp. 'A Steely Conscience - Sir Ian McLennan' p.102. Details