Person

East, Lewis Ronald (1899 - 1994)

Kt CBE HonFIEAust

Born
17 June 1899
Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
Died
9 March 1994
Mount Waverley, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Engineer and Water supply expert

Summary

Sir Ronald East CBE MCE MInstCE HonFIEAust, was Chairman of the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria from 1936 until he retired in 1965. He joined the Commission as a civil engineer in 1922, and was appointed a Commissioner in 1935. He was associated with the Snowy Mountains Project from its inception, as a Member of the Interim Advisory Council 1953 - 1958, and as a Member of the Snowy Mountains Council 1959 - 1965. He also represented Victoria on the River Murray Commission from 1936 until 1965.

His distinguished contributions to water supply engineering were recognised when he was awarded the Kernot Memorial Medal in 1949; was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1951; was awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1957, and was Knighted in 1966.

Details

East had a keen interest in recording and conserving the history and heritage of water supply in Victoria, and many significant engineering heritage items remain today because of his guidance as a Commissioner. In this way, he appears to have followed in the footsteps of Alfred Kenyon, the commissioner that he replaced, when Kenyon retired in 1935.

Chronology

1918 - 1919
Military service - First World War. Second Aircraft Mechanic, Australian Flying Corps
1919
Career event - Foundation Student Member (StudIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1922
Education - Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE), University of Melbourne [Completion delayed by military service]
1922 - 1965
Career position - Civil engineer, State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria
1924
Education - Master of Civil Engineering (MCE), University of Melbourne
1925
Career event - Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1927
Career event - Associate Member (AssocMAmSocCE), American Society of Civil Engineers
c. 1932
Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1935
Career event - Member (MAmSocCE), American Society of Civil Engineers
1935 - c. 1965
Career position - Member, Sludge Abatement Board, Department of Mines [as Commissioner SRWSC]
1935 - 1965
Career position - Commissioner, State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria [appointed following retirement of A S Kenyon]
1936
Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1936 - 1965
Career position - Commissioner representing Victoria, River Murray Commission, Victoria
1936 - 1965
Career position - Chairman, State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria
1937 -
Career position - Foundation member, Australian National Committee on Large Dams
c. 1937
Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1938 - 1962
Career position - National Councillor, Institution of Engineers Australia
1947 - 1949
Career position - Member, committee of technical experts that devised the Snowy Mountains Scheme
1949
Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne
3 Jun 1951
Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) - Chairman - Victoria Water Supply Commission.
1952 - 1953
Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia
1953 - 1958
Career position - Member, Interim Advisory Committee, Snowy Mountains Project
1957
Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia
1959 - 1965
Career position - Member, Snowy Mountains Council
1960
Award - Sir James Barrett Award
1965
Life event - Retired
1 Jan 1966
Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt) - Chairman - Victoria Water Supply Commission.
1968
Career event - Fellow (FIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Members were designated Fellows on this date.]
1969
Award - Honorary Fellow (HonFIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1981
Award - Doctor of Engineering (DE), honoris causa, University of Melbourne

Subordinate

  • Heitlinger, Max (1899 - 1992)

    Max Heitlinger worked under Sir Ronald East, State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, 1943-1964. Sir Ronald East launched Max's autobiography in 1985.

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

Archival resources

State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection

  • Lewis Ronald East - Records, 1967 - 1979, MS 8178, MS 10611; State Library of Victoria, Australian Manuscripts Collection. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • 'Presidential Tour (1952) - W H H Gibson deputising for L R East', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 24 (1952), 231. Details
  • 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal awarded to Mr L. R. East', Aqua: Official Journal of the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria, 9 (3) (1957), 68. Details
  • 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal: 1957 Award [L. R. East, CBE MCE MIEAust]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 29 (1957), 344. Details
  • 'Farewell to Mr East.', Aqua: Official Journal of the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria, 16 (7) (1965), 159-65. Details
  • 'Chairman retires after record 30-year term as Commissioner', Aqua: Official Journal of the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria, 16 (5) (1965), 100-105. Details
  • 'Honorary Fellow of The Institution - Sir Ronald East CBE MCE HonFIEAust', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 41 (1969), N65. Details
  • 'A long career in water: obituary [Sir Ronald East (1899 - 1994)]', Engineers Australia, 66 (4) (1994), 11. Details
  • East, L. R., 'The Loch Gary flood protection scheme', Quarterly Bulletin, Institution of Engineers, Australia, 4 (1927), 312-. Details
  • East, L. R., 'Swamp reclamation in Victoria', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 7 (1935), 77-. Details
  • East, L. R., 'Swamp reclamation in Victoria [Discussion]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 8 (1936), 333-. Details
  • East, L. R., 'The faith of an engineer: a discussion of the land problem', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 17 (9) (1945), 183-90. Details
  • East, L. R., 'Presidential address', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 25 (1953), 29-. Details
  • East, L. R., 'Tribute to A. S. Kenyon', Aqua: Official Journal of the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Victoria (1957), 44. Details
  • East, L. R. (editor), 'One hundred years of engineering in Victoria.', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 6 (10) (1934), 353-420. 'Irrigation and Water Supply in Victoria' pp.389-393. Details
  • East, L. R. (editor), 'One hundred years of engineering in Victoria.', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 6 (10) (1934), 353-420. 'Introduction' p.355. Details
  • East, L. R.; Green, K. D.; Horsfall, R. A., 'The Development and Use of Water Resources in Victoria', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 30 (1958), 35-. Details

Reports

  • Institution of Engineers Australia, Thirty-eighth Annual Report [1957] (1958), 16 pp. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1957 Award), to Mr L R East, CBE MCE MIEAust, Melbourne Division', p.2. Details

Resources

See also

  • Engineers Australia ed., Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders (Barton, A.C.T.: Institution of Engineers Australia, 2019), 136 pp. 'Water in His Veins - Sir Ronald East' p.26. Details
  • Lay, M. G., '20th Century Victorian Engineers - Case studies of engineers as leaders in Victoria from 1890 to 1990', in Fourth International Conference on Engineering Management, 1994: Preprints (Barton, ACT: Institution of Engineers Australia, 1994), pp. 7-12., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.220235441294955. Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098]; Ken McInnes

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