Person
Bennett, William Christopher (1824 - 1889)
- Born
- 4 July 1824
Rathmines, County Dublin, Ireland - Died
- 29 September 1889
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Engineer
Summary
William Bennett, MInstCE, occupied many important engineering posts in New South Wales including that of commissioner for main roads. He advised against a narrow-gauge railway to Mudgee, saving the colony from the confusion of two internal railway gauges.
Details
Articled surveyor 1840; worked in Ireland on border surveys and as a surveyor and engineer on railways and drainage works; surveying and exploring, Latin America 1852 and 1853; New Zealand 1854; Survey Department, New South Wales 1855; assistant city Engineer on sewage works 1855-56; Campbelltown railway extension 1857-58; assistant engineer of main roads to superintend the repair of a flood-damaged bridge at Bathurst 1858; engineer to the Department of Roads 1859-60; Railway Department 1862; commissioner for main roads 1862-89. Appointed to special commissions in the field of water supply and sewerage in Sydney 1868, 1875 and 1888.
Chronology
- 19 May 1857
- Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
- 16 Feb 1864
- Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
Related entries
Subordinate
Archival resources
Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales
- William Christopher Bennett - Records, 1850 - 1889, UMS 333; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details
Published resources
Book Sections
- Johnson, Robert, 'Bennett, William Christopher (1824-1889), engineer and surveyor' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 3: 1851 - 1890 A-C, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1969), pp. 142-143. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bennett-william-christopher-2976. Details
Edited Books
- Bailey, M. R.; Chrimes, M. M.; Cox, R. C.; Cross-Rudkin, P. S. M.; Hurst, B. L.; McWilliam, R. C.; Rennison, R. W.; Ruddock, E. C.; Sutherland, R. J. M.; Swailes, T. ed., Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 2: 1830-1890 (London, United Kingdom: Thomas Telford Publishing, 2008), 907 pp. 'Bennett, William Christopher', pp.79-80, 570. 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
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q16062602. Details
- 'Obituary. William Christopher Bennett, 1824-1889.', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1890.20643. Details
- Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 'Application: 1376, 1857', Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/3585/. Details
- 'Bennett, William Christopher (1824-1889)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467581. Details
See also
- 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", pp.74-5. 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
Gavan McCarthy [P004098]; Ken McInnes
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education