Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble (1865 - 1949)

Summary

J. T. Noble Anderson, MInstCE, MASCE, MIEAust, a civil engineer with a career spanning more than 50 years, was a leader in the profession in Victoria. He practised innovative engineering during difficult times in the depressions of the 1890s and 1930s. In particular, he is known for his association with John Monash, and their role in pioneering reinforced concrete construction in Victoria.

Details

Born in 1865 in Ireland, he graduated in engineering and arts. Following short engineering engagements in Ireland and England, he came to Victoria in 1889, working on the Laanecoorie Weir, and other Water Supply schemes for Victoria.

He took up a lectureship in mechanical engineering at the University of Melbourne, where he met John Monash. In 1894 they set up a consulting partnership designing and contracting engineering works. After a meeting with Frank Gummow of Sydney, in 1897 Anderson negotiated an agreement whereby Monash and Anderson became Victorian agents for Monier and Wayss reinforced concrete. They secured contracts and built several notable bridges using this new technology.

After the company failed financially in 1902, Anderson was appointed engineer to the Drainage Board in Dunedin, New Zealand from 1902 to 1906.

He returned to Victoria to became Shire Engineer and engineering consultant for several local government councils in various parts of Victoria, and again became very active with the Victorian Institute of Engineers, including leading discussions about main road developments in Victoria.

In the 1920s he was engineering consultant to Walter Burley Griffin, advising on the design of Canberra's water supply system and the Cotter Dam.

Between 1921 and 1939 he was appointed Engineer to the City of Richmond, where he was responsible for an extensive programme of main road and bridge works, including responsibility for maintaining most of the Yarra River bridges, their modification for tramway electrification and strengthening. He was also responsible for repair works following the 1934 Yarra River floods, and was associated with the innovative Grange Road Bridge, and the remodelling of the Richmond Town Hall using reinforced concrete, 1934-36.

Chronology

1886

Education - Bachelor of Arts (BA), Queens College, Royal University of Ireland, Belfast, Northern Ireland

1886 - 1888

Career position - Stoneyford Waterworks, Belfast, Northern Ireland [under Luke Livingston Macassey MInstCE]

Sep 1888 - Mar 1889

Career position - Contractors Engineer, Main Drainage Works, Belfast, Northern Ireland

1889

Life event - Migrated to Australia

1889

Career position - Constructed Filter beds, Portrush, Northern Ireland

Mar 1889 - Jun 1889

Career position - Contractors Engineer, Thirlmere Scheme, Manchester Waterworks, England

Sep 1889 - Mar 1890

Career position - Contractors Engineer, Laanecoorie Weir, Victoria [ under Stuart Murray MInstCE]

1890

Career event - Member (MVIE), Victorian Institute of Engineers

March 1890 - 1890

Career position - Assistant Engineer, Water Supply Department, Victoria [under Stuart Murray MInstCE]

2 Dec 1890

Career event - Associate Member, Institution of Civil Engineers

1891 - 1892

Career position - Consulting Engineer to Warrnambool Water Trust, Victoria

1891 - 1892

Career position - Engineer to Torrumbarry Irrigation Trust, Victoria

1891 - 1895

Career position - Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne

1891 - 1900

Career position - Engineer to Elmore Waterworks Trust, Victoria

4 Apr 1891

Award - Bachelor of Arts (BA), ad eundem, University of Melbourne

8 May 1891

Career event - Granted Certificate as Engineer of Water Supply (Without Examination), Water Act 1890 VIC

3 Aug 1892

Career event - Granted Certificate of Qualification as Engineer and Surveyor (CE), Local Government Act 1890 VIC

1894 - 1896

Career position - Engineer to Strezlecki and Coal Creek Colliery Works, Victoria

1894 - 1900

Career position - Engineer to Healesville Water Trust, Victoria

1894 - 1902

Career position - Expert witness, Fairfield Railway Accident Enquiry

1894 - 1902

Career position - Agents for Monier and Wayss systems of Reinforced Concrete in Victoria, in partnership with John Monash MInstCE

1895 - 1900

Career position - Engineer to Shire of Healesville, Victoria

1896 - 1899

Career position - Consulting Engineer to Mildura Irrigation Trust, Victoria

1898 -

Career position - Engineer representing Victorian government at Mildura, Victoria

1898 - 1900

Career position - Consulting Engineer to Hamilton Water Trust, Victoria

1899 - 1900

Career position - Engineer-in-chief, reconstruction of Ballarat Woollen Mills, Victoria

1901 - 1902

Career event - President, Victorian Institute of Engineers

1902

Career position - Consulting Engineer, Dunedin Water power Schemes, New Zealand

1902

Career position - Consulting Engineer, Waipori Syndicate Water power scheme, New Zealand

1902 - 1906

Career position - Engineer-in-chief, Dunedin Drainage and Sewerage Works, New Zealand

9 Jan 1906

Career event - Member, Institution of Civil Engineers

1916

Career event - Councillor, Victorian Institute of Engineers

1916 - 1919

Career position - Shire Engineer, Shire of Healesville, Victoria

1919

Career event - President, Victorian Institute of Engineers

c. 1920 - 1946

Career position - Engineer, Kilmore Waterworks Trust, Victoria

1921 - 1939

Career position - City Engineer, City of Richmond, Victoria

1926

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

1930 - 1935

Career event - Councillor, Victorian Institute of Engineers

1935

Award - Honorary Life Member, Victorian Institute of Engineers

1939

Life event - Retired

Related entries

Published resources

Conference Papers

• Holgate, Alan; Taplin, Geoff, 'Monash, Anderson, Transport and Communication 1894-1914', in Eleventh National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Federation Engineering a Nation; Proceedings (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2001), pp. 153-156., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.520790953879855. Details
• Holgate, Alan; Taplin, Geoff; Alves, Lesley, 'Issues in the Design and Construction of Wheeler's Bridge, Lawrence', in 9th National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Proceedings (Melbourne, Victoria: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1998), pp. 25-30., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.545256045141872. Details
• Holgate, Alan; Taplin, Geoff; Alves, Lesley; Hamann, Conrad, 'The Introduction of Monier Arch Bridges to Victoria', in First International and Eighth Australian Engineering Heritage Conference 1996: Shaping Our Future; Proceedings (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1996), pp. 29-35., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.624557970816771. Details
• Lewis, M., 'Monier and Anti-Monier: Early Reinforced Concrete in Australia', in Second National Conference on Engineering Heritage ‘The Value of Engineering Heritage': Preprints of Papers (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1985), pp. 85-90.. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.724803355720226. Details
• Lloyd, Brian E., 'Joshua Thomas Noble Anderson (1865-1949), Engineer: a Biographical Sketch', in 9th National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Proceedings (Melbourne, Victoria: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1998), pp. 31-35.. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.545330577026905. Details

Edited Books

• Gibbney, H. J.; and Smith, Ann G. eds, A Biographical register 1788-1939 : notes from the name index of the Australian Dictionary of biography. (2 volumes) (Canberra: Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1987), 429 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Notes on the adulteration of Portland cement (Paper & Discussion)', Various Papers and Discussions of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. II 1892-1899 (1900). http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24266. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Some records of a trial of a compound steam engine at the Ballarat woollen and worsted company's mills (Paper & Discussion)', Various Papers and Discussions of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. II 1892-1899 (1900). http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24264. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Some irrigation problems at Mildura (Paper & Discussion)', Various Papers and Discussions of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. II 1892-1899 (1900). http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24260. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Presidential address 1902 (vol. III) [Social demands on the engineering profession]', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. III (1903), 104-112. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24286. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Ordinary cement concrete construction (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. III (1903), 113-132. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24287. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Engineering factors in the future growth of Australia (Presidential address, 1903)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. IV (1905), 101-108. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24298. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Dunedin drainage and sewerage (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. VI (1906), 130-155, 157-160. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24350. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Notes on current engineering progress (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. VIII (1908), 134-142. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24400. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'The economising of water in irrigation work (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. IX (1909), 45-61, 94-104, 107-114. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24412. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'The main road problem (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. XI (1911), 83-94, 106-122, 132-141, 149-150, 167-170. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24492. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'The main road problem (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. XII (1912), 100-114, 118-122, 141-143, 171-174, 221-225. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24520. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Water storage (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. XIII (1913), 48-65, 67-74, 111-123. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24541. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Road construction to stand modern Traffic (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. XVI (1917), 99-112, 194-196, 199-201, 272-274. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24593. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Art and engineering (Abstract of lecture & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1923-1924 (1924), 190-196. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24637. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Road work in reinforced concrete (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1923-1924 (1924), 14-28. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24611. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'The status of the engineer (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1927-1928 (1928), 34-39. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24684. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'The economical road surface (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1929-1930 (1931). http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24728. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Water purification: past and present methods (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1931-1932 (1933), 32-42, 60-63. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24756. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Sewage disposal (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1931-1932 (1933), 45-58, 60-63. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24758. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'The co-ordination of practice and theory in civil engineering (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1933-1934 (1935), 55-62, 66-70. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24771. Details
• Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Prevention and mitigation of flood damage (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1935-1936 (1937), 24-32. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24790. Details
• East, L. R. (editor), 'One hundred years of engineering in Victoria.', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 6 (10) (1934), 353-420. 'Metropolitan Roads and Bridges' pp.359-360. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6290268. 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_a.html. Details
• 'Correspondence. The influence of electric welding in the design and fabrication of plant and structures.', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1926.14171. Details
• Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 'Application: 7538, 1890', Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/3585/. Details
• 'Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1476906. Details

See also

• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Bridge construction at the turn of the century [Letters]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 53 (2) (1981), 3. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B. ed., Nineteenth century engineers in the colony of Victoria (Geelong North, Victoria: Author, 2002), 372 pp. Details
• Engineers Australia ed., Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 236 pp. pp.78-79. Details
• Swinburne, George; Whitehead, C. A.; and Anderson, Joshua Thomas Noble, 'Note on mechanical filtration and gravitation filtration (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers, 3 (1903), 69-103. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24285. Details