Russell, Peter Nicol (1816 - 1905)

Summary

Sir Peter Nicol Russell was a partner in Russell Brothers general engineering and foundry business, established in Sydney in 1838. In 1842 he took over James Blanche's foundry and renamed it The Sydney Foundry and Engineering Works. He had contracts for all the ironwork required by the New South Wales government and the Sydney Municipal Council. In 1855 he formed P.N. Russell & Co and in 1859 he moved to London as the company's resident UK partner. He gave £50,000 to the University of Sydney in 1895 to establish the Peter Nicol Russell School of Engineering and a further £50,000 in 1904. He is commemorated by the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal, which was inaugurated by the Institution of Engineers, Australia in 1922.

Details

Chronology

1832

Life event - Arrived in Hobart Town with family on the Anne Jamieson

1838

Moved to Sydney with family

1842 - 1855?

Career position - The Sydney Foundry and Engineering Works established

1855 - 1874

Career position - P. N. Russell & Co established

1895

Life event - £50,000 donation given to the School of Engineering, University of Sydney (16 December)

1904

Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt)

1904

Life event - £50,000 donation given to the Peter Nicol Russell School of Engineering, University of Sydney

Related entries

Published resources

Book Sections

• Corbett, Arthur; Pugh, Ann, 'Russell, Sir Peter Nicol (1816-1905), ironfounder and benefactor' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 6: 1851 - 1890 R - Z, Bede Nairn, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1976), pp. 76-77. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/russell-sir-peter-nicol-4527. Details

Edited Books

• Engineers Australia ed., Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders (Barton, A.C.T.: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 136 pp, https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/2025-08/EA2_Anything%20is%20possible_0.pdf. 'A proud engineering legacy - Sir Peter Nicol Russell' p.30. Details

Journal Articles

• Anon, 'Obituary: Peter Nicol Russell', The Engineer (1905). Details
• Russell, P. H., 'Sir Peter Nicol Russell - 1816-1905: his family and associates. Pioneers of the Australian iron and engineering industry', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 50 (2) (1964), 129. Details
• Russell, P. W., 'Sir Peter Nicol Russell 1816-1905', Royal Australian Historical Society Journal, 50 (Pt 5) (1964), 396. Details
• Selfe, Norman, 'The machinery employed for artificial refrigeration and ice-making', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 30 (1896), xxxii-lxxiii, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41891412#page/501/mode/1up. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7176102. Details
• 'Russell, Peter Nicol', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1475877. Details

See also

• 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_r.html. Details
• Fraser, Don, 'Chapter 1: The seventy years 1790-1960' in Sydney: from settlement to city: an engineering history of Sydney, Don Fraser, ed. (Crows Nest, New South Wales: Engineers Australia, 1989), pp. 1-16. Details
• Selfe, Norman, 'Annual address to the Engineering Section', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 33 (1899), i-x, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41998257#page/357/mode/1up. Details
• Serle, Percival, Dictionary of Australian biography (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1949). Details