Strom, Alan Gordon (1924 - 2000)

Summary

Alan Gordon Strom BCE FIEAust, civil engineer, worked for Gutteridge Haskins & Davey Pty Ltd (GDH) in Victoria and Tasmania for around 43 years. He rose to be a become a partner and Director of the firm. During this time, Strom built a reputation as a leader in water, salinity and waste water management.

From 1950 he was managing GDH's offices in Tasmania where he established Australia's first fluoridation plant and oversaw the construction of the Risdon Brook Dam, Australia's first concrete-faced rolled rockfill dam. Strom was also the first to use activated silica in water treatment.

In Victoria he managed salinity and nutrient studies in the Murray River and Western District Lakes and was part of the team which constructed an award-winning direct filtration water treatment plant in Geelong (1991). During the 1970s and 1980s he was also involved in GHD treatment plant projects in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria which greatly improved the quality of drinking water.

Strom began an engineering degree at the University of Melbourne but soon transferred to the School of Military Engineering as the War broke out. He finally completed his degree after the War and joined GDH. By 1950 he was sent to their Launceston office as Manager and then in 1959 was sent to the Hobart office.

Details

Associated works:
* Risdon Brook dam, Tasmania - first concrete-faced, rolled rockfill dam in Australia;
* Water treatment plant at New Norfolk, for Hobart's water supply;
* Introduction of fluoridation in northern Tasmania water supplies;
* Bungal Dam, West Moorabool River, to provide water supplies to Geelong and Ballarat;
* Wurdee Boluc water treatment plant, near Winchelsea, to provided water supply for Geelong. The first to use activated silica in the water treatment process.

Chronology

1945

Career event - Student Member (StudIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1945

Military service - Second World War. Lieutenant, Royal Australian Engineers

c. 1946

Education - Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE), University of Melbourne [Completion delayed by military service]

c. 1947 - 1950

Career position - Engineer, Gutteridge Haskins & Davey Pty Ltd, Melbourne

1948

Career event - Junior Member (JrIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1950 - 1959

Career position - Engineer, manager, Gutteridge Haskins & Davey Pty Ltd, Launceston.

1951

Career event - Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1959 - 1969

Career position - Manager, engineer, partner, Gutteridge Haskins & Davey Pty Ltd, Hobart

1964

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

1967

Career position - Chairman, Tasmania Division, Institution of Engineers Australia

1968

Career event - Fellow (FIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Members were designated Fellows on this date.]

1969 - 1990

Career position - Senior manager, director, Gutteridge Haskins & Davey Pty Ltd, Melbourne

1983

Career event - Major study and report. "Water 2000 : a perspective on Australia's water resources to the year 2000"

Related entries

Published resources

Books

• Department of Resources and Energy, Water 2000 : a perspective on Australia's water resources to the year 2000. Report of the Steering Committee in conjunction with the Department of Resources and Energy. (Australian Government Publishing Service, 1983), xi, 120 pp. Major contributor to the report. Details

Conference Papers

• Strom, A, G., 'Utilisation of lower quality waters', in The Engineering Conference 1984 (Barton, ACT: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1984)., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.617402909853622. Details
• Strom, A., 'Trade wastes in Australia - a review', in Diamond Jubilee Conference 1979 (Perth, WA: Institution of Engineers Australia, 1979), pp. 549-554., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.030094804596869. Details
• Strom, A., 'Usage of digested sludge', in Anaerobic Digestion for Profit Symposium. Tuesday, 13 October 1981 (1982), pp. 1-8.. Details
• Strom, A. G., 'Development of resources in sewage for the community', in The Engineering Conference 1978: Engineers Developing a Better World (Barton, ACT: Institution of Engineers Australia, 1978), pp. 229-233., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.613974443142113. Details
• Strom, A. G.; Phillips, J. T., 'Bungal Dam - Investigation, Design and Construction', in The Engineering Conference 1974 (Sydney, NSW: Institution of Engineers Australia, 1974), pp. 269-278., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.577118425993394. Details

Journal Articles

• Strom, A., 'Reclaimed water is valuable resource', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 56 (10) (1984), 42-44, 46-48. Details
• Strom, A. G.; Hallows, P. J., 'Water Management Study of Albury-Wodonga Growth Centre in Relation to the River Murray', Civil Engineering Transactions, CE 18 (1) (1976). Details

Newspaper Articles

• Fricke, Tom, 'Obituary: Alan Gordon Strom, Consulting engineer. (6-10-1924 - 14-11-2000)', The Age (2000), 23. Details

Resources

• CA 2002, 2 Echelon, Army Headquarters; CA 46, Department of Defence [III], Central Office, 'NAA: B883, VX96440', B883 Second Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=6046770. Details
• 'Strom, Alan Gordon (1924-2000)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1475780. Details