Person

Henderson, John Baillie (1836 - 1921)

Born
25 July 1836
London, United Kingdom
Died
15 February 1921
Queensland, Australia
Occupation
Hydraulic engineer

Summary

John Henderson was a hydraulic engineer who had a varied experience with the Victorian colonial and shire governments between 1862 and 1878, working on roads and water supply in regional areas such as Geelong, Bendigo and Gippsland. Having been retrenched on 'Black Wednesday' 8 January 1878, he moved to Townsville and found employment with the water supply for the town. Between 1893 and 1914 he was employed as a hydraulic engineer for the Government of Queensland. Henderson recognised the need to understand local hydrological, rainfall, evaporation and flood conditions. He advocated fieldwork experiments, meticulous record-keeping, flood warning systems, the use of water meters, and the prevention of building on flood plains, and was involved in the widening and deepening of the Brisbane River.

Details

Chronology

1852
Life event - Migrated to Australia with his family
1862 - 1863
Career position - Road overseer, Victorian Department of Roads and Bridges
1863 - 1866
Career position - Shire engineer, Gippsland, Victoria
1866 - 1878
Career position - Engineer and surveyor, Water Supply Branch, Department of Mines
1878 -
Career position - Resident engineer, northern waterworks, Townsville, Queensland
8 Jan 1878
Career event - Victorian public servants summarily dismissed on 'Black Wednesday'
7 Dec 1880
Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1883 - 1895
Career event - Member (MIMechE), Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London
1883 - 1914
Career position - Hydraulic Engineer, Queensland Government
4 Nov 1884
Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1914
Life event - Retired

Superior

  • Gordon, George (1829 - 1907)

    John Henderson was Assistant engineer to George Gordon, until 'Black Wednesday' 8 Jan 1878. George Gordon endorsed John Henderson's nomination for AssocMInstCE 1880.

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

  • Watson, Robert (1822 - 1891)

    Robert Watson endorsed John Henderson's nomination for AssocMInstCE, 1880, and his nominations for MInstCE, 1884.

Published resources

Books

  • Whitmore, Raymond, Hydraulic Henderson: water resources pioneer (Brisbane: Engineers Australia, 2009), 188 pp. Details

Book Sections

Edited Books

Journal Articles

  • Cook, Margaret, 'John Baillie Henderson: a hydrologist in colonial Brisbane', International Review of Environmental History, 4 (1) (2018), 69-92. Details

Reports

  • Advisory Council of Science and Industry, Report of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Advisory Council of Science and Industry: for the year ended 30th June 1918 (Melbourne: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1918), 64 pp. http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2004795988. Details

Resources

Helen Cohn

EOAS ID: biogs/P006150b.htm

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