Person

Fraser, James (1861 - 1936)

CMG

Born
20 August 1861
Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia
Died
28 July 1936
Pymble, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Civil engineer and Railway commissioner

Summary

James Fraser CMG MInstCE MIEAust, was Chief Commissioner of the New South Wales Government Railways and Tramways from 1917 until 1929. During his term as Chief Commissioner, the Sydney Underground Railway was in the course of construction, and the electrification of the metropolitan lines was carried out. He controlled a large staff, including that of the Tramways, totalling 52,000. Fraser also rendered important service in an advisory capacity in the bulk handling of wheat and in the construction of grain silos and elevators.

His entire career was in the New South Wales Railways commencing as a cadet in 1878 when he was 17, and rising to his appoinment as Chief Commissioner in 39 years later.

In 1919, he was awarded the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in recognition of his service as Chief Commissioner for Railways in New South Wales, and the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal by the Institution of Engineers Australia in 1924.

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Details

Chronology

1878 - 1882
Career position - Cadet and surveyor, Railway Construction Department, NSW
1882
Career position - Assistant engineer, NSW Government Railways [Construction of North Western Lines, under Henry Deane]
1882 - 1888
Career position - Assistant engineer, NSW Government Railways [Construction of Illawarra Line, under Thomas Rhodes Firth]
1888 - 1889
Career position - Engineer, NSW Government Railways [Survey and plans for extension of railway into Sydney, under John Whitton]
1889 - 1890
Career position - Engineer, NSW Government Railways [Duplication of main Southern Lines, under William Theodore Foxlee]
1890 - 1892
Career position - Divisional engineer, NSW Government Railways
1891
Life event - Married Maria E Firth, daughter of Thomas Rhodes Firth
1892 - 1893
Career position - Assistant Engineer-in-Chief, NSW Government Railways
1893 - 1910
Career position - Engineer-in-Chief, NSW Government Railways
1895
Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1897
Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London
1910 - 1914
Career position - Deputy Assistant Commissioner, NSW Government Railways and Tramways
1914 - 1917
Career position - Assistant Chief-Commissioner, NSW Government Railways and Tramways
1917 - 1929
Career position - Chief Commissioner, NSW Government Railways and Tramways
1919
Award - Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) - Chief Commissioner for Railways in NSW
1919
Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1924
Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia
1925
Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1930
Career event - Presented with a leatherbound illuminated address signed by 30,000 employees of the NSW Railways and Tramways
1931 - 1932
Career position - Transport (Co-ordination) Commissioner, New South Wales

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

Published resources

Journal Articles

  • 'Memoirs', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 9 (1937), 257-258. Details
  • Fraser, J., 'Locomotive design, New South Wales railways', Commonwealth Engineer, 7 (5) (1919), 139-142. Details
  • Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Fifth Annual General Meeting [March 1925] and Fifth Annual Report [1924]', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 5 (1924), xiv-xliii, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.861751582678717. 'Prizes - Council has unanimously agreed that the second award (for 1924) shall be made to Mr James Fraser, CMG, Chief Commissioner, N.S.W. Government Railways and Tramways, Sydney', p.xxx. Details

Newspaper Articles

See also

  • 'P. N. Russell Memorial Medal [List of recipients 1923 - 1931]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (1931), 445. Details
  • Dorman, Selwyn; Hagarty, Don; Johnson, Geoff; Reid, Noel; Sharp, Stuart; Winney, Ken, 'Chapter 4: Sydney's railways' in Sydney: from settlement to city: an engineering history of Sydney, Don Fraser, ed. (Crows Nest, New South Wales: Engineers Australia, 1989), pp. 63-96. Details
  • Walker, J. D.; Rutledge, Martha, 'Fraser, Keith Aird (1893-1952), railway engineer and commissioner' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 14: 1940 - 1980 Di-Kel, John Ritchie, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1996), pp. 220-221, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140243b.htm. Details

Ken McInnes

Created: 14 July 2022, Last modified: 19 July 2022

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