Boyd, Robert James (1876 - 1953)

Summary

Robert James Boyd, ME MInstCE MIEAust, was the Principal Design Engineer, for construction of Sydney's City, Eastern and Western Suburban Electric Railways, including Sydney's Underground Electric Railway, from 1920 until 1934. He was then the Inspecting Engineer for Steel Bridges, N.S.W. Railways, and from 1937 until 1941 was the Chief Designing Engineer, Department of Irrigation, Water Supply and Sewerage, Queensland. In 1941 he retired and returned to Sydney to become a Consulting Engineer. In recognition of his engineering achievements, he was awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1941.

He closely supported the Institution of Engineers Australia from its inception - as a foundation Associate Member in 1919, and Member in 1920, as a national councillor from 1921, as Vice-President in 1934 and 1935, and as President in 1936. He was also active within its Sydney Division as Vice-Chairman in 1920, 1921 and as Chairman in 1922. From 1929 until 1945, he was a representative of the Institution on the Council of the Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association / Standards Association of Australia.

Details

Chronology

1897

Career event - Student Member (StudInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London [Under W H Warren]

1898

Education - Bachelor of Engineering (BE), University of Sydney

1899 - 1902

Career position - Engineering Draftsman, Sewerage Construction Branch, Department of Public Works, N.S.W. [Under J Davis, and A E Cutler]

1902 - 1907

Career position - Assistant Engineer / Engineering Draftsman, N.S.W. Government Railways [Under J Fraser; W Shellshear; R Kendall]

1907

Education - Master of Engineering (ME), University of Sydney

1907 - 1913

Career position - Engineer, Gummow, Forrest and Co. Ltd., Reinforced concrete specialists, maufacturers and contractors [Concrete seawalling for Sydney Harbour Trust, 6ft.'Monier' pipes, septic tanks, plates, portable lighthouse, large cylindrical reservoirs, large malt silos, concrete floors, etc.]

8 Jan 1907

Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1912 - 1913

Career position - Consulting engineer [designed steelwork for Grandstands for Canterbury and Randwick racecourses]

1913 - 1915

Career position - Engineer, in private practice, design and construction. [Large engine foundations at Guilford, Sydney Water Supply; reinforced concrete tanks and floors Sydney and Newcastle, inspected steel fabrication for Australian Meat Co. works, Townsville]

1915

Career position - Engineering Draftsman, Naval Works Office, Melbourne [Design of workshops for Cockatoo Island Dockyard, etc. Inspection of timbers for wharf construction]

1915 - 1921

Career position - Senior / Chief Engineering Draftsman, Location and design of City, Eastern and Western Suburban Electric Railway, Department of Public Works / N.S.W. Railway Commissioners [Under J J C Bradfield]

1919

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

1920

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

1920 - 1922

Career position - Vice-Chairman, Sydney Division, Institution of Engineers Australia

1920 - 1932

Career position - Principal Designing Engineer, Metropolitan Railway Construction Branch, N.S.W. Government Railways

1921 - c. 1941

Career position - Councillor, Institution of Engineers Australia

1922

Career position - Acting Chief Engineer, Metropolitan Railway Construction, Department of Public Works / N.S.W. Railway Commissioners [While J J C Bradfield was overseas]

1922 - 1923

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

19 Dec 1922

Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1929 - 1945

Career position - Representative of the Institution of Engineers Australia, on the Council of the Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association / Standards Association of Australia

1932

Life event - Overseas tour, inspected railway systems in Great Britain, France, Germany, Canada and the United States of America

1932 - 1935

Career position - Principal Designing Engineer and Supervisor of Designs, Department of Railways N.S.W.

1934 - 1936

Career position - Vice-President, Institution of Engineers Australia

1935 - 1937

Career position - Member, NSW Advisory Committee of Council, Institution of Civil Engineers, London

c. 1935 - 1937

Career position - Inspecting Engineer for Steel and Bridges, Way and Works Branch, Department of Railways N.S.W.

1936 - 1937

Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia

1937 - 1941

Career position - Chief Designing Engineer, Department of Irrigation, Water Supply and Sewerage, Queensland

1941 -

Career position - Consulting engineer, Sydney

1941

Life event - Retired

1941

Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• 'P.N.R. Memorial Medal - 1941 Award [R. J. Boyd, M.E., M.I.E.Aust.]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 13 (1941), 295. Details
• 'Obituary : Robert James Boyd', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 26 (1954), 29. Details
• Boyd, R. J., 'Proposed Municipal Garages for the City of Sydney', Quarterly Bulletin, Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1 (4) (1924), 11-. Details
• Boyd, R. J., 'Presidential address', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 9 (1937), 140-. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twenty-second Annual Report [1941]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 14 (1942), 35-41. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1941 award), to Mr R J Boyd, ME MIEAust, Sydney Division', p.38. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twenty-third Annual Report [1942]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 15 (1943), 35-51. 'Engineering Standardisation - The Institution [of Engineers Australia] has been represented on the Council of the Standards Association during 1942 by: Sir Henry Barraclough, Mr R J Boyd, Mr H G Carter, Colonel W D Chapman, Mr A J Gibson and Mr T H Upton', p.38. Details

Resources

• 'Obituary. Robert James Boyd, ME, 1876-1953', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/iicep.1955.11413. Details
• Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 'Application: 12075, 1906', Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/3585/. Details