Hutcheson, George Ian Dewart (1897 - 1965)

Summary

Captain George Hutcheson, CBE BE MIEAust MRINA MIMarE, was the Managing Director of Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co. Pty. Ltd., in charge of Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, from 1947 until he retired in 1962. He then became Chairman, Vickers Australia Pty. Ltd., and its subsidiary companies: Vickers Ruwolt Pty. Ltd.; Vickers Hoskins Pty. Ltd.; Vickers-Armstrongs (Australia) Pty. Ltd.; and Cockatoo Docks & Engineering Co. Pty. Ltd.

During the Second World War, in 1939 as a Commander in the Royal Australian Navy, he was appointed Principal Overseer, Cockatoo Island Dockyard, responsible for the construction of three Tribal Class Destroyers, two Sloops, three Boom Working Vessels, eight Corvettes and two Frigates, and, in addition, the boilers for 46 other Corvettes were produced. A large number of conversions of considerable magnitude were carried out and the Dockyard was used for major repairs to vessels of the Allied Forces. In 1942 he was promoted to Engineer Captain and appointed Engineer Manager, Garden Island Dockyard and General Overseer of Naval Work in Sydney. In 1945 he was appointed Director of Engineering (Naval) at Navy Office, Melbourne until he retired from the Navy in 1947. In 1945 the British Pacific Fleet came to Sydney and, although shore facilities to support it were in course of preparation, they were not ready and it was necessary to use the existing facilities to the fullest extent to keep the Fleet in operation. The Captain Cook Dock was completed and opened and, during its first year, three Battleships and six Fleet Carriers were docked and refitted in it. Action damage to four Fleet Carriers was made good in time to allow them to carry out their operational requirements during this period.

He served in an honorary role on many industry and professional bodies including Councillor and President of the Institution of Engineers, Australia; Chairman of the Standards Association of Australia; President of the Metal Trade Employers' Association; President of the New South Wales Chamber of Manufacturers; and local Vice President, Institute of Marine Engineers, London.

His distinguished contributions to engineering were recognised when he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1960; and was awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1962.

Details

Chronology

- c. 1965

Career position - Vice-President for Australia, Institute of Marine Engineers, London

1909

Award - Education scholarship, Adelaide High School

1917

Education - Bachelor of Engineering (BE(hons)), University of Adelaide [in lieu of the surrendered degree of Bachelor of Science, and for the Diploma in Applied Science]

1918

Career event - Engineer Sub-Lieutenant, Royal Australia Navy

1918 - 1919

Career position - Engineer Officer, serving on H.M.A.S. "Australia", Royal Australia Navy

c. 1918 - 1939

Career position - Royal Australian Navy [Many ships and dockyard appointments]

1919

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

1919

Career event - Engineer Lieutenant, Royal Australian Navy

1920 - 1921

Career position - Engineer Officer, serving on H.M.A.S. "Una", and H.M.A.S."Geranium", Royal Australian Navy

1922

Career position - Second Assistant to Engineer Manager, Garden Island Dockyard, Sydney, Royal Australian Navy

1923

Career position - Loaned to Royal Navy, United Kingdom [for service and training]

1923 - 1926

Career position - Armament Assistant to the Engineer Manager, Garden Island Dockyard, Sydney, Royal Australian Navy

1926

Career event - Engineer Lieutenant Commander, Royal Australian Navy

1927 - 1939

Career position - Officer at HMAS "Canberra", HMAS "Stuart", HMAS "Sydney" [as well as a number of dockyard appointments]

1930

Career event - Engineer Commander, Royal Australian Navy

1933

Career position - Loaned to Royal Navy, United Kingdom [for service and training]

1935

Award - King's Silver Jubilee Medal

1937

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

1939 - 1942

Career position - Principal Overseer, Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Royal Australian Navy, Sydney

1942

Career position - Engineer Manager, Garden Island Dockyard, Royal Australian Navy

1942 - 1945

Career position - General Overseer of Naval Work, Sydney, Royal Australian Navy

1943

Career event - Engineer Captain, Royal Australian Navy

1945 - 1947

Career position - Director of Engineering (Naval), Navy Office, Melbourne

1947 - 1962

Career position - Managing Director, Cockatoo Docks and Engineering Co Pty Ltd [In charge of Cockatoo Island Dockyard]

1952 - c. 1965

Career position - Member of the Technical Advisory Council of New South Wales

1953

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

1954 - c. 1965

Career position - Member of Council, Institution of Engineers Australia

1956 - 1965

Career position - Member of Council, New South Wales University of Technology / University of New South Wales

1957 - c. 1965

Career position - Chairman, Standards Association of Australia

1960

Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia

1960

Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) - in recognition of his outstanding services to the engineering profession

c. 1961 - c. 1965

Career position - Honorary Treasury, Institution of Engineers Australia

1962 -

Career position - Chairman, Vickers Australia Pty Ltd [and its subsidiary companies]

1962

Life event - Retired

1962

Career position - Member of the Australian Committee, Lloyds Register of Shipping

1962

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

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal: 1962 Award [Captain G. I. D. Hutcheson CBE BE MIEAust]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 34 (1962), N83. Details
• 'Obituary - George Ian Dewart Hutcheson', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 37 (1965), N104. Details
• Hutcheson, G. I. D., 'Engineering progress in the Navy and Mercantile Marine', Commonwealth Engineer, 20 (6) (1933), 159-163. Details

Newspaper Articles

• 'Hutcheson : Warship-mender of "Cockatoo"', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) (1949), 14, https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248158418. Details
• 'Engineer-Captain George Hutcheson : Patcher up of ships', Smith's Weekly (Sydney) (1950), 15, https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article235983209. Details
• 'Heinz Harant Horangues : Obituary Captain George Ian Dewart Hutcheson', Tharunka (Kensington, NSW) (1965), 10, https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230413664. Details

Reports

• Institution of Engineers Australia, Forty-third Annual Report [1962] (1963), 16 pp. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1962 Award), to Captain G I D Hutcheson, CBE BE MIEAust', p.2. Details

Resources

• CA 38, Navy Office [IV], Department of the Navy [II]; CA 46, Department of Defence [III], Central Office, 'NAA: A6769, HUTCHESON G I D', A6769 Service Cards for Navy Officers, 1911-1970, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=5405016. Details