Person

Endersbee, Lance Aubrey (1925 - 2009)

AO FTSE HonFIEAust

Born
18 November 1925
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died
1 October 2009
Frankston, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Academic, Civil engineer and Vice-Chancellor

Summary

Lance Endersbee, AO FTSE HonFIEAust, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Monash University, 1976 to 1988, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Special Projects) 1988 to 1989, was an acknowledged champion of Australian engineers and engineering, and helped deploy Australian engineering expertise overseas. His fields of specialisation included the management of planning and design of major economic development projects, water resources, energy engineering and transport engineering.

Before joining the University, he was an engineer with the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority 1950 to 1958; a design engineer with the Hydro-Electric Commission, Tasmania 1958 to 1976; as well as serving as an Adviser for the United Nations on dam construction in Thailand 1964 - 1965.

He gave distinguished service to the Institution of Engineers Australia. Firstly as a National Councillor from 1967 to 1980; chaired a number of National Committees; chaired the General College of Engineers; and became a Vice-president and then President in 1980. Importantly, he chaired and steered the Task Force on Energy 1976 that lead to the establishment of the National Energy Advisory Committee by the Commonwealth Government in 1977.

His distinguished contributions to engineering were recognised when he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1981; elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences in 1984; awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1986; and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers in 1987. He was also awarded the Warren Memorial Prize in 1963; the R W Chapman Medal in 1967, as well as Honorary Member, Engineering Institute of Canada in 1980.

He was a visionary who promoted potential major infrastructure projects for Australia including a Melbourne to Darwin fast-freight railway going through inland NSW and Queensland, an Australian ring railway, and a Clarence River hydroelectric power and irrigation scheme. However, in his later years he vehemently opposed the strong global consensus on climate change, and organised a symposium of leading climate contrarians, at variance with the published views of Engineers Australia and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

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Details

Some associated major projects:
* Great Lake Power development;
* Poatina Underground Power Station;
* Mersey-Forth hydro-elec project;
* Gordon River hydro-elec project;
* Pieman River hydro-elec project;
* 1976 - 1977 Task Force on Energy;
* 'Asian Express' inland railway proposal to Darwin.

Chronology

1944
Education - Fellowship Diploma of Civil Engineering (DipCE), Melbourne Technical College
1944 - 1946
Career position - Engineer, Commonwealth Department of Works
1945
Career event - Student Member (StudIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1949
Education - Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE(Hons)), University of Melbourne
1950 - 1952
Career position - Field engineer, Scientific Services Division, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority
1952
Career position - In-service trainee for the United States Bureau of Reclamation (located with the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority)
1953 - 1958
Career position - Engineer, later Executive engineer, Dams and Tunnels Design, Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority [including a period overseas with the United States Bureau of Reclamation, at Denver, USA]
1954
Career event - Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1958 - 1964
Career position - Project Design Engineer, Great Lake Power Development, Hydro-Electric Commission, Tasmania
1963
Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1963
Award - Warren Memorial Prize, Institution of Engineers Australia
1964 - 1965
Career position - United Nations Adviser on Dam Design and Hydro-Power Development, Thailand
1965 - 1976
Career position - Group Leading Engineer, Civil Design, Hydro-Electric Commission, Tasmania
1966 - 1970
Career position - Vice President, International Society for Rock Mechanics
1967
Education - Master of Engineering (MEng), University of Melbourne
1967
Award - R W Chapman Medal, Institution of Engineers Australia
1967 - 1980
Career position - Member of Council, Institution of Engineers Australia
1968
Career event - Fellow (FIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Members were designated Fellows on this date.]
1973 - 1974
Career position - Chairman, National Committee on Engineering Education, Institution of Engineers Australia
1974
Award - Honorary Associate, School of Civil Engineering, University of New South Wales
1974 - 1977
Career position - Vice-president, Institution of Engineers Australia
1975 - 1978
Career position - Chairman, General College of Engineering, Institution of Engineers Australia
1976
Career event - Delegate, Twelfth Congress, International Commission on Large Dams, Mexico
1976 - 1977
Career position - Chairman, Task Force on Energy, Institution of Engineers Australia
1976 - 1988
Career position - Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University
1977 - 1978
Career position - Member of Council, Monash University
1978 - 1980
Career position - Member, National Energy Advisory Committee
1980
Award - Honorary Member, Engineering Institute of Canada
1980
Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia
1981
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) - in recognition of service to engineering
1982
Career position - Member, Advisory Committee in Science and Technology, National Library Australia
1983 - 1984
Career position - Member of Council, Monash University
1984 - 1987
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)
1986
Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia
1987
Award - Honorary Fellow (HonFIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1987 - 2009
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) [Awarded by AATS 1984]
1988
Life event - Retired
1988 - 1989
Career position - Pro-vice-chancellor, Monash University
1989
Career position - Emeritus Professor, Monash University
2001
Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society in civil engineering and administration

Related Awards

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Endersbee, L. A., Recommendations for an energy policy for Australia : summary report and recommendations (Barton, ACT: Institution of Engineers Australia, 1977), 28 pp. Details
  • Endersbee, L. A., A voyage of discovery : a history of ideas about the earth, with a new understanding of the global resources of water and petroleum, and the problems of climate change (Frankston, Vic: 2005), 264 pp. Details

Conference Papers

Journal Articles

Newspaper Articles

  • Hibbins, Gillian, 'Intent on building Australia. [Obituary: Lance Aubrey Endersbee, Engineer 18Nov1925 -1Oct2009]', The Age (2009), 16. Details

Reports

  • Institution of Engineers Australia, Annual Report 1986 [Sixty-seventh Annual Report] (1987), 24 pp. 'Awards and Honours - Council awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal for 1986 to Prof L A Endersbee, AO FIEAust', p.15. Details

Theses

  • Endersbee, L. A., 'Thesis papers submitted by L.A. Endersbee', MEng thesis, University of Melbourne, 1966. Details

See also

  • Who's who in Australia 1998 (Melbourne: Information Australia Group, 1998), 1720 pp. Page 544. Details
  • Berry, K., 'Porous media flow in the Great Artesian Basin', ATSE focus, 114 (2000). Details
  • Draper, W.J. ed., Who's who in Australia 1983 (Melbourne, Victoria: Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, 1983), 960 pp. Page 286. Details
  • Endersbee, L. A., 'Author's response to discussions of two papers ... in July-Aug 1999 issue of ATSE Focus', ATSE focus, 114 (2000), 22-28. Details
  • Hillier, J.; Kellett, J.; Williams, M.; Rooke, E.; Foster, L.; Love, A.; Herczeg, A., 'Response to comments made by Professor L Endersbee on the Great Artesian Basin of Australia', ATSE focus, 114 (2000). Details

Ken McInnes

Created: 9 January 2025, Last modified: 14 January 2025

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