Morgan, Jack Ronald

Summary

Jack Morgan, BCE PhD, pioneered geomechanical engineering work on deep soft ground basements in Victoria. In particular the deep basement of the Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, beside the Yarra River, founded in Coode Island Silt on Moray Street Gravels, and later applied this knowledge to other construction sites nearby.

Following his early career with the Commonwealth Department of Works, and his position as a Senior Research Fellow, University of Melbourne, 1963 to 1975, he moved into geotechnical consulting taking up a role as Principal with Golder Associates - a role he worked in for 22 years until his retirement in 1997.

The Geomechanics Society of Australia, Jack Morgan - Young Geotechnical Practitioners Award (Victoria), is named in his honour.

Details

Jack Morgan graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering in 1957 and claimed an additional accolade as dux of Civil Engineering. He followed up his stellar undergraduate results with a PhD, also from the University of Melbourne.

His first job was with the Department of Works during which time, he was a senior engineer responsible for geotechnical investigation and design of major Commonwealth buildings, dams, and bridges in all states of Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea. This was at a time when analytical soil mechanics was relatively new.

In 1963, he moved to academia, taking up a position as Senior Research Fellow with The University of Melbourne. He stayed at Melbourne University full-time for 12 years, leaving in 1975 as Reader, in charge of soil mechanics. He maintains an affiliation with The University of Melbourne to which he returns as an occasional lecturer to this day.

In 1975 Jack moved into geotechnical consulting taking up a role as Principal with Golder Associates, a role that he worked in for 22 years until his retirement in 1997. He still works part time at Golder Associates as a senior consultant and mentor.

Jack pioneered work on deep basements in Melbourne, many would be familiar with his paper on basement construction in the Engineering Geology of Melbourne "Blue Book". The Arts Centre basement is one of the earliest large soft ground basements in Melbourne, one on which Jack had a significant involvement. A number of significant learnings came from Jack's work on this and other projects. One such example was the effect of depressurisation of the Moray Street Gravels and its effect on consolidation of the Coode Island Silt.

Jack became the Managing Director of Golder Associates from 1985 to 1991 and Chair of the Board of Directors from 1991 to 1996. Jack has had an outstanding technical career during which he has authored more than 20 papers published in international and local journals. A comment from one of Jacks colleagues who worked with him over the course of his consulting career.
Source: Australian Geomechanics Society - Jack Morgan - Young Geotechnical Practitioners Award (VIC) [24 Jun 2026]

Chronology

1953 - 1954

Award - Commonwealth Scholarship

1956

Career event - Student Member (StudIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1957

Education - Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE), University of Melbourne

c. 1962 - 1963

Career position - Engineer, Commonwealth Department of Works [Responsible for geotechnical investigation and design of major buildings, dams, and bridges, across Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea]

1963 - 1975

Career position - Senior Research Fellow, University of Melbourne

1964

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

13 Sep 1968

Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Associate Members were designated Members on this date.]

c. 1973 - 1975

Career position - Reader, Soil mechanics, University of Melbourne

1975 - 1997

Career position - Principal, Golder Associates

1985 - 1991

Career position - Managing Director, Golder Associates

1991 - 1996

Career position - Chair of the Board of Directors, Golder Associates

1997 -

Career position - Senior consultant, mentor, Golder Associates

1997

Life event - Retired

Published resources

Book Sections

• Morgan, Jack, 'Arts Centre Melbourne - Geotechnical issues' in Australian Geomechanics Society 50 year anniversary 1970-2020 commemorative book, Tanya Kouzmin, ed. (Australian Geomechanics Society, 2020), pp. 64-68. https://htc.issmge.org/uploads/contributions/AGS-50th-Book.pdf. Details

Journal Articles

• Trollope, D. H.; Morgan, J. R., 'Stress systems with simple slopes of granular materials', Civil Engineering Transactions, CE1 (1959), 18-. Details