When C. Y. O’Connor arrived in Western Australia on 1 June 1891, there were only three other engineers working for Government and perhaps another twenty working on railways, building and gold mining. With the state’s rapid development between 1891 and 1909, the population increased from 53,000 to 265,000 and the number of engineers rose in proportion.
Engineers in 1909 were just as interested as they are today in the ‘advancement of engineering knowledge, the practice of a high professional standard, the promotion of professional interests, and the improvement of their professional status’. With the help of a proactive Secretary W. B. Shaw, the Western Australian Institution of Engineers (WAIE) was formed in 1909 with 82 members, 36 associate members, two associates and three students. The first general meeting of the WAIE was an address by the then Government Engineer-in-Chief, James Thompson, on 31 March 1910.
The WAIE strongly supported and was instrumental in the formation of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. Following the adoption of the new Institution’s constitution in March 1919, WAIE ceased activities and many of its members transferred to the new national Institution. During its ten years of existence, which included the very difficult war years from 1914 to 1918, the WAIE published an annual volume of proceedings, including ten Presidential addresses and 44 papers on engineering in Western Australia in the early 1900s.
In the 100 years since WAIE ceased activities, copies of its proceedings became rare with only two copies remaining for some volumes. This is where the new technology of digital scanning has come to the rescue. Using the state-of-the-art scanning facilities at the State Library of Western Australia (SLWA), the Western Australia Division now has, in digital form, the ten volumes of proceedings and the separately printed address by James Thompson. These documents are also held on the SLWA website and can be downloaded from the links below.
For a small Institution of just over 100 members, the WAIE papers are remarkable . They start with Thompson’s inaugural address in which he gave a comprehensive overview of the State’s development from 1829 to 1910, covering the options for Fremantle Harbour and the first railway route from Fremantle to Guildford. The papers include the other nine presidential addresses that cover subjects as diverse as electricity supply, engineering education, municipal engineering, telegraphs and telephones and the Trans Australian Railway.
If you have an interest in Western Australian engineering history, the WAIE papers are invaluable. As well as the .pdf copies of the Proceedings, if you wish to see all of the various plans and pictures in high quality .tif files, our Division Heritage Committee can provide them: contact [email protected].