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June/July 2012 issue
What’s in this issue
• From our Director
• From our President
• Our New Fellows
• Australia Day Honours
• Young Engineers Report
• Technical Presentations
- Katherine
• Gove Engineering Pro-
fessional Development
Evening
• Alice Springs site visit to
DAF Plant
• Technical Presentations
- Alice Springs
• Last Chance to tickets to
Excellence Awards
• Technical Presentations
- Darwin
• Science & Engineering
Challenge
• Sun Visors available for
purchase
• New Members
• Young Engineers Golf
Day
• Engineering Week/
Science Week - Dates for your Diary
• Eminent Speakers
• Fellows Luncheon
• Gearing up for Business
Expo
• Science Week Events
Calendar
• Engineering Heritage—
140th Anniversary of Overland Telegraph
• Venus Transit
• Dates for your Diary
Partners
This month has really demonstrated our commitment to the Year of the
Engineering Team. We have had events in Alice Springs, Gove and Jakarta as
well as multiple presentations in Darwin. Well done to our members in these
places who have contributed to the planning and conducting of these events. The-
se events are always advertised in the Weekly Email that we send to you each
Wednesday. We try and limit the number of emails that go out unless we are hav-
ing a poor response to an event and we need to know if you are coming or not.
Hence the Weekly is now our main source of information for you. Please take a
few minutes to have a read when it comes. The links to register are in there as well until the closing
time. If you get caught then please let us know.
It has been exciting to see our Jakarta group getting together again. If any of you are heading
in that direction then please let us know as I am sure they would be pleased to meet with you.
As you know the Engineering Excellence Awards are happening on 26 July. If you haven’t
purchased tickets you can call the Division and convince us as to why you haven’t registered yet.. We
will need to be strict about not accepting latecomers this year as the caterers need to know well in
advance for ordering purposes. Those that attended the presentations at City of Darwin were im-
pressed by the standard of projects that have been submitted. So come along and have a good night
with you friends and colleagues.
Charles Darwin University is revamping the Industry Engagement Group. This is a require-
ment to ensure the ongoing accreditation of the Engineering Degrees. If you think you would like to
be part of this group then please let us know. It will be a commitment of 3 or 4 meetings a year and
they would like to see some experienced members participate in this.
Bronwyn Russell
Director – Northern Division
Diploma in Project Management Courses - Register your interest now!
Course will be conducted at Engineers Australia Northern Division on the following dates:
• 15—16 October 2012 (Module 1)
• 11—12 February 2013 (Module 2)
• 15-16 April 2013 (Module 3)
• 17—18 June 2013 (Module 4)
• TBC August 2013 (Module 5)
For more informa4on on this course contact
Engineering Educa4on Australia on
03 9274 9600 or visit the website
www.eeaust.com.au
Well we are half way through the
year now and the Engineering Excel-
lence Awards are just around the corner!
I have now completed my application
for chartered status using the new Stage
2 competencies. I promised in my last
newsletter article that I would report
back to you on how it went. Many
moons ago, I had started my charted status application and
found writing the career episode reports a very laborious task
that I never seemed to be able to get around to finish. I also found
that the old style career episode reports were clumsy when trying
to reference competency units to parts of a story.
The new Stage 2 competencies, I am pleased to report,
are a much easier, intuitive, logical and fluent style of writing.
There are 16 elements in total. You must write 500 to 700 words
for each. It was easier to write because you could finish smaller
portions of the application at a time. Writing an example to prove
an element is much easier than the old style of writing a story
and then fitting the elements to match. For those of you who have
ever applied for a government position, it is very similar to an-
swering selection criteria. I would encourage those of you who
have tried before and didn’t get around to finishing, to try the
new style. I think you will be pleasantly surprised!
I also have an update for you on the legislation for regis-
tration of engineers, technologists and associates. Recently, I con-
tacted the Queensland President, Steven Goh and he put me in
touch with the Registrar in Queensland, Clare Murray. Clare pro-
vided me with a copy of the Queensland legislation and has of-
fered to come and meet with us when we are in the throws of
getting the legislation through. I have also discussed the legisla-
tion with several government officers which are also keen to pur-
sue the NT legislation. Another thought that came out of my dis-
cussions is that it could also be based on the NT legislation for
registration of Architects. If any members have any views on
which they would prefer, or the legislation in general please get
in contact with me. Watch this space……
One last note. For those of you who do not know, I am
moving on from my position with the Northern Territory Gov-
ernment. I will be starting up a new consultancy office for the
Highland Infrastructure Group (HIG for short) here in Darwin.
The company is run by some Queensland colleagues of mine that
have asked that I start a Darwin Office for them. It was a very
hard decision for me. As most of you know, I love working with
the government and I have worked with some awe inspiring peo-
ple and great teams during my time in the public service. Howev-
er, this was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse and I am looking
forward to the challenges that lie ahead of me.
Louise McCormick
President Northern Division
Partner
Congratula4ons to our newest Fellows:
• Lakshman Rajaratnam
• Jamal Ahmad El-Den
Congratula4on to members who have
recently become Chartered:
• Jacinta Kelly MIEAust CPEng
• Michael Collins MIEAust CPEng
• Tom Gooding MIEAust CPEng
• Chandon Kalase MIEAust CPEng
A belated congratula'ons to a member and supporter of
Northern Division who were recipients of Australia Day
Award
Dominic V Fracaro
Awarded Member of the Order of Australia
For service to the community of the Northern Territory
as a supporter of a range of charitable, historical, educa-
'onal and spor'ng organisa'ons, to the visual arts, and
to business.
Brendan J Lawson FIEAust
Awarded Public Service Medal
For outstanding public service to the Northern Territory,
par'cularly in the successful management of major in-
frastructure projects.
The Young Engineers have had a mix-
ture of social and professional learning
events recently. Early June saw the
return of the ten-pin bowling competi-
tion. There were six teams involved in
Darwin, and appropriately for Year of
the Regional Engineering Team, a team
from Alice Springs also took part in the
competition, playing on the same night at their local bowling
alley. After two games of bowling the scores were tallied and the
eventual winners were... the architects! Some of the Young Engi-
neers events involve creating networking opportunities with
fellow professionals, hence the team of young architects were
invited along again, although having won the bowling trophy for
the past two years, we may “forget” to invite them next year so
that an engineering team can win!
Another popular event returned later in June – a visit to
the Naval base and a guided tour of one of their patrol boats.
Although confirmation of the tour was only given two days be-
fore hand, a group of ten were able to make it and shown around
the Navy Patrol Boat HMAS Glenelg. The one hour tour took in
amongst things the bridge, living quarters and engine room, with
lots of interesting facts and figures on everything from engine
performance to the onboard water recycling system. A big thanks
for the Navy for offering the tour. No doubt will do it again next
year for those that missed out.
There are more events coming up – including the golf
day 14 September and we are very pleased to announce that the
YEA National Committee will be coming to Darwin for their next
quarterly meeting at the end of August. After a long time push-
ing for them to come up here, it will be great to finally show
them what the Northern Territory has to offer engineers. There
will be a chance to meet the national reps in a networking func-
tion, plus for those of them that are here for a few days a couple
of social trips are in order. You can keep up to date with our
events through Facebook (look for the YEA Northern Division
page) twitter (follow @YEA_ND) and LinkedIn (via the Young
Engineers Australia Northern Division group). And of course we
are always looking for ideas of events, social and professional, so
come along to one of our monthly meetings or email
yeand@engineersaustralia.org.au
Thanks,
J-P
President of YEAND
Sponsor
A message from the President of Young Engineers
Young Engineers at the Navy Patrol
Boat HMAS Glenelg
The Architects Winning Team
Technical Presentations Gove Engineering Professional - Project Entrants Katherine Development Evening
Sponsor
Technical Presentations by project entrants in the
2012 Engineering Excellence Awards were held in Katherine in
May 2012. Over 22 members, non-members and their guests
attended this event, including the Mayor of Katherine, Faye Mil-
ler and Chief Executive Officer. David Laugher, along with Wil-
lem Westra Van Holthe and his wife Jennie.
The two presentations included Aurecon for the RAAF
Base Tindal AEWC Facilities and Cullen River Bridge. Other
patrons in the restaurant were also very interested in the presen-
tations and asked a few questions.
The event included a 3-course dinner of extremely good
food provided by the Stonegrill Paraway Motel.
All who attended enjoyed the event immensely.
A dinner celebrating “The Year of Regional Engi-neering Team” was recently hosted by Pacific Aluminium and Engineers Australia at the Walkabout Hotel. Sunny Bhatti, Young Engineers Aus-tralia (YEA) representative for Regional Special Interest
Group (RSIG) Engineers Australia and Richard Parry, volunteer for the YEA Northern Division were the Master of Ceremonies with guest speakers, Dr Rob Heywood and Paul Mastin. Dr Rob Heywood from Engineering Solutions is a foren-sic structural engineer and an educator. He is the Deputy Chairman of the Engineer Australia’s Structural College Board and recently completed a series of “Forensic Engineering” presentations in regional centres and capital cities around Aus-trlaia. As guest speaker, Rob provided insight to civil and struc-ture failures, investigations and determination of root causes. Rob gave a personal recount of the 2011 Christchurch earth-quake recover operation, the civil, structural safety hazards when working in a major disaster area, techniques used to de-fine search areas and how victims were located. Changes have come about to design standards as a result of this natural disas-ter. In summary Rob reinforced the importance of the engineer-ing profession, our responsibilities to the community and the importance of sound engineering practices. Paul Mastin, Superintendent Mechnical Engineering at Gove Operations, originally from the UK spoke about his di-verse engineering career. A light hearted entertaining presenta-tion Paul explained how his career had covered a wide range of industries including gearbox, watch and spy camera manu-facturing, heavy industrial processes and materials handling. Highlights included his work as a volunteer for two years as an engineer in a developing country, where he met his Australian wife. Paul has been employed by Gove Operations since 1994 where he has worked on numerous projects including the G3 expanstion. Paul was presented with an Engineers Australia Fellowship by Bronwyn Russell, Director, Engineers Australia Northern Division, celebrating his continual support as a Char-tered Engineer. The evening was celebrated as a success with the aim to make it a yearly event for Gove Operations. This event was partly funded by Young Engineers National Engineers Austral-ia.
Sunny Bhatti
Alice Springs site visit to DAF plant
Supporter
On Thursday the 21 June 2012, over 30 engineering and technical people from lo-
cal /Territory government, local consultancies and private business attended the com-
bined AWA and Engineers Australia Technical Tour at the Alice Springs DAF Plant,
Commonage Road, Alice Springs.
The Dissolved Air Flotation has been operating since 2008, and Power and Water's (PWC)
Water Services staff Abdul Basit Bashir, Billy Flanagan, Lewis Manners, Mark Wiltshire
provided an enthusiastic explanation about the 8 ML of wastewater received each day on
the 47 hectare site, and the treatment required for reuse south of Alice Springs.
Wastewater from the site has been limited in the past to nearby grazing areas adjacent to
the showgrounds as Alice Springs is topographically divided by the MacDonnell Ranges.
Options for further reuse include the provision of reticulated reuse water that meets the health standards for irrigation for cara-
van parks, recreational areas and roadside enhancement, and this is currently being negotiated with key stakeholders including
government and developers.
Another challenge is the need for bacteriological analysis of routine samples for pathogens , parasites (rotavirus) and E.
coli, where a 36 hour time frame is critical in the determination of performance of tertiary treatment prior to irrigation for recrea-
tional areas. PWC has been working with the local Department of Resources laboratory to fulfil this requirement.
Upon the conclusion of the tour, many of the participants took the opportunity for drinks and eats at the Gap-View,a
nearby 'watering hole' overlooking the MacDonnell Ranges Gap that separates the Alice Springs urban area, north of the Mac-
Donnell Ranges, and the emerging development, the wastewater ponds and the airport to the south of the town.
Supporter
Engineering Excellence Awards Technical Presentations Project Entrants - Alice Springs
Over 45 members, guests and general public attended the
Technical Presentations for Alice Springs Project entrants in May
2012 at the Crowne Plaza, Alice Springs.
Uterne Solar Power Plant entry by Suncorp and Alice
Springs Power Network Upgrade were the two entrants that fea-
tured for in the Technical Presentations.
Nstional President, David Hood took time out of his busy
schedule to attend this “Year of the Regional Engineering Team”
event as did the Hon Member for Braitling, Adam Giles.
It was pleasing to see the support that Alice Springs
showed for our project entrants. The winners of last year’s Na-
tional Engineering Excellence Awards, CAT Projects who went
onto win the “Sir William Hudson” Award in 2011, showed their
support with 11 attending to support this year’s project entrants.
A good evening was had by all who attended and it gave
the opportunity for our National President to meet many mem-
bers from Alice Springs.
With 12 entrants in this year’s Awards, the Technical Presentations which were held in Darwin and hosted by the City of Darwin in their upstairs function room provided members and guests with an interesting evening. Project Entrants were given 10 minutes maximum to tell all about their projects and the last opportunity to “sway the judges” opinions. Keely Quinn kept her finger on the bell to ensure that they didn’t run over time with so many entrants for this year’s Awards. Darwin City Council proudly hosted this event, as they have done for the past 3 years by providing food and beverage for those who attended. The enthusiasm and dedication by those who entered the Awards was highlighted during the presentations. Good luck to all the entrants in this year’s Awards and we look forward to sharing a great night with you all on 26th July 2012.
Engineering Excellence Awards Technical Presentation Project Entrants - Darwin
Supporter
The 2nd & 3rd of May saw
the 2012 Science & Engineering
Challenge take place at Charles
Darwin’s University Casuarina
Campus, with 15 teams from 12
schools from Darwin, Palmerston
and Alice Springs.
The 2 day event was re-named the
Northern Territory Challenge and
incorporated a team from Alice Springs, made up of 2 schools.
This was due to funding constraints that mean that an Alice
Springs event wasn’t feasible. Thankfully interested schools in
Alice Springs, with the help of the Alice Springs organising com-
mittee, banded together to make a team and get them to Darwin.
The days flew by as over 200 students per day took part
in fun, but educational, hands on science & engineering activities.
New activities, such as the I-Fell Tower proved popular with stu-
dents and spectators alike as creations made to stand as a tower
were put to the test with crushing, and entertainingly destructive,
force.
Over the 2 days school teams battled it out to be the
champion of the Northern Territory for 2012. Alice Springs won
day one, with an impressive 1236.74 with Marrara Christian Col-
lege following up with 1126.94. Day two, had The Essington
School win with a score of 1198.89, with Casuarina Senior College
following up with 1125.02. After the 2 days, this placed the Alice
Springs team in first place in the Northern Territory, not bad con-
sidering teams were made up of 2 different schools of students
thrown in to teams together AND the long 2 day bus ride to get
to Darwin!
Of course, none of the Youth Programs could go ahead
without the support of volunteers. Volunteers from the NT Gov-
ernment, Aurecon, the Defence Force, AECom, GHD and CDU
advised, assisted and observed our hundreds of students over the
2 days, and hopefully convinced just a few that engineering and
science are great careers to consider.
A HUGE thank you goes to the Department of Educa-
tion and Training and Charles Darwin University, without their
support, this event could not happen. The support of DET and
CDU allow Engineers Australia to inspire the next generation of
engineers and scientists.
Science & Engineering Challenge - Alice Springs comes up Trumps
Supporter
Protect your vehicle while promo4ng
Engineering. Northern Division has
sun visors for your car for sale
only $20.00 each.
To purchase your visor online visit:
www.engineersaustralia.org.au/
northern-division/resources
Or call 8981 4137
UPCOMING HERITAGE EVENT
Celebrating 140 years of the Overland Telegraph
August 21 & 22, 2012
Plaquing ceremony
Accommodation may be available at Dunmarra Inn
or camping available
Followed by dinner at Dunmarra Inn
Registration opening soon
Alice Springs Team Overall Winner
Day 2 winners Essington School
The following members have joined or re-admitted to Northern Division since April 2012. Welcome and we
hope to see you at future events and look forward to assisting you further with your professional development in
the coming year. All membership enquiries should be forwarded to nt@engineersaustralia.org.au or by phoning
8981 4137. Welcome to all who have returned and those new students and graduates.
Welcome to Northern Division’s New Members
Supporter
Miss Anne Ababa StudIEAust Mr Jopies Alex GradIEAust Mr Felix Matthew Baker StudIEAust Mr Callan Camilleri StudIEAust
Mr Shinoi Chunatu Sunil Kumar Chunatu StudIEAust
Mr Thomas Ellison Cowie StudIEAust Mr Steven Croft StudIEAust Mr Mario De Venansius StudIEAust Mr Barry Densley StudIEAust Mr Joshua Adamo Di Lembo StudIEAust Miss Roa Elicanal StudIEAust Mr Matt Fairless StudIEAust Mr James Lewelyn Ferreras StudIEAust Mr Michael David Francis StudIEAust Mr Abraham Joseph Gamuza StudIEAust Mr Rhett Hicks StudIEAust Miss Theresa Hogan StudIEAust Mr Mohammed Ibrahim StudIEAust Mr Gregorius Indra Putra StudIEAust Mr Robert John Jackson StudIEAust Miss Sara Louise Johnston GradIEAust Mr Naman Joshi StudIEAust Mr Radhesh Krishnan StudIEAust Mr Wenyin Li StudIEAust Mr Lawrence Liang StudIEAust Miss Skye MacFarlane StudIEAust
Mr Ashaar Muhammad Nawaz StudIEAust
Re-Admissions
Mr Robert Michael Nichols StudIEAust Mr Sanjay Niroula StudIEAust Mr Michael Nixon StudIEAust Mr Oma Fitra StudIEAust Mr Taylor Matthew Opie StudIEAust Mr Ashton Pettit StudIEAust Mr Anthony Pizanias StudIEAust Mr Brandon Ashley Quinn StudIEAust Mr Shane Ratcliffe StudIEAust Mr Mohamad Rhein StudIEAust Mr Kirby Edrian Sanchez StudIEAust Mr Karti Singh-Freeman StudIEAust Mr Rowan Dean Smith StudIEAust Mr Drew Lawrence Stokes StudIEAust Mr Mitchell David Tonkin StudIEAust Mr Nguyen Vu Tran StudIEAust Mr Trung Minh Tran StudIEAust Mr Gab Villamer StudIEAust Mr Jayde Nicholas Walding StudIEAust Mr Kris Wilson StudIEAust Mr Ashraf Youssef StudIEAust Mr Clark Zhao StudIEAust Mr Michael Collins MIEAust Mr Manfred Erich Hader MIEAust Mr Ben Langdon MIEAust
Mr Paul Mangohig GradIEAust
New Members New Members cont….
Supporter
Young Engineers Golf Day - Get your team together today!
Supporter
Engineering Week/Science Week - Dates and Events for your Diary
Defence of Darwin Experience
Cocktail Event
When: Thursday, 9th August
Time: from 5:00 - 7.00pm
Where: Defence of Darwin
Experience, East Point Museum
All welcome
This is a free public event and is
available to all who wish to attend
Food and beverage will be served
To register visit: To register visit: To register visit: To register visit:
https://engineersaustralia.wufoo.eu/forms/defencehttps://engineersaustralia.wufoo.eu/forms/defencehttps://engineersaustralia.wufoo.eu/forms/defencehttps://engineersaustralia.wufoo.eu/forms/defence----ofofofof
----darwindarwindarwindarwin----experienceexperienceexperienceexperience----cocktailcocktailcocktailcocktail----event/event/event/event/
Women in Engineering
Luncheon
Where: Cornucopia Fannie Bay
When: Wednesday, 8th August 2012
Time: From 12 noon
Lunch will be at attendees
own expense
Women in Engineering are proud to ad-
vise that INPEX has come on board as a
sponsor for this special interest group
This luncheon will be a networking event
to get ideas for 2012/13
All Women in Engineering members
including CDU students are welcome to
attend this luncheon.
To register visit:
https://engineersaustralia.wufoo.eu/forms/
aew-women-in-engineering-luncheon/
Friend
Eminent Speaker Series - Dr Trevor Bird
Friend
Eminent Speaker Series - Dr Robert Barr
Fellows Luncheon - Kick off to the New Financial Year
The Mayor of City of Darwin,
Katrina Fong Lim attended the first
Fellows luncheon for the financial new
year. She spoke of her vision for the
City of Darwin and development of a
Master Plan for the future, including
transport and street scapes for the city
and its surrounds. Katrina was inter-
esting and informative and spent
about 20 minutes answering questions from the floor.
20 Fellows attended the event with the presentation of a
certificate for our newest Fellow Lakshman Rajaratnam who is
our coastal and water representative on the Division’s manage-
ment Committee.
The event was held in the Waterfront Foyer on the 2nd
Floor of the Darwin Convention Centre which provided a bril-
liant outlook for those who were facing towards the wave pool
and the weather was just perfect.
Friend
Gearing up for Business Exhibition and Display - Darwin Convention Centre
The Gearing up for Business Expo was held recently at
the Darwin Conven'on Centre. Engineers Australia Northern
Division was invited to par'cipate in this event by the Depart-
ment of Business and Employment. This was a perfect oppor-
tunity for the Division to highlight “what we do” and how we fit
into the puzzle. Organisa'ons such as Laing O’Rourke, Inpex,
ICNT, Recruitment organisa'ons (specifically rela'ng to Indige-
nous employment) and promo'onal organisa'ons were in-
volved in this event.
This provided a networking opportunity for the director
and staff with some excellent outcomes from this event. With
over 28 exhibitor booths the event proved extremely busy.
Event Date Loca4on Website/More Informa4on
Na'onal science week @
Nightcliff Middle school
14-Aug-12 Nightcliff Middle School More info: www.scienceweek.net.au
Astronomy exploratorium 15-Aug-12 CSIRO Science Educa'on Centre More info: www.scienceweek.net.au
Science week dance party 17-Aug-12 CSIRO Science Educa'on Centre More info: www.scienceweek.net.au
“Magic marvellous materials”
science spectacular
17-Aug-12 St. Mary's Catholic Primary
School
More info: www.scienceweek.net.au
Henbury school science fair 17-Aug-12 Henbury School Hall More info: www.scienceweek.net.au
Manme Mayh: The Gardens of
Stone Country
4-25 August
2012
Nomad Art Gallery More info:
www.darwinfes'val.org.au/
Engineering Heritage Bus Tour 15-Aug-12 QANTAS Hangar More info:
www.engineersaustralia.org.au/
northern-division/events
Dinosaur Hunt 11-19 Aug-12 Darwin More info: www.scienceweek.net.au
Café Sci 16-Aug-12 Darwin
Friend
Engineering Heritage - 140th anniversary of Overland Telegraph
On 22 August 2012, Engineering Heritage Australia will
be commemorating and celebrating the completion of the Over-
land Telegraph 140 years ago on 22 August 1872. The project is
regarded as the largest national projects of the 19th century and
on a comparable significance to the NBN today.
The spot where the single wire was joined was at Frews
Ironstone Ponds which is about 30km south of Dunmarra.
Engineering Heritage Australia will be installing a new
interpretive sign , re-enacting the
joining charade, making fine speech-
es and visiting the actual Frews Pond
on Hayfield Station. There may even
be some Morse Code communication.
The Lead up to the joining of the
wires
The South Australian Govern-
ment had contracts with the British
and Australian Telegraph Company
who were building the line north of
Port Darwin including the submarine
cable to Java ( immediately west of
Bali). This contract contained savage
penalties of approximately £3000 per
month if completion of the Overland
Telegraph Line was not achieved by 1
January 1872. This was a massive
incentive for the South Australian
Government to complete the work on time.
The detailed events in the last few months leading up to
the joining of the wires at Frew Ponds are difficult to piece to-
gether from the published material. It is clear that work was
proceeding on several fronts with independent parties working
out of communication with other parties for considerable times
and in some cases being supplied from different supply routes
either from the south or from the Roper River.
Taylor says that the very last pole was planted on 9 Au-
gust. All that remained was for Burton to finish wiring north
from Tomkinson Creek ( between Powell Creek and Attack
Creek).
Joining the Line
Construction of the northern section of the line was de-
layed during the 1871/72 Wet Season which was particularly
heavy and Todd inspected the incomplete section between El-
sey to Tennant Creek in July 1872, accompanied by Patterson.
Todd decided to institute a ‘pony express’ or horse relay
in order to maintain telegraph operations across the gap be-
tween the two ends of the line. The first horse relay was over a
distance of 421 km and was carried out by John Lewis and one
of his men on 24 June 1872, arriving at Tennant Creek on 1 July
1872. The horse relay was
progressively reduced in
length as the line was built.
Relief from the non-
completion penalties of the
contract had come when the
submarine cable between
Darwin and Java failed on 23
June 1872: however Todd
pressed on to have the Over-
land Telegraph completed as
soon as possible.
Engineer, Robert Pat-
terson, leading his team at
Frew Ponds on 22 August
1872, joined the wires. He
wrote the following account
of the event in his diary:
“Half the party seized hold of
me and the wire, and the other half of the other end, and
stretched with all might and main to bring the two ends
together. All our force could not do this. I then attached
some binding wire to one end. The moment I brought it
to the other end the current passed through my body
from all the batteries on the line. I had to yell and let go.
Next time I proceeded more cautiously, and used my
handkerchief to seize the wire. In about five minutes I
had the joint made complete, and Adelaide was in com-
munication with Port Darwin. It would have been with
England had not the (overseas) cable broken down”
John Lewis described the scene as follows:
“On 22 August, I went with Patterson and Mitchell to a
point a few miles east of Frew’s Ironstone Ponds, where
the two ends of the wire were to be joined, connecting
Engineering Heritage - 140th anniversary of Overland Telegraph cont…...
Engineering Heritage Bus Tour
When: Wed, 15th August 2012
Where: Qantas Hangar,
MacDonald Street, Parap
Time: From 5:00pm
Followed by BBQ at Qantas Hangar
Over 10 heritage sites visited.
Register at
https://engineersaustralia.wufoo.eu/
forms/engineering-heritage-bus-tour/
Open to all members
and the general public
Adelaide with Port Darwin.
We met Will Harvey who told us the wires would not be
joined until 12 o’clock, so we returned to camp, then made
for the last join and arrived there at about 12 o’clock.
At ten minutes past twelve on 22 August, 1872, the wires
were really joined. Twenty-one shots were fired from our
Colt revolvers, and as bottle of supposed brandy was bro-
ken over the last post (I think it was cold tea).
Among those present were Messrs. Patterson, Rutt, Mitch-
ell, Howley, Ricks, Hands, Bayfield, Hack and myself. It
had long been a desire of mine to see the wire connected
between south and North....”
Todd officially opened the Overland Telegraph Line at Central
Mount Stuart and the message he sent to Adelaide read:
“We have this day, within two years, completed a line of
communication two thousand miles long through the very
centre of Australia, until a few years ago a Terra Incognita
believed to be a desert”
On the morning after the line was joined the Adelaide
Post Office issued its usual daily weather report and for the first
time it included a report from Port Darwin where the weather
was stated to be “fine, cool and clear”. That information had been
conveyed from Darwin to Adelaide by the Overland Telegraph.
The Adelaide Advertiser newspaper explained the significance of
this weather report and said “...how many of our readers grasp
the fact that our communication with Port Darwin is practically
instantaneous?”
The cable ship Investigator located the fault in the under-
sea cable and spliced in a new section which came into service on
20 October 1872
The link between London and Adelaide was available for
commercial traffic on Monday 21 October 1872; however, the
congratulatory telegrams between the Mayors of London and
Adelaide were not sent until Tuesday 22 October 1872. The latter
date is considered to be the official opening date by the Institu-
tion of Engineers, Australia.
Ar�cle supplied by Trevor Horman
Engineering Heritage Commi�ee
Volunteers Required
Sunchase Solar Car and Boat Challenge
Would you like to assist our
Engineers of the future?
If you some spare time available please contact Keely
Date: Friday 10th August 2012
Time: Volunteers required: 8:00am - 2:30pm
Email: kquinn@engineersaustralia.org.au
Tel: (08) 8981 4137
Venus Transit
A transit of Venus is one of the rarest of all astronomical
events. It occurs when the orbit of the planet Venus take it be-
tween the Earth and the Sun.
Our generation is very fortunate to have two such transits
occur in our time. Grandparents, born between 1901 and 1910
never saw a Venus transit in their lifetimes. The last transit was
in December 2004, the next on June 5th/6th, 2012. Transits don't
occur every 8 years. They occur in pairs separated by 8 years
with more than a century gap separating each 8 year pair. The
next pair of Venus transits occur over a century from now on
2117 Dec 11 and 2125 Dec 08. The last pair were in 1874 and 1882
and the pair before that were in 1761 and 1769. Observing and
timing the 1769 transit was the main reason that Captain Cook
and Charles Green were appointed by the Royal Society to travel
to Tahiti in 1769 (see sketch right). After the transit on the return
voyage, Cook searched the South Seas for months looking for the
great southern continental land mass, Terra Australis, that it was
thought was necessary to balance the great continental masses in
the northern hemisphere. There was no such continent but in the
process, he stumbled upon Australia.
On the 6th June in 2012, Engineers Australia staff took the
opportunity to look at this phenomena through a telescope and
3D flass which was kindly supplied by a visiting German Tourist
on the Esplanade of Darwin. With lines 20 deep it was a truly
“Inspirational” event.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Are you interested in
sponsoring
Engineers Australia
Northern Division?
Our sponsorship prospectus
is now available for 2012/13
Want to know more?
Contact Karen on 8981 4137
Or email
krelph@engineersaustralia.
org.au
Date
Ac'vity
Venue and Registra'on
26 July Engineering Excellence Awards Fannie Bay Racecourse “Schweppes” marquee
Registration: www.engineersaustralia/northern-division/events
4 August Cricket Match against Young Planners and BBQ East Point
7-10 August Back to School Program Young Engineers Various
7—10 August
8 August
9 August
Engineering Week
Women in Engineering Luncheon
Defence of Darwin Experience Cocktail Function
Register at www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern-division/events
10 August Sunchase Solar Car and Boat Challenge Royal Darwin Showgrounds
From 8.00am
15 August Heritage Bus Tour - Science Week Qantas Hangar Parap
Registration
Www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern-division/events
15 August - 20 August Science Week Various
16 August Eminent Speaker, Dr Trevor Bird
From Wireless to Astronomy - Lessons from Engineering Career
Engineers Australia
14 Shepherd Street, Darwin
Registration www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern-division/events
19—25 August SMART Regional Katherine Region
28 August Marita Chang, Young Australian of the Year Darwin (details to be provided)
31 August YEA National Meeting/Dinner Tim’s Surf & Turf
31 August Marita Cheng, Young Australian of the Year Alice Springs (details to be provided)
1 September YEA National Meeting Engineers Australia
14 September YEA Golf Day RAAF Base
14 September Sunchase Solar Car and Boat Challenge Alice Springs
16 September Eminent Speaker, Dr Robert Barr
Green Electricity Schemes Costs and Benefits
Engineers Australia
14 Shepherd Street, Darwin
Registration www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern-division/events
29 September YEA Heritage Bridge Painting and camping Litchfield
October YEA Networking Event TBA
October YEA CPEng Event TBA
21-22 August Frew Ponds Heritage Event— Celebrating 140 years of Overland Telegraph
Find details inside