Robert Watson (engineer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Watson was an English and Australian civil engineer
. He was also a surveyor
and railway
engineer
.
, Devonshire, England. He was educated first at local schools, and subsequently at the Exeter Diocesan College. Watson married Elizabeth Galsworthy not long after arriving in Victoria, who died several years afterwards in England. He had two sons, only one of whom, Robert, survived him. Robert Watson's brother Mr. G. H. Watson, was also a surveyor, and for a while was residing at Sandhurst in Victoria.
and the North Devon Railway
. Between 1849 and 1861 he spent a year with an architect in London, and a year with a mechanical engineer working on the erection of the Hanwell and the Warwick Lunatic Asylums. In 1852 he joined Messrs. Locke and Errington, working on the Shrewsbury
and Aberystwyth
and the Direct Portsmouth railway lines.
refer to the member being forced to retreat to the family property to be supported through the downturn, or for those from less well established families to find employment overseas.
Watson almost immediately joined George Christian Darbyshire
, Engineer of Construction, then District Surveyor at Williamstown. The surveys were under the control of the Surveyor-General, Captain (Sir Andrew Clarke), and Darbyshire. His first work was to lay out the main road from Melbourne to Ballarat, with instructions to examine the country with a view to possible future railway construction. The levels over this road were the first taken deep into the country. The datum was an assumed low-water mark in Hobson's Bay, and the levels for the whole railway system of the colony were reduced to it.
, Watson superintended the construction of the Geelong–Ballarat railway line, the Sandhurst and Echuca line, the North East railway line and its branches, the Gippsland line and branches, and many of the lines to the Western District. The line from Bacchus Marsh to Ballan, constructed some thirty years after his original survey follows literally the route he marked out, notably in the difficult part immediately after leaving Bacchus Marsh, where there is a steep ascent of 300 feet in a distance of less than a mile. Having satisfactory carried out these works, he was granted twelve months’ leave of absence on account of ill health, and visited Europe, accompanied by his wife, who died in England. He returned to Melbourne and resumed work in the Railway Department.
In 1878, a political crisis let to the Government dismissing the Engineer in Chief Thomas Higinbotham
along with 137 other public services in what became known as "Black Wednesday" - 8 January 1878. Watson took over as Engineer-in-Chief. In 1880 a new Ministry expressed a wish to redress what had been regarded as a great injustice and wrong, by re-instating Higinbotham. Watson was offered the position of Senior Resident Engineer, without any alteration in the salary he had been receiving, and his position was to be only temporary, as changes were contemplated which would make it possible for him to resume the office of Engineer-in-Chief. However, he elected to retire, and Mr. Higinbotham was re-instated. Watson instead took on a challenging expedition for the Queensland Government to explore the country from the East Coast to the Gulf of Carpentaria
, with a view to the construction of a railway. At the sudden death of Higinbotham in 1880, William Elsdon
took over for 2 years before his retirement in 1882, and Watson was then asked to return to his former position as Engineer in Chief, which he held up to the time of his death.
on the 1st of December, 1868. He was elected as the founding president of the Victorian Institute of Engineers
when it commenced in 1883 and was also president 1884.
He was also a member of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria from 1857–1859, and its successor the Royal Society of Victoria, from 1860, whose records identify him as being employed in the Government Railway offices in Geelong between 1857 and 1860, demonstrating his close invovlement in the design and construction of the Geelong–Ballarat railway line.
Robert Watson; C.E. Member 1857 Government Railway Offices PIV Robert Watson; C.E. Member 1858 PIV Robert Watson; C.E. Member 1859 Geelong Government Railway Office PIV Geelong, Vic, Australia Robert Watson; C.E. Member 1860 Geelong Government Railway Office RSV
Watson is credited with the introduction of lighter and therefore cheaper railways than those employed in English practice, through the use of timber bridges with less substantial earthworks. He died on the 7th of April, 1891, at the Melbourne Club, of Bright’s disease and congestion of the lungs.
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
. He was also a surveyor
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
and railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
.
Family life and education
Robert Watson was born on 21 November 1822 at Dartington, near TotnesTotnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, Devonshire, England. He was educated first at local schools, and subsequently at the Exeter Diocesan College. Watson married Elizabeth Galsworthy not long after arriving in Victoria, who died several years afterwards in England. He had two sons, only one of whom, Robert, survived him. Robert Watson's brother Mr. G. H. Watson, was also a surveyor, and for a while was residing at Sandhurst in Victoria.
Training and early career
In the 1830s Watson became articled pupil to Henry Symons, of Plymouth, where he had experience in the construction of the South Devon Railway, and was also engaged under William Froude on the South Devon and Tavistock RailwaySouth Devon and Tavistock Railway
The South Devon and Tavistock Railway was a broad gauge railway linking Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon, England. It opened in 1859, was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, Cornwall, in 1865, and was closed in 1962....
and the North Devon Railway
North Devon Railway
The North Devon Railway was a British railway company which operated a line from Cowley Bridge Junction, near Exeter, to Bideford in Devon, later becoming part of the London and South Western Railway's system...
. Between 1849 and 1861 he spent a year with an architect in London, and a year with a mechanical engineer working on the erection of the Hanwell and the Warwick Lunatic Asylums. In 1852 he joined Messrs. Locke and Errington, working on the Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
and Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
and the Direct Portsmouth railway lines.
Migration to Australia
Watson left England in November 1854, travelling to Melbourne, Victoria. This was a time when the infant colony was commencing large railway construction projects, in comparison with the end of the 'railway mania' in Britain and the decline in railway construction, which saw many of the new profession of civil engineer unemployed. The obituaries of a number of these early members of the profession published by the ICEIce
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
refer to the member being forced to retreat to the family property to be supported through the downturn, or for those from less well established families to find employment overseas.
Watson almost immediately joined George Christian Darbyshire
George Christian Darbyshire
George Christian Darbyshire was an English and Australian civil engineer. He was the second son of George Darbyshire, also a surveyor and railway engineer.-Early life:...
, Engineer of Construction, then District Surveyor at Williamstown. The surveys were under the control of the Surveyor-General, Captain (Sir Andrew Clarke), and Darbyshire. His first work was to lay out the main road from Melbourne to Ballarat, with instructions to examine the country with a view to possible future railway construction. The levels over this road were the first taken deep into the country. The datum was an assumed low-water mark in Hobson's Bay, and the levels for the whole railway system of the colony were reduced to it.
Victorian Railways
In his capacity as Resident Engineer in the Victorian RailwaysVictorian Railways
The Victorian Railways operated railways in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companies failed or defaulted, the Victorian Railways was established to take over their operations...
, Watson superintended the construction of the Geelong–Ballarat railway line, the Sandhurst and Echuca line, the North East railway line and its branches, the Gippsland line and branches, and many of the lines to the Western District. The line from Bacchus Marsh to Ballan, constructed some thirty years after his original survey follows literally the route he marked out, notably in the difficult part immediately after leaving Bacchus Marsh, where there is a steep ascent of 300 feet in a distance of less than a mile. Having satisfactory carried out these works, he was granted twelve months’ leave of absence on account of ill health, and visited Europe, accompanied by his wife, who died in England. He returned to Melbourne and resumed work in the Railway Department.
In 1878, a political crisis let to the Government dismissing the Engineer in Chief Thomas Higinbotham
Thomas Higinbotham
Thomas Higinbotham , engineer and civil servant, was born in Dublin, the third son of Henry Higinbotham, merchant, and his wife Sarah, née Wilson.-Education and training:...
along with 137 other public services in what became known as "Black Wednesday" - 8 January 1878. Watson took over as Engineer-in-Chief. In 1880 a new Ministry expressed a wish to redress what had been regarded as a great injustice and wrong, by re-instating Higinbotham. Watson was offered the position of Senior Resident Engineer, without any alteration in the salary he had been receiving, and his position was to be only temporary, as changes were contemplated which would make it possible for him to resume the office of Engineer-in-Chief. However, he elected to retire, and Mr. Higinbotham was re-instated. Watson instead took on a challenging expedition for the Queensland Government to explore the country from the East Coast to the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
, with a view to the construction of a railway. At the sudden death of Higinbotham in 1880, William Elsdon
William Elsdon
William Elsdon ) was an English and Australian civil engineer. He was also an architect and railway engineer.-Family life and education:...
took over for 2 years before his retirement in 1882, and Watson was then asked to return to his former position as Engineer in Chief, which he held up to the time of his death.
Further career and death
Watson was elected a Member of the Institution of Civil EngineersInstitution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
on the 1st of December, 1868. He was elected as the founding president of the Victorian Institute of Engineers
Victorian Institute of Engineers
The Victorian Institute of Engineers was founded in 1883 in Melbourne, Victoria Australia.In 1885 there were 124 members including 40 civil engineers engaged in hydraulic, gas, electric and roadway engineering, about 10 in mining, six in marine, and about 68 mechanical engineers...
when it commenced in 1883 and was also president 1884.
He was also a member of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria from 1857–1859, and its successor the Royal Society of Victoria, from 1860, whose records identify him as being employed in the Government Railway offices in Geelong between 1857 and 1860, demonstrating his close invovlement in the design and construction of the Geelong–Ballarat railway line.
Robert Watson; C.E. Member 1857 Government Railway Offices PIV Robert Watson; C.E. Member 1858 PIV Robert Watson; C.E. Member 1859 Geelong Government Railway Office PIV Geelong, Vic, Australia Robert Watson; C.E. Member 1860 Geelong Government Railway Office RSV
Watson is credited with the introduction of lighter and therefore cheaper railways than those employed in English practice, through the use of timber bridges with less substantial earthworks. He died on the 7th of April, 1891, at the Melbourne Club, of Bright’s disease and congestion of the lungs.