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

Educated in Dublin at Castle Dawson School and the Royal Dublin Society House, Higinbotham moved to London about 1839 initially working for a firm that promoted railway companies, and often appeared before parliamentary committees on railways, then as an engineer on British railroads, where he gained high repute in his profession. In about 1838-9 he moved to London and entered the office of Sir William Cubitt

William Cubitt

Sir William Cubitt was an eminent English civil engineer and millwright. Born in Norfolk, England, he was employed in many of the great engineering undertakings of his time. He invented a type of windmill sail and the prison treadwheel, and was employed as chief engineer, at Ransomes of Ipswich,...

, who was mentor to several Victorian railway engineers. Subsequently he was appointed as assistant-engineer of the South Eastern Railway

South Eastern Railway

South Eastern Railway may refer to:* South Eastern Railway Zone * South Eastern Railway * Southeastern Railway * Southeastern Railway * South Eastern Railway -See also:* South Eastern and Chatham Railway...

, between Dover and Canterbury. Afterwards Sir Wm. Cubitt, who was advising engineer to the Great Northern Railway Company, had him appointed as resident engineer of that railway He was elected a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers on 7 February 1854.

Migration to Australia

He moved to Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Australia in 1857, and in 1860 became engineer-in-chief of the Victorian Railways

Victorian 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...

 replacing the first engineer 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:...

. He supervised the surveying and construction of all new Victorian lines and championed various rail improvements including city station locations, construction of Melbourne's outer-circle railway and adaptations to permit unbroken rail traffic between Sydney and Melbourne. He was removed from office in January 1878 by the Berry government and replaced by Robert Watson

Robert Watson (engineer)

Robert Watson was an English and Australian civil engineer. He was also a surveyor and railway engineer.-Family life and education:...

 but invited by the South Australian, Tasmanian and New Zealand governments to report on their railway systems.

Final year

In March 1880 the Service government reappointed him engineer-in-chief of the Victorian railways, but the ministry soon fell and he was unhappy under its successor. He had decided to resign but died in his sleep on 5 September, to be replaced as Engineer-in-Chief by 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:...

.

His long standing and status in the department was rewarded on his retirement by a sumptuous banquet and presentation.