1885 - 1914 : The Golden Age/Engineering Rush

Gold Rush Engineering

The period 1885 to 1901 is dominated by both the gold rushes commencing with Halls Creek in 1885 and a massive commitment to infrastructure.

The rail line from Fremantle to Guildford was extended to York by 1885. By 1886 the line had been extended to Beverley. John Arthur Wright, a capable rail engineer, succeeded John Henry Thomas as Engineer in Chief in 1885 and George Temple Poole, an architect and engineer, was appointed as Superintendent of Works. Temple Poole later became Assistant Engineer in Chief under C Y O’Connor.

1887 saw the first telephone service between Perth and Fremantle and in the following year the first power distribution network was established, including electric lighting at Government House. In 1887 civil engineers Saunders and Barratt designed Perth’s first public water supply scheme involving a distribution reservoir in Kings Park with water sourced from Victoria Dam in the Darling Scarp. This scheme was completed in 1891.

In 1889, the Western Australian Land Company completed the Beverley to Albany Rail Line and commenced its operation.

Construction of public works also received a stimulus with Western Australia being granted responsible government on July 25, 1890. The first State Premier was John Forrest who had a passion for improving rail, roads, communication, port and navigation infrastructure.

Charles Yelverton O’Connor was sought out by Sir John Forrest and appointed as Engineer in Chief in 1891. John Forrest was attracted by O’Connor’s broad experience in water supplies, rail, roads and bridges and harbour works in New Zealand. O’Connor undertook the major Fremantle Harbour project as well as rail, port and water supply expansion projects across the State at a time when the population more than tripled from 48,500 in 1890 to 180,000 in 1900. Public Works staff numbers grew from 15 in 1893-94 to 874 in 1896-97.

By 1891 the Fremantle Long Jetty had been extended to 918 feet and could berth 8 vessels. By 1892 work had commenced on constructing O’Connor’s design for an inner harbour at the mouth of the Swan River.

Engineer Edward Keane, the leading rail contractor in Western Australia, became involved in the Midland Land Grant Railway Company through winning the tender to build the first 46 miles of the line in 1886. He eventually completed the line at his own expense in exchange for land and shares.

By 1894 the telegraph network had expanded to connect all major mining centres and by 1896 a rail line was completed to the gold fields at Coolgardie.

The Cape Leeuwin lighthouse, one of the most important in the State, was completed in 1896 giving mail steamers much more confidence in navigating the treacherous southern coastlin.e A new lighthouse was also constructed on Rottnest Island in that year.

1896 also saw the Western Australian Parliament approve O’Connor’s ambitious plan for the Coolgardie Water Supply involving a 325 mile pipeline and pumping 5 million gallons of water a day. Construction of the scheme began in 1898.

In 1896, the State Government purchased the 243 mile private rail line (and associated lands) from Beverley to Albany from the Western Australian Land Company for £1.1 million. The community along the line and in Albany had agitated for the government to purchase the railway to remove land development constraints in both towns and rural areas along the line. There was also community pressure to build branch lines.

On May 4, 1897 the small 2,000 ton steamer Sultan became the first vessel to berth at the inner harbour at Fremantle, cautiously navigating a narrow cut in the rocky bar at the mouth of the river. Another key milestone was the much larger royal mail steamer RMS Ormuz (6,000 ton and 600 passengers), berthing there on August 13, 1900 when works were further advanced and John Forrest had finally secured agreement with the British Postmaster General to substitute calling in at Fremantle rather than at Albany.

In 1898 a Government rail line was completed to the large coalfield at Collie. By mid 1899, 1,353 miles of government railway line were in operation. 1898 also saw the completion of the Perth Observatory opposite the entrance to Kings Park and the first motor car imported into Western Australia.

Table 4. Western Australia Population 1885 to 1900

Year	1885	1890	1895	1900
Population	35,959	48,502	100,515	179,967

A 3,200 foot breakwater at Bunbury Port was completed in 1899, dramatically improving the protection afforded to vessels during storms.. The first electric tram ran in Perth in 1899 with property developers very cognisant of the connection between land development and transport infrastructure.

In 1901, John Forrest requested that O’Connor undertake a study of a transcontinental railway line to link Western Australia with South Australian and the eastern states. Surveyor John Muir provided a detailed report and maps to O’Connor on October 31, 1901..

In 1900/01 Western Australia, with four per cent of the Australian population, had 16.3% of Australia's infrastructure spend. Personally managing this large body of work, combined with the massive pressure on O’Connor from the media and politicians, led to his suicide in March 1902.

From 1902 gold mining and gold production had come to dominate the economy. Rail and port infrastructure had developed to support industries such as timber. Migration was being actively pursued to source the skills needed to support the regional economy. Between 1908 and 1913, over 46,000 British immigrants entered Western Australia, of whom two thirds were financially assisted, with the condition that they work in rural employment.

C Y O’Connor’s Coolgardie Water Supply Scheme was successfully opened in January 1903 with progressive ceremonies at Mundaring, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie.

From 1902 to 1904 Charles Palmer carried out the role of Engineer in Chief. He was succeeded by the longest serving Engineer in Chief, James Thompson, who undertook that role from 1904 to 1925. Expansion of the rail network made Midland the logical location for servicing engines and rolling stock. The rail workshops were therefore relocated from Fremantle to Midland in 1904.

The rapidly growing population put pressure on public health and in 1906 Perth’s first sewerage system was constructed.

1911 saw the first aeroplane flight in Perth and in 1913 the State’s first wireless station was commissioned on a hill in the Perth suburb of Applecross, which became known as Wireless Hill.

From 1902 to 1914 the Government rail network was significantly expanded to service both mining and wheat growing from 1,353 miles to 3,004 miles. In 1903 it was reported that around 577 miles of private railway were operating. The principal private railway was the Midland line at 277 miles. 300 miles of private railway was being operated by timber companies.

The promise of a fast and reliable connection to the eastern states was progressed with the start of the Great Eastern Railway on September 16, 1912. With the outbreak of World War 1 and the resultant shortages of manpower and materials it took until 1917 for the line to be completed.

Gold Rush Economy

The developing economy attracted more consulting engineers, surveyors and architects. Some arrived in the colony on short term contracts with the Public Works Department and remained, such as engineers Henry William Hargrave and Walter Bernard Shaw. Growing local governments and road boards appointed engineers to oversee design, construction and maintenance.

The dramatic growth in the numbers of engineers and related professionals stimulated the formation of the WA Institution of Engineers in 1909. It also aided the formation of the University of Western Australia which enrolled its first engineering students in 1913.

Wool, timber and gold dominated the strong Western Australian economy (see Figure 3) with a population that had grown nine fold since 1885.

Table 5. Western Australia Population 1902 to 1914

Year	1902	1905	1910	1914
Population	211,973	250,138	276,832	322,089

Figure 3. Export Commodities Western Australia 1913

Gold was of massive importance to the growing Western Australian economy creating an ideal environment for both overseas investment and infrastructure development. It also gave the new State confidence in its future and stimulated massive growth in population. Gold averaged 75% of Western Australia’s exports between 1901 and 1911.