Sir John Butters
BUTTERS, John Henry, BSc(Eng) ( -1969)
The father of Tasmanian Hydro, who turned Canberra from a construction camp into the seat of Government
John Butters graduated from the University of London in 1904 with a B.Sc (Eng) degree and a first class certificate in electrical engineering from Hartley College. He first joined Thronycroft shipbuilders, then in 1905 moved to Siemens Brothers designing dynamos and motors. He moved to head office in 1908 where he designed and costed power station projects. He was transferred to their Australian branch in 1909 where he advised the Waihi Gold Mining Co. on it hydro-electric station in New Zealand and the Municipal Tramways Trust, Adelaide on electrifying its system.
Developing Tasmanian Hydro-Electricity
In 1910, still employed by Siemens Brothers, he was consulted by the Hydro-Electric Power and Metallurgical Co. Ltd, about their proposals to produce electricity in Tasmania to facilitate the processing of zinc ore. The hydro-electric company started active operations in August 1911. Butters resigned from Siemens Brothers to become its engineer-in-chief and manager on 1 September. He was responsible for the design, layout and construction of a masonry dam at the Great Lake, intake works on the Shannon River, a power-station and transmission line, and an electricity distribution and sub-station complex for Hobart.
In 1914 the company ran into financial difficulties; the hydro-electric undertaking was acquired by the State and became the responsibility of a newly established Hydro-Electric Department, of which Butters was appointed chief engineer and general manager. A man of strong mental and physical qualities, he pushed ahead vigorously with the work so that, despite the rigorous winter conditions at high altitudes, the first two turbines (each of 4,900 horsepower) of the Waddamana power-station were brought into operation in May 1916. Although he set and demanded high standards, he was warmly regarded both by the project's large work-force whom he treated justly and sympathetically, and by the Tasmanian government which delegated considerable responsibility and authority to him.
During the next seven years, in spite of financial stringencies and shortages of labour and materials, the capacity of the installation was raised to 63,000 horsepower and the reticulation system greatly extended. Meanwhile Butters was busy promoting the availability of cheap power and his first major industrial contracts were with Electrolytic Zinc Company and the Australian Commonwealth Carbide Company.
Development of Canberra
Butters successfully applied for the position of full-time chairman of the Federal Capital Commission, a body created under the Seat of Government (Administration) Act, 1924, to expedite the development of Canberra. He was appointed for five years from 3 November 1924. For the first time a single authority had responsibility for the administration, design and construction of Canberra as well as the development of municipal activities and the control of private enterprise. Although electricity and water supply had been established and the Griffin plan had been accepted with some adaptation, progress in developing the national capital had been hampered by the intervention of WWI and inconsistent leadership and government direction. The new commission was charged with the job of completing Parliament House at the earliest possible date—January 1927 was suggested—by which time office and residential accommodation was also to be ready for parliamentary staff.
A flurry of activity occurred during the thirty months before the opening of Parliament House on 9 May 1927. By this time the Commission had completed Parliament House, the Prime Minister's Lodge, 500 cottages, several hotels and schools, office blocks and civic buildings. At its peak the Commission employed 4,000 tradesmen and labourers, whose welfare and conditions were the Commissioner’s personal concern. Butters, described as 'big, bronzed and direct of speech', was the driving force. His achievement was recognized during the visit of the Duke of York for the opening, when he was knighted.
Throughout this period, however, Butters had to bear the brunt of criticism from some Australians who disagreed with the concept of a 'bush capital' and from people whose homes and jobs had been transferred there. When in 1929 the government indicated that the plan to transfer the rest of the public service had been abandoned for some years, he left Canberra to set up as a consulting engineer in Sydney and continued in private practice until 1954. His association with Canberra was commemorated in 2003 with a memorial plaque on Mount Ainslie overlooking the city, an honour he shared with Sir John Overall who led a similar surge in development of the capital in the 1960s.
Community Service
But much of his time was spent in other ways: in 1932 he was vice-president of the board of commissioners of the Government Savings Bank of New South Wales; in 1935-36 he was chairman of the Macquarie Street Replanning Committee and in 1937-38 of the Circular Quay Planning Committee. He was a long-serving President of the Royal Automobile Club of Australia and Chairman of Associated Newspapers. He also was a director of a diverse range of companies including General Motors Holden.
Passionate about advancing the status of engineers, he became councilor in 1920 and president in 1927-28 of the Institution of Engineers, Australia while in Canberra, where he established the Canberra Division of the institution. Through of his efforts, in 1928 the Institution became the first national body to hold its annual conference in Canberra. He was a member of several other professional organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Conclusion
A self-disciplined, reserved and modest man, Butters continued an active and many-sided career until about 1967 when ill health led him to retire progressively from public life. He died at Turramurra on 29 July 1969. He had married Lilian Keele at Waverley on 10 February 1912; she and their three daughters and a son survived him.
