Charles Cooper
COOPER, Charles, CE (1829-1911)
Charles Cooper was born in Ely, Cambridgeshire, England in 1829 and first worked as a bricklayer. By 1861 he was working as a civil engineer and was recruited by Edward Keane to manage the Midland Railway contract with his first task being to build the Upper Swan rail bridge. He also was in charge of the locomotive and general workshops for Midland Railways. It was a challenging task taking five years before the service to Gingin commenced even though it was only 40 miles of track.
Cooper had arrived at Albany on 17 December 1888, on the “Hawarden Castle”. His second wife Pleasance Cooper, six daughters, two sons and a maid joined him in 1890. He lived in Guildford near his brother-in-law, William Balding.
After completion of the construction contract he was the inaugural Chief Engineer and Superintendent for Midland Railways . He left for England from Albany on the “Austral” with his family on 8 August 1896. His son Arthur Edward Cooper had remained in Western Australia and was a locomotive driver for the Midland Railway Company. Another child, Florence Hannah Pride nee Cooper returned to Western Australia with her electrical engineer husband Richard Arthur Pride.
Charles Cooper was an inventor holding several patents for railway equipment including American and Australian patents for a locomotive spark arrestor.
Cooper was regarded as a tough manager and there were several strikes during work on the Upper Swan rail bridge. He died at Limehouse in England on 11 January 1911. He had 16 children from his two marriages with the first marriage ending in divorce.
