William Leonard Dartnall
DARTNALL, William Leonard, AMIEAust (1870-1956)
The son of William Whitney Dartnall, and his wife Eliza Dartnall nee Graffen, W L (Len) Dartnall was born on July 28, 1870 in New Zealand.
Travelling to Western Australia with his family, Len Dartnall joined the Public Works Department in 1892, became a draughtsman in 1894 and an Assistant Engineering Surveyor on railway construction under J. Muir in 1896.
A brilliant sportsman, including rugby and tennis, he achieved a respectable 5 for 65 playing for the Metropolitan Cricket Club against Westralia in a match in 1893.
An Engineering Surveyor in the Public Works Department in 1903, he was promoted to Assistant Engineer in 1907. He was a foundation member of the Western Australian Institution of Engineers in 1910, and of the Institution of Engineers Australia in 1919.
He married Winifred Violet Richardson on November 19, 1914.
In 1917 Dartnall was working as the Resident Engineer on the Geraldton Harbour.
In 1925 he was Resident Engineer on the Narembeen to Merredin rail line and in 1926 to 1927 the Resident Engineer on the Norseman to Salmon Gums rail line. He was Principal Assistant (Survey) to J A Ellis in 1927, retiring in 1936.
Len Dartnall passed away in Perth on October 15, 1956.
References:
'Public Works Department … work … June 1894';
V&P WA 1894, 22;
PSL 1910, 1920, 1935;
Inquirer and Commercial News, 31.3.1893, p16;
Daily News, 27.11.1930, p6.
