Norman Fernie
FERNIE, Norman ME, FlEAust. (1898-1977)
Born in Perth on June 18, 1898 he was the fourth son of carpenter Alexander Fernie and his wife Mary Sarah Elizabeth Fernie nee Renkin. He was educated at Scotch College and Perth Modern School, Norman Fernie had multiple graduations from the University of Western Australia (BSc awarded 1920, BE awarded in 1923, ME awarded 1936). He had become an Engineer with P V O'Brien in the Water Supply, Irrigation and Drainage Branch of the Public Works Department in 1921.
On 12 July 1921 he married Iris Evelyn Weston at the Presbyterian Church, Subiaco.
Appointed District Engineer, Northam in 1930, he investigated the problems of corrosion on the Goldfields Pipeline and developed methods of reducing their effects. With R J Keating, he wrote 'Continuous welding of exposed mains as applied to the Goldfields Water Supply' JIEA, 7, 1935. In 1937 he obtained the degree of Master of Engineering from his university for a thesis entitled ’Pipeline Welding'.
On leave of absence from the department in 1935-36 and 1938-39, Fernie designed and supervised the construction of sewerage schemes for the municipalities of Northam and Kalgoorlie, the first such undertakings in the State outside Perth. A photo of the opening plaque located on the Northam Pumping Station is shown here. In 1939 he was seconded to the Department of Industrial Development and Employment; two years later he was appointed Director of Industrial Development. He was largely responsible for establishing several strategically important, government owned enterprises—notably the Chandler alunite industry (1943), the Wundowie wood distillation and charcoal ironworks (1948) and the Chamberlain tractor factory (1949), together with a wide range of smaller, privately owned businesses. During his directorship Fernie served on about thirty boards, committees and panels, most of which he chaired.
On 31 July 1950 he resigned from the public service to accept the managing directorship of Griffin Coal Mining Co. Ltd which operated several underground mines at Collie. When major new seams were discovered in 1953, Fernie pressed for the development of open cut mining. In the midst of a prolonged miners' strike against open cut work, the Brand government signed a new three year contract with Griffin on 16 December 1960. Earlier that year the company had formed a joint venture to export low grade iron ore, after processing it into sponge iron using char derived from Collie coal. By this means Fernie hoped to bypass the Commonwealth's 22 year old embargo on the export of iron ore. Although the ban was lifted in December 1960 and an export agreement was signed next March, the project did not proceed because of richer deposits in the Pilbara region. In August 1963 Fernie retired from Griffin 'under medical advice'. His struggles to overcome union and government resistance to open cutting had exacted their toll.
He was a member of the Senate of the University of Western Australia between 1943 and 1946, and the Engineering Commissioner of the State Electricity Commission between 1949 and 1953. He was a director of Chamberlain Industries 1949‐53, Associated Freney Oil Ltd, Geraldton Canneries, WA Woollen Mills, Albany Superphosphate Ltd, Charcoal Iron and Steel Industry, Scott River Iron Ore Project 1963, and of Griffin Coal Mining Company between 1950 and 1963.
In addition to the two papers noted above, he also published • ’Water supplies from rock catchments in the WA Wheat Belt’ JIEA 2, 1930, p198; • 'The Wundowie Charcoal Iron hood Distillation Project’, JIEA 21, 1949, p25 (abst); and • ‘lndustrial History of Western Australia, … opportunities assessed' WA Min & Comm Rev March 1949.
He was Chairman of the Perth Division of the Institution of Engineers Australia in l943 and was also awarded the Institution of Engineers R W Chapman Medal in 1935 for his work on continuously welded pipelines.
He died at Claremont on May 25, 1977 and was survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, Geoffrey Fernie.
References:
PSL 1922, 1930, 1942
WWA 1944 p339; 1955 p274.
Western Australian 27/5/1977, p8
LFWA p139
LPG p421
[[1]] Norman Fernie engineer, 1898-1977 / Richard Hartley 1991, State Library of Western Australia, Call Number B/FER.
