Arthur Hewitt
HEWITT, Arthur Cecil, AMICE, AMIEAust, Dip Mun Civ Eng, Dip Surv Inst (1880-1968)
Arthur was born in Durham, Spennymoor, England on June 19, 1880, the son of teacher Levi Hewitt and his wife Elizabeth Hewitt (nee Baines).
He trained in civil engineering and surveying at His Majesty’s War Department in Scotland. He completed a Diploma of Municipal Civil Engineering and a Diploma from the Surveyors Institution (London).
Arthur then worked on road, concrete, hydraulic and sewage works at Borden, Hampshire. He moved to work with the civil and consulting engineers Willcox and Raikes in Birmingham.
On October 12, 1910 he married English teacher Augusta Elizabeth Tripp at St John the Evangelist Church, Stoke Next Guildford, Surrey. They had two children, Godfrey Cecil (born Subiaco 1914) and Eric Naylor (born Perth 1919).
He was recruited by special agreement from the United Kingdom to work in the Way and Works Branch of the WA Government Railways (WAGR). He arrived in Western Australia on the GMS (German Mail Steamer) Zieten on October 9, 1911, with his wife, and started work with the WAGR the following day, as a quantity surveyor. He was promoted to Engineering Assistant in 1915 and to Assistant Engineer in 1929. He remained within the WAGR until his retirement, aged 60, on June 30, 1940.
In 1923 models he prepared illustrating the operation of septic Imhoff, Travis, and activated sludge tanks for the bacterial treatment of sewage were placed in the main entrance hall of the WA Museum.
In 1928 he was appointed Honorary Secretary of the West Australian subcommittee on Plumbing and Sanitary Fittings.
In 1931, Arthur was loaned to the Public Works Department.
Arthur was admitted as an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1914 and as an Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust) in March 1923. He was very active with IEAust. He was the Honorary Secretary of the WA Division IEAust in 1925 and its Chairman in 1927. His technical papers included: Modern Developments in the Bacterial Treatment of Sewage, Civil Engineering in Relation to Public Health, Sanitation on the Farm, Sewage Treatment Works for Isolated Buildings, Modern Methods of utilising Professional Engineering Literature and Presentation and Preparation of Technical Papers.
Arthur died on September 21, 1968, at Fremantle, aged 88. He was survived by his wife and two children.
References:
West Australian, 10.10.1911, p6
West Australian, 24.8.1923, p8
West Australian, 17.5.1924, p10
Daily News, 7.4.1927, p5
West Australian, 28.11.1928, p14
WA State Records Office, Railway Records 1879 - 1946
Compiled by Chris Fitzhardinge, January 6, 2025.
