Harry Hopkins
HOPKINS Henry James (Harry), BE BSc MA(Oxon) MICE DFC OBE FIPENZ (1912-1986)
Harry was born in Dwellingup, Western Australia on August 11, 1912, the son of bush timber foreman Harold Hopkins and his wife, Emma Eliza Hopkins, nee Watts. Harry had an older sister (Doris Thelma known as Bonnie) and a younger brother (Roy). The family lived at Wuraming, a small timber community between Boddington and Dwellingup. Harry’s father later became a Timber Inspector and they moved to Boyup Brook.
In 1924, Harry was at Perth Boys School when he won a scholarship that enabled him to attend Guildford Grammar School. From 1925 to 1928 he attended Guildford Grammar School passing his Junior Certificate in 1926 and Leaving Certificate in 1928.
He then became a Cadet in the Western Australian Government Railways and commenced a course in engineering at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 1929. In 1931 he was one of the twenty pioneer residents of the newly opened St Georges College. Harry all of his vacations working for the Western Australian Government Railways.
In 1932 he commenced a Bachelor of Science at UWA. He was Vice President of the University Engineers Club between 1932 to 1933. He was also a State Hockey representative in 1933. In April 1934 he was awarded a Bachelor of Engineering and a Bachelor of Science in absentia.
He had been awarded the 1934 Rhodes Scholarship in November 1933 and studied at Brasenose College, Oxford, completing a Bachelor of Arts in 1936 and a Master of Arts in Engineering in 1939. His vacation experience included working on London’s Chelsea bridge under Ralph Freeman, designer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
At St Mary’s church, Oxford, on 21 July 1938, Harry married a fellow Oxford student, Dorothy Louise Trott. A teacher, Dorothy had been born in Bermuda and was studying education in Oxford. After the wedding the couple travelled to Bermuda. They had five children, all born in different countries – Brian (born England), David (born Scotland), Andrew (born Bermuda), Timothy (born Australia), Jill (born New Zealand). Two of the children became engineers.
In 1939, Harry was employed by the Air Ministry’s works department as resident engineer on construction at RAF Carlisle, Cumbria. He also worked with the Southern Railway Company’s bridge department.
Harry enlisted in the RAF during World War II, rising to the rank of Squadron Leader and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his skill, as captain and pilot, in returning a damaged aircraft to England after an attack on Stuttgart. Harry also worked as a flight instructor.
Following the war, Harry was a structural engineer with one of Europe’s dominant man-made fibre manufacturers, Courtauld’s at Coventry.
On January 24, 1948, Harry arrived with his wife and three young sons at Fremantle on the “Orion” to commence at the University of Western Australia as senior lecturer in civil engineering. He continued his research into reinforced concrete that had been commenced at Oxford.
He was successful in being appointed as the Chair in Civil Engineering at Canterbury University, Christchurch and started this role in August 1951. It was a challenging role as there had been little investment in the engineering faculty over 20 years and student numbers had dramatically expanded. Harry was able to get investment to update and expand the faculty facilities and attract talented staff.
Harry had many roles outside of the university. He was a member of the board of inquiry into the 1953 Tangiwai rail disaster, chairman of the Lyttelton road tunnel advisory panel, and a member of the Mineral Resources Council, the Standards Association of New Zealand and the New Zealand Concrete Research Association.
In 1958 he was awarded a Fullbright scholarship and he travelled to North America and Europe. He returned via Australia on the “Oronsay” arriving at Fremantle on December 20, 1959.
He published a book, A Span of Bridges, in 1970.
Harry retired as Professor of Civil Engineering in 1977. In 1978, IPENZ and the University of Canterbury established an annual Hopkins Lecture to foster public interest in engineering. Harry delivered the inaugural lecture – A Land of Bridges, the story of New Zealand.
Harry was an active member of the Institution of Professional Engineers of New Zealand (IPENZ). He was awarded the IPENZ Fulton Gold Medal in 1953 and its special award in 1957. He served two terms on the IPENZ council and was president in 1966–67. His services to engineering and education were honoured with his appointment as an Officer of the order of the British Empire in 1980. Harry was also a Member of the London based Institution of Civil Engineers.
Harry died in Christchurch on January 9, 1986. He was survived by his five children. His wife had died in 1984.
References:
West Australian, 17.11.1933, p. 20.
West Australian, 5.4.1934. p. 15.
Daily News, 16.10.1936, p. 5.
Western Mail, 25.1.1945, p. 22.
Royal Gazette Bermuda, 30.12.1958, p. 4.
John Pollard. 'Hopkins, Henry James', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated October 2021.
Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5h35/hopkins-henry-james (accessed 27 December 2025).
Peter Cooke, An Evolving Order, The Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand 1914-2014, Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, Wellington New Zealand, 2014.
