Albert Humphries
Humphries, Albert (1879-1969)
Engineers and others interested in the history of the City Railway may be aware of Albert Humphries as his paper given to the Institution of Engineers Australia in 1930 concerning the tunnelling methods used on the City Railway is well known.
A facsimile of the paper may be viewed on this website at:
Flat Top and Special Tunnel Construction.
He was born on 23 May 1879 and spent his whole working life with the NSW Railways, having commenced as a junior draftsman at Bathurst in 1899 at the age of 20. All ‘engineers’ in those times were appointed as draftsmen, so it is hard to know if he had tertiary qualifications. In 1914 he was permitted to take on a part time role as a teacher of Mechanical Drawing at Bathurst Technical College.
In June 1919 he came to Sydney as Resident Engineer for the Sydney Wheat Terminal, as it was built by the NSW Railways. At this time an inclusion in the merit list is recorded on his card and he seems to have worked without leave for three years until the elevator’s completion at which point he was allowed to take his entitlements as cash. For images of the work at Glebe Island see:
Logistics of Placement of Concrete
He took up the same role on the City Railway construction when work resumed on that project in February 1922. There were only two Resident Engineers on the City Railway project - Humphries and Keith Aird Fraser - and they both remained in the role for the whole ten year duration of the task. He gained the professional title ‘civil engineer’ in 1929 when he also received a £25 merit increase in his annual pay.
With the City Railway project winding down, Humphries worked at Wagga and Tamworth. His rate of pay decreased markedly, but this may have been related to the stringencies of the Depression. His file has the note:
"Regression in connection with derailment of No 58 Mail",
and, two months later, that he had seen the Commissioner who directed that he be restored to his former grade and rate of pay, as well as being returned to Sydney
"as soon as this can be arranged".
He returned to Wynyard where work was still proceeding on Railway House, the Plaza Hotel and the tunnels towards Circular Quay.
With these works completed, by 1936 Humphries was appointed to Head Office as Inspecting, and later Supervising, Engineer. He retired in February 1946.
In his retirement Humphries set the 1947 examination papers for those wishing to qualify as Sub-Inspectors of Permanent Way, for which he received two guineas[1], as well as one shilling and sixpence for marking each paper. This arrangement was renewed in 1948, with a note that it be continued into the future. The address for the payment of these amounts is recorded as c/- Post Office, Kurrajong Heights, as he had retired to Catsbell at Bilpin.
Albert Humphries died on 24 January 1969 and is buried in the churchyard of St James Church of England at Kurrajong Heights. The grave would not appear to be marked in any way.
Humphries 1930 paper suggests that it is Part 1 of a two part document with information about the construction of Town Hall station to be the focus of Part 2. Regrettably, the second part of the paper seems never to have been published.
Follow this link to Albert Humphries employment records
- ↑ $4.20. A guinea was one pound and one shilling. It was most typically the currency format used for professional services and expensive luxury items.
