Harold Hunt
HUNT Harold Ernest, BE CPEng FIEAust MACI (1917-2006)
Harold was born in Cottesloe on October 21, 1917, the youngest son of blacksmith Frederick George Hunt and his wife Maud Hunt nee Peterkin. Harold’s father worked at the State Engineering Works and was later transferred Geraldton to work on the harbour. Harold’s education began at the nearby Buckland Hill State School to his home in Palmerston Street. He moved with his father to Geraldton and sat his Junior at Geraldton High School in 1931. He returned to Perth and sat his Leaving at Perth Modern School in 1934.
In 1935, Harold commenced part time study of Engineering at the University of Western Australia. He also was working as a Teaching Monitor for the Education Department. When he was successful in his application for a Public Works Department (PWD) Engineering Cadetship, in May 1935, he resigned his teaching role and went to full time study. A keen sportsman, he played Australian Rules, Rugby and Cricket for University, receiving a half Blue for Football in 1938.
In April 1939, he was awarded a Gledden Scholarship to study “the permeability of concrete from aspects such as consistency, types and combinations of aggregates and to note the relationships between strength and permeability”. This topic was his thesis required to complete his engineering degree. He graduated in March 1940 with a Bachelor of Engineering degree.
In February 1940 he commenced work at the Public Works Department as an Assistant Engineer Third Class.
He worked on supervising the diversion tunnel construction for both Stirling and Samson Dams. The Stirling Dam diversion tunnel was 13 foot in diameter and 1,100 foot long, being excavated in hard rock. He was already becoming a specialist in concrete attending all the pours for both dams.
Harold enlisted in the AIF on December 16, 1942, having previously served in the Ordnance Mechanical Engineers in the Citizen Military Forces in 1941. He was granted leave from the PWD to go on active service. Initially his postings were in Western Australia with the first having the title of Assistant Inspector of Armourers at the Ordnance Depot at Midland Junction. He then moved to a Light Aid Detachment at Melville with the 13th Brigade. He then served with the 44th Brigade at Jurien Bay. Postings followed at Geraldton, Graylands and Nungarin.
On September 9, 1944, in Perth, he married nurse Elizabeth Harrison (Betty) Braimbridge and they had two children, Max (1946) and Greg (1949).
Harold moved to Queensland as the second in charge of the 102nd Brigade Workshops. Sailing from Brisbane on the “Duntroon “, in December 1944, he landed at Bougainville. He then served with AEME and the 2/3rd Artillery in New Guinea operating a Light Aid Detachment unit providing workshop services. He rose to the rank of Captain and to the role of Adjutant Electrical and Mechanical Engineer. He left New Guinea from Wewak, aboard the “Ormiston”, to sail to Brisbane, in November 1945. He recalls climbing cargo nets to board the ship with all his gear and a Samurai sword hampering his progress.
He returned to Australia and was demobbed on November 29, 1945. He rejoined the Public Works Department in January 1946 as an Engineer Second Class and in April 1947 became Resident Engineer on the raising of Mundaring Weir, living on site with his wife and six month old son, Max.
Work to raise the Weir wall by 32 feet to 132 feet commenced in April 1946. The project was one of the first wall raising involving a major concrete dam in Australia. Great care was taken to avoid cracking between the old wall and the new structure. Pumpcrete was also used to place 80,000 cubic yards of concrete testing Harold’s mechanical skills to keep the equipment operating at the target rate of 80 cubic yards a day. Pipe blockages were frequent and needed to be quickly remedied. The work was completed In December 1951 at a cost of £720,000. Harold continued to live at the Weir until 1952. He had been promoted to Engineer Grade 1 in the Hydraulic Engineers Branch of the PWD in 1951. In 1954 he was appointed Senior Construction Engineer in the Hydraulic Engineers Branch, PWD.
Projects that he had oversight of included the raising Wellington Dam (RE Roy Hamilton), construction of Logue Brook Dam (RE Keith Abercromby) and construction of Waroona Dam (RE Kevin Merchant).
His work focus moved north with the construction of the Camballin Irrigation Scheme adjoining the Fitzroy River. He was Construction Engineer on the Ord Diversion Dam. He had a major role in the construction or enhancement of over 15 major dams in Western Australia.
In 1961 he was promoted to Principal Assistant Construction Hydraulic Engineers Branch, PWD and in 1968 became Executive Engineer PWD.
From 1970 to 1972 he was Chief Engineer PWD before becoming Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Water Supply Sewerage and Drainage Board from 1972 to 1980. He was an ex officio member of the Metropolitan Regional Planning Authority (MRPA) and was Chairman of the Western Australia. Land and Housing Consultative Committee, a MRPA committee.
He was a member of the Board of Management Legacy WA and Chairman of Public Service group of the Association of Professional Engineers Australia.
In 1973 he was appointed Chairman of the Steering Committee on Research into the Effects of Bauxite Mining on the Water Resources of the Darling Range. He was Chairman of the Regional Zone Development Committees for Albany and the South-West. He was a member of the Environment Protection Authority Conservation Through Reserves Committee for the System 6 Darling Range. Because of the interconnections between urban planning and water supplies he was also Chairman of the Darling Range Salinities Studies Committee and of the Western Australian Quality of Water Committee.
Following retirement he worked as a consulting engineer and became a Grade 1 Arbitrator. He was also a Member of the American Concrete Institute.
He joined the Institution of Engineers as a Student Member in 1936 and became an Associate Member in 1943. By 1970 he was a full Member and by 1979, a Fellow. He was a member of the WA Division Committee from 1967 to 1975 and was Chairman in 1974.
His publications include:
- The Raising of Mundaring Weir, Western Australia, Journal lEAust Vol.25, 1953 (with D.C. Munro);
- MWSS&D Board - New Directions, lEAust Diamond Jubilee Conference 1979, Paper 403.1 (with L.B. Devin & J.S. Hetherington);
- Perth's Early Water Supplies, WA Division, IEAust, 1984.
Harold died on June 8, 2006 and was survived by his two sons Max and Greg, his wife, Betty, having predeceased him in 1998.
Engineers Australia interviewed Harold for an Oral History in 1999 and it is available here.
References:
Margaret Sacks (editor), The Way 79 Who is Who, Crawley Publishers, Nedlands, 1980.
Building a State, J S H LePage, Water Authority of Western Australia, 1986.
West Australian, 18.4.1939, p. 15.
West Australian, 28.3.1940, p. 10.
Don Young, Nomination Document for Ord River Diversion Dam, Eminent Person Harold E Hunt.
