John Just
JUST, John Stephens, MIEAust MIEE MAIEE (1880-1962)
JUST, JOHN STEPHENS, electrical and mechanical engineer, was born in Adelaide, South Australia and was educated at St. Bartholomew's Church of England Grammar School, Adelaide University, and the School of Mines and Industries. He gained early experience at Mort's Dock and Engineering Co. in Sydney before joining the Sydney Municipal Council electricity undertaking as an Assistant Engineer in 1904. In 1915 he joined City Electric Light Co. Ltd (CEL), in Brisbane as Chief Assistant Engineer, the Manager and Chief Electrical Engineer being E.J. Cochrane. Just served as Engineer and later as Manager from 1917 to 1928. The CEL power-station in William Street had begun operating in 1911 and the first alternating-current generators were commissioned in 1915. During a period of rapid development of the supply system Just had a major responsibility for the transmission and distribution of three-phase alternating-current supply in south-east Queensland, including a three-phase 33,000volt transmission line from Brisbane to Ipswich which was the first of its kind in Queensland. It is clear that United States' practice was adopted but no facilities for pre-testing typical assemblies were available at this time.
Just took an active part in the formulation of rules for electric wiring and in 1919 was a delegate to the National Conference of the Standing Committee on Uniform Wiring Rules. This Conference made the recommendation that the Rules should be known as the Wiring Rules of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. In the early 1920s the Queensland Government appointed him to the Tramway Valuation Board which was valuing the assets of the Brisbane Tramways Co. Ltd. At the time, the company was supplying over half the energy requirements of the Brisbane area.
By 1924 the William Street power-station had an installed capacity of 23 MW but the site had serious limitations for further development. Just advised against expansion and selected a new site at Doboy Creek for the construction of Bulimba power-station, which allowed ample cooling water and convenient transport of coa1 At the same time Just was associated with the design and construction of a new power-station at Rockhampton and in 1926 he submitted a scheme for the electrical development of south-east Queensland which was accepted almost in its entirety ten years later by the Royal Commission on Electrical Development in the State.
In 1928 Just opened an electrical and mechanical engineering practice in Brisbane and ran it until his death. During this period he was for ten years Chairman and Managing Director of the Roma Electric Light and Power Co. and a consultant to a number of country electricity authorities in Queensland and northern New South Wales as well as to several industrial undertakings. During World War II he was commissioned to investigate the production of electrolytic hydrogen as a substitute fuel(*).
Just was a member of the Queensland Institute of Engineers and was actively concerned with the foundation of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. He was appointed to the Provisional Council and from 1919 to 1937 served on the elected Council. He served on the newly-formed Brisbane Division Committee, being Chairman in 1921-2 and 1928-9. He also represented the Institution of Electrical Engineers in Queensland from 1948 to 1962, having served on the Queensland Overseas Committee from its inception in 1930. In 1934 Just was elected President of the Royal Society of Queensland and his presidential address reviewed the previous fifty years of scientific research and its commercial application, especially in the field of engineering. In 1950 he was made a Life Member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. He was also interested in the registration of engineers and was a member of the Board of Professional Engineers from its inception until 1935. As a member of the Faculty of Engineering in the University of Queensland for thirty-five years, Just took a keen interest in the establishment of a separate Department of Electrical Engineering in 1950 and in its subsequent development.
Just died in September 1962, being survived by his wife and two daughters.
References:
Eminent Queensland Engineers Vol 1 is available here.
Presldentlal Address, Royal Society of Qld, Val, 47 (1936);
Qld Elec,and Radio World, Aug, 1936;
(*) Jour, Inst, Elec, Engrs, Vol 91 (1944), Pt, 1, p. 383,
NOTE: John Just was Engineers Australia Queensland President 1921 QLD Presidents
