Lief Ott Nilsen
NILSEN, Leif Ott, MScEng DIF FIEAust (1918–1991)
Leif Ott Nilsen was born on 16 December 1918 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was educated at Efterslaegtsselskabets School in Copenhagen and at the Technical University of Denmark, where he was awarded the degree Master of Science in Civil and Structural Engineering with first class honours in the autumn of 1942.
In 1946 he applied for work with Christiani & Nielsen A/S in Denmark, with a view to working overseas. His application was successful and later that year he sailed to Durban, South Africa with his wife Ida Reimer Nilsen.
From 1948 to 1950 he worked for Christiani & Nielsen in Lorenco Marques (Maputo), Mozambique. Projects completed during this period included the Matola River Bridge and an extension to the piled wharf and warehouse foundations. In 1950 he was transferred back to South Africa to work on projects in Durban and Cape Town. From 1953 to 1955 he supervised the construction of the Ellis Brown viaduct (Umgeni River Bridge), a long prestressed concrete bridge in Durban. This bridge was the first large prestressed concrete bridge built in South Africa. In 1956 Leif Ott Nilsen was appointed Branch Manager, responsible for the activities of Christiani & Nielsen in Cape Town.
In 1957 Christiani & Nielsen, in a joint Venture with WA firm J O Clough & Son, won an international tender to construct the Narrows Bridge in Perth Western Australia. In May 1957 Leif Ott Nilsen was appointed Agent for the construction of the Narrows Bridge. His family moved to Western Australia; his wife and his eight year old son Birger arrived, from Cape Town, in Fremantle on board the //“Dominion Monarch”// on June 22, 1957. When the Narrows Bridge was completed in 1959, Christiani & Nielsen decided to establish a branch of the company in Perth.
Some of the larger projects undertaken by Christiani & Nielsen from 1959 to 1970 in Western Australia included the construction of the Ord River Diversion Dam, which was another joint venture with J O Clough & Son. Other projects included the construction of Jetty No 2 for Australian Iron and Steel Pty Ltd; a cooling water intake structure for State Electricity Commission, also at Kwinana; and ten concrete bridges of various lengths on Western Australia’s Standard Gauge Railway project.
In 1970 Leif Ott Nilsen, together with his wife Ida, returned to Denmark. During the period from 1970 to 1980, he completed many complex administrative tasks for Christiani & Nielsen A/S in Denmark and abroad, most notably, projects in Norway, and in Libya, where the President Muammar Gadaffi had nationalised the company’s assets during the construction of a wharf for BP in Benghazi.
In July 1980 Nilsen was appointed manager for the supervision of the construction of the Faroe Bridges in Denmark by Christiani & Nielsen A/S, on behalf of the Road Directorate, Danish Ministry of Transport.
On 15 May 1985, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark awarded the Order of the Dannebrog, Knight, to Leif Ott Nilsen for meritorious service. The Faroe bridges were officially opened by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on 4 July 1985. Leif Ott Nilsen retired later that year, on 1 September 1985, and passed away in 1991, aged 72. He was survived by his wife and son Birger Ott Nilsen, who studied engineering at the University of Western Australia from 1967 to 1970.
References:
https:www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/content files/2016 12/ord_river_diversion_dam_ehr_nomination_rev_2.pdf accessed 4.11.20
http:www.kununurra.org.au/research/1960-1963 ord stage 1 accessed 4.11.20
