Charles Palmer
PALMER, Charles Stuart Russell MICE (1858-1937)
Charles Palmer was born in Hyderabad, India on June 30, 1858, the first child of William Samuel Palmer with his second wife Charlotte Margaret Palmer née Russell. Charles received his engineering education at the Thomason College of Civil Engineering, Roorkie, India, graduating top of his class in 1878 and being awarded the India prize.
His first engineering post was in October 1878 as an Assistant Engineer at the Public Works Department of India. By 1884 he had risen to be in charge of the Khandwa Sub Division. From 1885 to 1887 he was in England working on behalf of the Indian Government as well as studying Architecture at the Royal Academy and Hydraulic Engineering under Sir A A Binnie.
Charles married Sarah Jane Christie (Jane) Newton at St Michael’s, Coventry on January 31, 1887. They had four children, of whom Charles, Margaret and Alice survived childhood.
Palmer returned to India in 1887 to work on rail construction. He was promoted to Executive Engineer at Hoshangabad in 1887 and in 1892, was put in charge of the Nagpur Division. He left the Indian Public Works Department in April 1894 after seven years in senior engineering positions.
In October 1894 Charles joined the Public Works Department in Western Australia working in the Railway Construction Branch. By 1897 he was Engineer for Roads and Bridges and Acting Engineer Harbours and Rivers. Between 1898 and 1902 he was at various times Engineer for Goldfields Water Supply, Engineer General Water Supply, Engineer Metropolitan Water Supply, Engineer Roads and Bridges and Engineer for Sewerage and Town Water Supply.
Charles Palmer actively supported biological treatment of sewage, and he eventually convinced the State Government to spend £1,000 investigating its application in Perth.
Charles was appointed Chief Engineer, Public Works Department to succeed C Y O’Connor] on June 11, 1902. At the time of O’Connor’s death only 90 miles of pipe for the Goldfields Water Supply had been laid and none the eight pump stations had been commissioned. Through his appointment of the competent engineer W C Reynoldson, Charles overcame the added complexity of the resignation of to successfully complete the remaining 260 miles of pipeline and fully commission the Goldfields Water Supply in 1903.
During the Royal Commission that followed C Y O’Connor’s death, Charles did little to defend T C Hodgson, but later praised him for his role in designing and commencing the Goldfields Scheme.
In 1903 Charles was part of the interstate commission to establish the Transcontinental Railway Line that included a visit to Eucla to meet up with engineer H De Castilla.
On September 8, 1904, Charles took up the role of Inspecting Engineer in the Office of the WA Agent General in London, and held this position until June 1908. He then worked as a consulting engineer in London.
Charles died on December 27, 1937 at Eastbourne, Sussex, survived by his wife and three of their four children.
Palmer was a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers. In March 1905 he presented a paper on the Coolgardie Water Supply to the Institution of Civil Engineers in London. In January 1911 he presented a paper on Fremantle Harbour Works to the same body. He continued to have contact with the WA Institute of Architects and in 1911 was nominated as a representative of that WA body in an exchange with the Royal Institute of British Architects.
References:
Cumming Papers
West Australian, 31.8.1897, p4
J S H Le Page, "Building a State", Water Authority of Western Australia, Leederville, 1986
A G Evans, "C Y O’Connor His Life and Legacy", University of Western Australia Press, Crawley, 2001
Richard G Hartley, "River of Steel", Access Press, Bassendean, 2007
West Australian, 12.6.1902, p5
