Jules Rosenberg
ROSENBERG, Julius Myer (Jules), AWASM FIEAust MM (1894-1979)
Jules Rosenberg was born in Adelaide on March 4, 1894, the son of station master, Mark Rosenberg and his wife Hannah Annie Rosenberg nÉe Conway. His family moved to Northam in 1896 where Mark Rosenberg had been appointed station master at East Northam. They then moved to Kalgoorlie in 1900. Jules's father, Mark, set up as an accountant, employment broker and real estate agent in Kalgoorlie, and was first elected Mayor of Kalgoorlie in 1907.
Jules was educated at North Kalgoorlie School, Christian Brothers College Kalgoorlie, and the WA School of Mines. In 1911, Jules won an entrance scholarship worth £60 to the WA School of Mines and by 1916 he was qualified as an electrician through the School of Mines, and an apprenticeship at the Perseverance Gold Mine, Boulder.
Enlisting in the AIF on January 7, 1916 Jules served in France, and in 1917 he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery. In 1919, he returned to Kalgoorlie to work in the Municipal Power Supply.
In 1920 he married Jessie Wilson. They had three daughters Norma, Josephine and Ruth. Norma married UWA electrical engineering lecturer, John Howard Lefevre Bundell, in 1953.
Jules continued his study at the WA School of Mines and was accepted as a Member of the Institution of Engineers in 1926. He also continued his association with the AIF through the 16th Battalion, being made Lieutenant in 1922 and then, in 1924, Captain. He resigned from the 16th Battalion in 1926.
In 1924, Jules left his role as Municipal Inspector of Electrical Installations in Kalgoorlie to join Atkins as Manager of the Electrical Engineering Department. He subsequently was appointed Atkins Chief Engineer.
During World War 2, Jules enlisted in 2nd Battalion Volunteer Defence Corps as a Bombardier.
When the WA School of Mines celebrated its Jubilee, in 1952, Jules was a keynote speaker on “Power”, and in 1954, Jules was appointed as Associate Director of Atkins as part of a company strategy to preserve corporate knowledge.
Jules died on November 24, 1979, 17 months after the death of his wife Jessie.
Jules became a Member of the Institution of Engineers, Australia in 1926 and a Fellow in 1951. He was WA Division Chairman in 1951.
References;
Cumming Papers
Maureen Massam, A Great Little West Australian, Atkins Carlyle Ltd, 100 Years, Frank Daniels Pty Ltd, 1997
Western Argus, 23.3.1920, p8
West Australian, 29.7.1924, p6
Kalgoorlie Miner, 27.8.1924, p2
Western Argus, 3.2.1925, p6
West Australian, 3.4.1951, p12
Kalgoorlie Miner, 2.6.1952, p12
