Eric William Hooper Stoddart
STODDART, Eric William Hooper, BE AMIE(Aust) (1894-1970)
Eric was born at Porepunkah near Bright, Victoria, on December 1, 1894. He was the eldest son of engineer and surveyor James Stoddart and his wife Ellen Ann (Nelly) Stoddart (nee Hooper).
Shortly after his birth, Eric came to Western Australia with his mother and two older sisters to join his father who was working with the Public Works Department.
Eric’s schooling was at Scotch College where he completed his Leaving Certificate in 1911. In 1912, Eric was working at the Union Bank and studying at Perth Technical School.
He was one of the first to enrol in the engineering course at the University of Western Australia in 1913 and one of only seven students to pass their first year exams in 1913.
On October 28, 1913, he joined the West Australian Government Railways as a junior draftsman for vacation employment and then resigned on December 31, 1913.
His study was interrupted by his enlistment in the AIF in 1915 where he soon joined the Sixth Field Company of Australian Engineers, serving in Egypt and then in the Somme in France achieving the rank of Lance Corporal. He was wounded at Bullecourt, returning to the rank of Sapper. He was invalided back to hospital in the United Kingdom and attended engineering training at Brightlingsea before returning to France in January 1918. On July 18, 1918, he was gassed at Villers Bretonneux and again invalided back to the United Kingdom.
He returned to his studies at the University of Western Australia and graduated in October 1920 with a Bachelor of Engineering.
After working for the Public Works Department as a surveyor, Eric was appointed Technical Assistant to the Commissioner for the North West (Geoffrey Drake Brockman), North West and Aborigines Department, on October 1, 1921, being based in Broome, holding this position until December 10, 1924.
Eric was appointed Works Inspector/Director of Works for Darwin in 1925. In April 1928 he left Darwin and then worked at Nauru. Around 1930 he returned to Perth.
In 1934 he was working for the Perth Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Drainage Board as an Assistant Engineer. In April 1936 he resigned this role and then worked with the Commonwealth Department of Works. In June 1937 he was reported as being a Commonwealth engineer in Western Australia and was the engineer responsible for the supervision of the new Royal Australian Air Force station at Bullsbrook and other works.
In June 1937 he returned to the role of Director of Works for the Northern Territory. He travelled via Canberra and arrived in Darwin on the ship “Marella” in July 1937. His appointment resulted in the restructuring of the Department of the Interior in the Northern Territory. Eric had taken over responsibility for road building from the Alice Springs Office in the expectation of a significant expansion of road building activity. One of his early tasks was to secure a modern heavy Caterpillar grader to upgrade the road between Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. An all-weather road was completed in September 1940, between the towns, making a major contribution to the development of the Stuart Highway. It was also a key component of the Defence Department plans to link the railheads of Alice Springs and Birdum.
He arranged for the employment of architect Beni Burnett to design houses and offices in Darwin. A notable design was at Myilly Point. The house was completed in 1938 and occupied by Eric and later joined by Muriel. The house survived the bombing of Darwin with minor damage with bomb fragments being found in the garden. It is now a National Trust Museum.
Darwin was bombed on February 19, 1942 with most civilians having been evacuated. Eric’s wife Muriel was evacuated on a ship to Perth, then returned to her family in the Western District of Victoria. Eric was involved in maintaining power and water supplies after the bombing and then moved to work as an engineer in the Eastern States. He was appointed as an Engineer in the Works and Service Branch in the Australian Capital Territory in September 1942.
In April 1944, knowing his father was dying, he attempted to get a flight to Perth but delays with wartime air transport resulted in him arriving in West Perth about an hour after his father died. He returned to Melbourne and then arranged for his wife and children to move to the family home in West Perth. After their ship left Fremantle, it was bombed with no survivors. Eric continued to work for the Commonwealth Government.
He was promoted on January 2, 1947 to Engineer Grade 3 Department of Works and Housing. Eric retired on November 30, 1959.
Eric married Muriel Curtis (Bloom) Allen on September 18, 1941 at Christ Church in South Yarra Victoria. They had three children Sara (born 1942) Ellen (born 1944) and James (born 1952).
Eric joined the Institution of Engineers Australi as an Associate Member in 1935.
Stoddart Park and Stoddart Drive in Bayview, Darwin are named after Eric.
Eric died on June 13, 1970 aged 75 years. He was survived by his wife and three children.
References:
West Australian, 17.6.1937, p16
West Australian, 26.9.1941, p3
Sunday Times, 2.7.1944, p9
Stoddart Family Papers
WA Public Service Lists 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1934, 1935, 1936
Commonwealth Government Gazettes 10.9.1942 p2251, 3.12.1959 p4308
Chris Fitzhardinge, June 2024
