Jim Thornton-Smith
THORNTON-SMITH, George James (Jim), BE BSurv MCE AMIEAust MISV AMPIA (1899-1974)
Jim was born in Sydney on November 5, 1899. He was the first of three sons born to draughtsman George Thornton-Smith and his wife Harriet Mary née McLellan. The Thornton-Smiths moved to Western Australia in the early 1900s; firstly to the Eastern Goldfields and then to Perth. In his later years George (senior) was a draughtsman in the Chief Engineer’s Office of the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR).
Jim went to school at Christian Brothers College in St George’s Terrace Perth and afterwards attended the University of Western Australia. In 1921, Jim graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree.
Jim joined the (WAGR) on August 8, 1922 as a Field Assistant but within a year was appointed as an Assistant Engineer. From July 1923 to January 1931, Jim was working on rail construction at locations across Western Australia, including Wiluna, Meekatharra and Kulja. During 1931-1933, he worked as a technical assistant with the Underground Railway in London. From March 1934 to his resignation on April 11, 1940, he continued his work on rail construction and surveys at locations such as Pindar, Widgiemooltha and Bodallin.
In 1923, he was registered as a licensed surveyor in Western Australia. In 1931, Jim graduated with a Bachelor of Surveying degree also from the University of Western Australia. This was the first grant of a surveying degree from a university in Australia.
On April 19, 1924, Jim married Charlotte Rosabelle (Rose) Henville at Christ Church, Claremont. They had three children: Thelma Frances (born 1927) Georgina Rosalie Mary (born 1925) and Colin Bernard (born 1929). Jim’s first wife Rose died near Claremont, in August 1930, at age 32 years.
On January 25, 1934, Jim married secondly Nora Maher, in Paddington, London. Nora pre-deceased her husband and passed away at Balwyn, Melbourne, in 1971 at age 74 years.
In 1940, Jim was appointed as a senior lecturer in surveying at The University of Melbourne. He was a member of the Surveyors Board of Victoria from 1944 to 1949 and was registered as a licensed surveyor by that Board on 5 May 1945. Jim was President of the Victorian Institute of Surveyors in 1945. In 1949, Jim was appointed Associate Professor of Surveying at The University of Melbourne and head of the newly formed Department of Surveying. He held that post until he retired on 31 January 1965.
On 21 December 1945, Jim was awarded a Master of Civil Engineering degree (special senior staff admission) by The University of Melbourne.
Following Jim’s retirement, The University of Melbourne introduced the Thornton-Smith Medal that is now awarded annually to a graduate of the geomatics discipline who has made an outstanding contribution to the engineering profession in the field of geomatics.
Jim died at Balwyn, Melbourne, on 15 September 1974 at age 74 years. He was survived by Georgina and Colin, two of the children of his first marriage.
Jim became an Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, in 1930. He also became an Associate Member of the Planning Institute of Australia in 1948.
Professor Jim Thornton-Smith was recognised world-wide in the fields of surveying mathematics, geodesy and astronomy. He was the foundation head of the Department of Surveying at Melbourne University and was instrumental in the formulation and introduction of the Bachelor of Surveying degree course there.
References:
West Australian, 16.5.1924, p. 7.
Sun News Pictorial, 15.3.1940, p. 20.
Argus, 17.2.1948, p. 5.
West Australian Government Railway records 1879-1946.
xnatmap.org, accessed January 20, 2025
Fitzhardinge, Chris, University of Western Australia: Degree in Surveying in the Faculty of Engineering, 2025.
Compiled by Chris Fitzhardinge, January 21, 2025.
