Kenneth Arthur Bond
Kenneth Arthur Bond
(1919 - )
Kenneth Arthur Bond was born on 22nd September 1919. He attended Fort Street Boys High School and then undertook a correspondence course with the British Institute of Engineering Technology - a course leading to Membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers (London) by examination.
He passed the Institution of Engineers Australia examination Part A in Sydney 1942 and Part B in Labuan Island, Borneo in October 1945. For personal reasons he had decided against doing a degree course in Engineering at the University of Sydney.
He commenced work in 1936 as junior draftsman with R S Morris & - Co. a supplier of fabricated structural steelwork and steel reinforcement with a design office. He then joined Woolacott and Hale Consulting Engineers in 1938 as a draftsman.
From December 1942 to April 1946, he served in the Army as Platoon Officer in 18 Aust Field Company Royal Australian Engineers in New Guinea and Borneo . He re-joined Woolacott & Hale on discharge in preference to a position of Structural Engineer with the Western Australian Government Railways obtained whilst still in Borneo.
In 1950 was invited to become the third partner in the firm of Wollacott Hale & Bond and continued in that role until 1968 when a new consulting practice of Bond James Laron and Reid, was formed - all of the principals and staff being previously part of Woolacott Hale Bond and Corlett. He retired from practice in 1986, the firm continuing to practice as Bond James Norrie Marsden.
Bond had joined Association of Consulting Structural Engineers of NSW in 1951 and was elected President in 1956, and later made Life Member.
He was a foundation member of Association of Consulting Engineers Australia and foundation secretary in 1952. He was elected President in 1957 and again in 1968,1969 and later made Life Member.
He became a member of the Institution of Engineers Australia in 1946 and later a Fellow.
He was also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
HIGHLIGHTS OF ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE
1.Association Activities
He operated a branch office in New Caledonia and, in association with a local builder, Enterprise Mary carried out the design and documentation of several multi-storey buildings, some of which used the Lift Slab method of construction, the drawings being in metric and lettered in French.
He set up an office in Canberra in 1973 which functioned as an independent practice.
He set up a consortium office in Sharjah in the Arabian Gulf with an Architect, Mechanical Engineer and a Quantity Surveyor. This office was largely controlled by David James who was resident there from time to time and carried out work for the Ruler. The largest project was an artificial harbour at Fujairah, another of the United Arab Emirates.
2.Trade Mission.
In 1972, prior to opening the office in Sharjah, he led a small government mission of about eight consultants and contractors to the Middle East to seek opportunities for Australian Consultants and building and civil engineering contractors. It took six weeks and visited Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Muscat and Oman and Lebanon. It was as a result of this mission that the decision was taken to open an office in the United Arab Emirates.
3. Some of the buildings either personally designed by Ken Bond or as the director of the design team.
1.Three storey factory at Auburn for Behr Manning. This was the first building designed in Australia using the Lift Slab method of construction. (1956).
2. N.S.W. Government Printing Office, Harris Street, Pyrmont. The first project through the office with a contract price exceeding 1 million pounds. (1952).
3. University of Sydney - various buildings, Carslaw Building, Chemistry Building, Mungo MacCallum Building. This was a six storey Lift Slab construction. (1960s).
4. Macquarie University - various buildings - the first classroom block, the first administration buildings (E7A, E7B), the library, the theatre, the behavioural science building, sports pavilion. (1960s & 1970s).
5. University of NSW. School of Architecture (1960s),
6. ANZ Bank building, Pitt & Hunter Streets. Steel-framed building spandrel braced. (1960).
7. Sydney Water Board building. 27 storey steel-framed without internal columns spanning 75 feet with precast floor deck panels. (1962) 8. Royal Exchange Assurance building. Steel-framed using Lift Slab construction - at the time the world's tallest building using this system -18 floors lifted. (1960s).
9. Commonwealth State Law Courts, Queens Square - 28 storey rigid steel-framed construction with field welded joints. (1968).
10. University of Technology, Broadway. 33 storey main lecture room block - post-tensioned segmented floor in pre-cast concrete pans and post-tensioned external spandrils, pre-cast in segments. This was the first time concrete had been used (in the columns) with a design strength of 8000 psi.
11. Bruce Sports Centre Complex, ACT. Several buildings including Grandstand to Athletic Stadium with cable-stayed roof. Indoor Sports Stadium with 100 metre span catenary cable supported roof. (1970s).
12. Homebush Bay. Indoor Sports Stadium with cable stayed roof. (1980s).
13. Office building, 7 Hunter Street, Sydney. 22 storey steel-framed with steel deck floor and first use of aluminium cladding in Sydney. (1980s).
14. Power House Museum. Restoration of existing boiler house, switch building and tram sheds together with new main building. (1980s).
To access an oral history interview with Kenneth Arthur} Bond please use this link:'
https://heritage.engineersaustralia.org.au/wiki/Oral_Histories_Sydney
