David Brisbane

BRISBANE, David William, CBE MICE MIStructE MIEAust (1888-1960)

Born in Melbourne but educated at Scotch College in Perth, Brisbane joined the Public Works Department as a cadet in 1908, and became an Assistant Engineer in 1912. He was elected an associate member of the WA Institution of Engineers.

Following an appointment as a Divisional Engineer in the Federated Malay State Railway in 1919, he was a Director of Fogden Brisbane and Company in Singapore in 1923, and a Consulting Engineer in 1935.

After serving with the Royal Australian Navy between 1941-1943, and becoming General Manager and Attorney of the Midland Railway Company in 1943, he gave evidence to the Select Committee on the change to standard gauge of the railway between Kalgoorlie and Fremantle, and retired from the Midland Railway in 1950.

Subsequently a director of Perth Newspapers Ltd, Beam Transport Ltd, and of the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society (Perth), he was a member of the Board of the Commonwealth Bank in 1953-4, and was Chairman of the Board of BP Refinery (Kwinana) Pty, WA Newspapers Ltd, and of the Midland Railway Company until his death.

In 1954, he endowed the D.W. Brisbane Prize at the University of Western Australia for studies in Civil Engineering. He was Chairman of the WA Cancer Appeal in 1958, and was also Chairman of the Institute of Management in WA, and of the Centre for Scientific Education in Schools.

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References:
ESL 1915;
'RSC standardisation of railway gauge Kalgoorlie to Fremantle‘ V&P WA 1946, A1;
LPWA p144;
WWA 1950 p113; 1955 p119;
Western Australian 7/10/1962, p8e;
DWAE 5, p100;
[[1]Biography - David William Brisbane - Australian Dictionary of Biography].