Ronald Fitch
FITCH, Ronald John BE ME PhD FIEAust FCILT(Life) CPEng(ret) OBE (1910-2015)
Ron was born in Surrey Hills, Victoria on June 8, 1910 the son of signalman Henry John Lessingham Fitch and his wife Sarah Ann Fitch nee McArthur. He was the ninth child in a family of ten. Ron was educated at the Subiaco Primary School and Perth Boys School. He won a Coombe Scholarship which enabled him to complete his final two years of secondary education at Hale School, matriculating in 1926. Unsure of his career, Ron was almost convinced to join his brother and become a pharmacist. Fortunately he chose engineering.
In 1927, Ron obtained a cadetship with the West Australian Government Railways and enrolled in engineering at the University of Western Australia. In 1931, he was President of the University Engineers Club. He graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in April 1932. He was a talented footballer playing in the WA Football League for Subiaco but frequent moves around Western Australia curtailed his league career.
Ron was initially based at Kalgoorlie, as Assistant Engineer, from the end of 1931 to mid 1932 but then moved around Western Australia on railway projects. One of the postings was to Wurarga (near Yalgoo) in mid 1932 to enlarge the Wurarga Railway Dam to 2 million gallons, a project that was completed in April 1933. Another of his projects was at Williams, where Resident Engineer on the Williams Railway Dam, an unemployment project that commenced in June 1934 and was completed in March 1935, employing 40 men. Ron also managed unemployment relief works at Hillman, near West Arthur, in conjunction with the work at Williams. The Hillman project involved constructing a new 5 million gallon railway dam with 70 men based on a catchment from Julikin Rock. In 1935 Ron worked on concrete lining a leaking railway dam at Meekatharra, followed a rail deviation at Allanson near Collie, and then construction of the Cue Big Bell railway.
In an oral history, Ron commented that in his 23 years with the WAGR he used the same government issue theodolite for setting out the works – a Cook, Troughton and Simms theodolite dated 1897.
On December 26, 1936 Ron married Doreen Agnes Ypres Cowden at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Perth. Ron had met Doreen in Williams; she was the daughter of Williams telephone line foreman John Alexander Cowden and his wife Jean. Doreen and Ron had three children, Russell, Rosalind and Phillip.
In 1940 Ron was working in Narrogin and was then transferred to Kalgoorlie where he was "manpowered". His work on maintaining the railways was considered essential to the war effort so he was unable to enlist.
In June 1944, Ron started work on the Western Australian response to the Clapp Inquiry into the Standardisation of Australian Railways. Ron was appointed Engineer in Charge of the Design for Standard Gauge for WAGR and also Chief Draftsman, a position equivalent to a District Engineer. In 1947 he was encouraged by Professor Blakey to lecture University of Western Australia engineering students in railway civil engineering and to undertake a master’s thesis. Ron submitted his thesis in late 1948 and was granted a Masters in Engineering in 1949.
In May 1949, Ron was appointed Chief Civil Engineer for the Commonwealth Railways based at Port Augusta in South Australia. Rail maintenance was still labour intensive and he had small teams spread along his railways under the control of over 90 gangers, typically every 20 miles. The railway from Quorn through Hawker and Beltana to Leigh Creek was narrow gauge with light rail and, when the Leigh Creek Coalfield was planned for expansion, a royal commission was established to confirm the route of the standard gauge replacement line. Ron was one of three commissioners appointed in 1951 under Justice Wolff to agree an alignment from Port Augusta to Leigh Creek.
In 1954 Ron resigned from the Commonwealth Railways to join the South Australian Railways as Assistant to the Commissioner. His work included investigations for port expansions at Port Lincoln and Port Pirie as well as dealing with the 1956 flood of the Murray River. In 1959 he was promoted to Deputy Commissioner and in 1966 became Commissioner. During this time he was heavily involved in dieselisation of locomotives and mechanisation of plant. He also completed the standard gauge rail link between Port Pirie and Broken Hill.
Ron retired from the South Australian Railways in 1973.
Ron was a Student Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia in 1932, an Associate Member in 1936 and a full Member in 1950 then becoming a Fellow. He was inducted into the Engineers Australia South Australian Engineering Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2012 his 80 year membership of Engineers Australia, the longest of a any member, was recognised.
Ron died on July 20, 2015 aged 105 at Oaklands Park, Adelaide. He was survived by his three children, seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. His wife had predeceased him in 1997.
In his obituary published by Engineers Australia, the SA Division President, Dr Chris Birzer, recollected
“Ron retired to travel and to become “Station Master” at the non existent Kingscote railway station. He and Doreen spent happy years on Kangaroo Island where Ron become a member of the Kingscote District Council before returning to Adelaide in 1977.
Not intending to stop intellectual activity, he wrote 2 books between 1986 and 1993. As Doreen’s health began to fail, he dedicated himself to caring for her, and, with her active encouragement, began work on his PhD thesis from home. The University of New South Wales, under Professor John Black, accepted his candidature and with Dr Derek Scrafton acting as a local supervisor, he was awarded his PhD in 2002 for his thesis entitled: “A Critical Study of the Operational and Financial Performance of the South Australian Railways 1900 to 1970.”
His award, at the age of 92, was recorded by Guinness World Records Ltd as the “…oldest person to be awarded a doctorate (PhD)...” Completion of this doctorate did not stop Ron. He was the keynote speaker at the University of Western Australia Engineers’ Club, addressed a seminar at the ANU on “Ageing Well: A Time to Reflect”, addressed this chapter of the institution’s Annual Dinner and also spoke at the centenary of the Eyre Peninsula railway in Port Lincoln.
Ron had a distinguished career of more than 80 years. His career ranged from “pick and shovel” engineering to academic research, coupled with a range of administrative and engineering management roles. He covered all aspects of the engineering profession and practiced the belief that lifelong learning, understanding the importance of the role of all members of team, and respect for everyone, is necessary for the achievement of engineering excellence. Ron was a Life Fellow of the Institute of Transport and was a Patron of the SA Retired Railwaymen's Club.[1]
In thanking Engineers Australia for the Hall of Fame nomination, Ron wrote: “That elevation is without a doubt the outstanding event of my professional life; but, in saying so, I must not fail to recognise the contributions made by my mentors, colleagues and workmates. Indeed, I am deeply indebted to them for their leadership, cooperation and loyalty.”
Biography by Chris Fitzhardinge, February 2024.
References:
Daily News, 20.1.1925, p7
Western Mail, 30.7.1931, p7
West Australian, 21.3.1935, p14
Rob Linn, D J Somerville, Oral History Collection, Interview OH 704/3, State Library of South Australia, 5.11.2005
- ↑ Ron arranged for an Honour Board listing the club’s office bearers to be installed prominently on a wall of the main concourse of the Adelaide Railway Station.
