Augustus Galbraith
GALBRAITH, Augustus William de Rohan, ME AMIEAust MICEI FSE MIMCE MCI LRIBA MRIA(WA) FRSI FRS (1871-1957)
Augustus was born on July 27, 1871, at West Rainton, Durham, England, the eldest son of engineer/architect Augustus William Galbraith and his wife Maria Ellis Galbraith (nee Oram).
Augustus attended Regent Street Polytechnic in London from 1889 to 1892 and was articled to his father Augustus William Galbraith, an architect, surveyor and civil engineer, then living in Southampton, Hampshire from 1892 to 1895.
Augustus commenced independent practice in Southampton in 1895 and was in partnership with his father from 1895 to 1897. He worked as an assistant engineer from 1897 to 1903 and was then District Surveyor for Portsmouth from 1903 to 1909.
In 1909 he moved to Zanzibar, Protectorate of East Africa [now Tanzania] to take up the post of Director of Public Works, a position he held for five years. The works he completed in Zanzibar were new Government offices, a new palace for His Majesty the Sultan, a prison for 400 prisoners, a military hospital, a European hospital, new district courts, police stations, markets, barracks, warehouses, magazines, and shamba dispensaries.
In November 1914, Augustus was appointed as Shire Engineer of Tallaganda Council located in Braidwood NSW. He commenced duty on January 11, 1915.
He then spent three years from February 1915 to 1918 working for the Royal Australian Navy as Superintending Engineer before taking a position as Constructional and Civil Engineer with BHP Steelworks at Newcastle.
In 1899 he married Beatrice Clara Freemantle at Portsea Island, Hampshire, England. They had one son Rohan Galbraith born 1906. He divorced Beatrice on December 5, 1931.
Augustus was appointed as City Engineer Perth, commencing on February 2, 1920 and attracted controversy straight away due to his limited road building experience. He was well respected by professional bodies and university staff. He lectured at the University of Western Australia in town planning and tropical sanitation. The Perth City Council called for his resignation in 1924 but he was able to secure a better paid position as City Engineer and Surveyor at the City of Christchurch before he resigned in 1925.
He was very effective in his roles at the City of Christchurch including sensitive widening of the historic Columbo Street Bridge, reorganising the Works and Sanitary Department on professional lines and undertaking a major overhaul of the city’s infrastructure. A significant project was the planning of the location of a new international airport. In 1935 he recommended the current site of the Christchurch Airport and was involved in its construction. He retired from City of Christchurch Council in 1941.
He married, secondly, Helen McLean Thomson, on December 17, 1931, at Baptist Church Sydenham, Christchurch. They had two children including Arthur William born 1941.
Augustus was a foundation Associate Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia, joining in 1919. He was a Member of the Perth Division Committee and deputised as a national councillor. He was a Member of the WA Town Planning Association and joined its Council in 1920.
He was also a Fellow of the Society of Engineers (London) and a Member of their Council, a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers Ireland, a Fellow of the Royal Sanitary Institute, a Member of the Concrete Institute (London), a Fellow of the Royal Society (Edinburgh), a Licentiate of the of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Member of the Institution of Municipal and Civil Engineers (London). He was a Member of the Royal Institute of Architects (WA) and an elected member of the state committee.
Augustus was a President of the Town Planning Institute of New Zealand and was Chairman of the New Zealand Standards Institute.
Augustus had lived at a historic Christchurch dwelling, Number 1 The Spur, that he had purchased in 1925. He returned to live in Perth, in May 1955, with his wife and son. He returned to New Zealand and was living at Number 1 The Spur when he was admitted to hospital in 1957.
Augustus died on March 11, 1957 at Calvary Hospital, Christchurch, aged 85. His first wife Beatrice and eldest son Rohan had predeceased him. He was survived by his second wife Helen and their two children. His ashes were scattered at Christchurch Airport that he had played a key role in planning and constructing.
References:
The Builder, 26.12.1908, p. 709.
The Braidwood Dispatch and Mining Journal, 28.11.1914, p. 2.
Goulburn Evening Penny Post, 2.3.1915, p. 4.
West Australian, 23.11.1919, p. 6.
Daily News, 28.1.1920, p. 7.
Architecture, Vol 11 No 7, 15.7.1922.
West Australian, 18.8.1939, p. 25.
Daily News, 24.5.1955, p. 10.
Otago Times, 9.4.2022
