Graham Lionel Glick
GLICK, Graham Lionel, BE(Hons) FIEAust AMACI AM Inst Arb (1930-2023)
Graham was born in Perth on October 13, 1930. He was the son of optician, Victor Mark Glick and Fanny Esther (nee Schenberg) and grew up in Mt Lawley where he attended Primary school at North Perth State School followed by Secondary school at Perth Modern School.
Having scored a Distinction in every subject at school he was awarded a University Exhibition entry to the University of Western Australia and graduated in 1952 with 1st Class honours in Civil Engineering after once again scoring a Distinction in every subject in the five year long course.
In 1953 he worked for Kellogg International Corporation on the construction of the BP Oil Refinery at Kwinana WA. Then in 1954 he was awarded a Confederation of British Industries Scholarship to work and study in London. There for two years he worked for George Wimpey and Co. and WS Atkins and Partners in the areas of Concrete Technology and Soil Mechanics.
In May 1957 he returned to Perth and took up a position as a Senior Lecturer at UWA teaching Drawing and Design and Structures. Extra-curricular lectures were also given to final year students in prestressed concrete and explosives. He also conducted research into folded plate design, where one of his assisting students doing an honours thesis was a future Governor of WA, Dr. Ken Michael.
In 1961, Graham resigned from the permanent staff of UWA in order to enter private practice and formed a Partnership with Leon Halpern to establish the firm of Halpern Glick Consulting Engineers. The firm which was initially established by Halpern in 1946 subsequently grew to become Halpern Glick and Lewis (1966) then Halpern Glick Pty Ltd.(1972) and then Halpern Glick Maunsell Pty Ltd. (1989) until finally being absorbed by the international firm AECOM following their merger with Maunsell (2000).
Graham’s exceptional academic record and practical skills bringing expertise to the firm in the fields of soils engineering and concrete technology led to his collaboration with Baden Clegg at UWA in the development of the Perth Sand Penetrometer and the establishment of Soils Engineering Services which was the first private soils testing laboratory in WA and the NT. This provided technical support to the firm in their civil and structural work, and for the next thirty years until the retirement of first Halpern and then Glick the consultancy carried out the structural and civil deigns for many of Perth’s prominent buildings and diversified into civil and mineral resource projects as well as expanding with offices in Darwin, Sydney, Singapore, Geraldton and Bunbury.
Peter Blockley had joined the firm in 1967 and was the initial manager of the Darwin and Sydney offices and was then appointed Director of Civil Engineering in Perth in 1976, becoming Managing Director upon Graham’s retirement. Together with Ken Baker, who joined the firm in 1960, the early notable projects included the Emu Brewery expansion, London House (developed twice), City Arcade, Main Roads and State Energy Commission office buildings, Geraldton Anglican Cathedral, Kwinana and Muja Power Station structures, Two Rocks Marina and Atlantis Marine Life Park.
Expansion into the mineral resources area saw Graham involved, with Ken Baker in the structures for the Hammersley Iron Pellet Plant at Dampier and later the Fine Ore Concentration Plant for the Mt Newman Mining Company.
With John Lewis joining the firm (1964 – 1972) and then Michael Woolfenden in 1968 the firm rapidly expanded to handle a broad range of Civil and Mechanical work. Civil projects included Dampier and Lake Lefroy Causeways, services to the new townships of Tom Price and Kambalda, and Leslie Salt, Dampier and Onslow Solar Salt projects and services to a wide range of urban development projects including Wanneroo, Gnangara, Two Rocks, Thornlie. Stirling and Burns Beach.
Other civil projects included the Arthur River Dam on Dunham River Station and dams in the south west of WA, Camballin Irrigation Area and Busselton and Yanchep water supplies. In 1973 Graham was requested by the WA Turf Club to do a study tour of racetracks in the USA which led to the redevelopment of Belmont and Ascot racetracks to a better and safer standard.
In 1975 he was engaged in the restoration and improvement of housing standards in Darwin following the devastation of the 1974 Xmas cyclone. A further significant project was the geotechnical investigation for the future HMAS Stirling base on Garden Island and the approach causeway and bridge.
Graham’s interest in marine work developed with the increasing demand for recreational facilities where he was involved, together with Woolfenden in the Two Rocks and Fremantle Sailing Club marina projects where he designed the shotcrete structure for King Neptune and a tall gravity retaining walls utilising local limestone rocks.
He also pioneered the use of single pile jetty structures and applied his knowledge of concrete technology to the use of precast and prestressed concrete deck units for jetties and for the Atlantis Marine Life Park dolphin sea water pools.
Further Industrial Projects included the Cliffs Iron Ore project studies and development, Kambalda Nickel Ore Process Plant, Three Springs Talc, the WACAP Wood-chip project, Northern Territory Cement bulk storage and handling facilities in Darwin and Gove and numerous Gold and Nickel ore handling and process projects for Western Mining Corporation.
Following his diverse and extremely busy career Graham retired from Halpern Glick in 1988 leaving a successful business in capable hands and with a succession plan in place. He worked for a while as a consultant to the structural engineering practice of Francis and Pritchard and also as an arbitrator, before finally retirement.
Graham became a Student Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia (IEAust) in 1950 and an Associate Member in 1957 and by 1979 was made a Fellow. Graham was also on the WA Committee of IEAust. and was also an Associate Member of the Institute of Arbitrators for a number of years. Graham joined the WA Division of the Panel of Consulting Engineers in 1961 and was Honorary Secretary of the Panel in 1971/72. He was also an Associate Member of the American Concrete Institute.
Graham married pre-primary teacher Ruth (nee Weil) in 1956 and they had two sons Martin and Rodney and a daughter Andrea. Andrea followed in Graham’s footsteps and became a civil engineer as well while Martin studied dentistry.
Graham was the Honorary Secretary for B’Nai B’Rith, Perth and enjoyed participating in hockey, tennis, fishing, cycling and was also a collector of antique clocks. Following his retirement he became a Registered Builder and constructed a Contemporary House and Studio in Leederville for his artist son Rodney, which building is now on the State Heritage Register at inHerit place number 18055. Further information on the Glick Family is contained in the Our Heritage News of April 2017 by the Mt Lawley Society, refer pages 9 and 10.
Graham died on July 8, 2023 aged 92 years and was survived by his wife Ruth and their children Martin, Rodney and Andrea.
References:
GUWA 11(1), 1961, p. 12.
Margaret A Sacks (Editor), The Way 79 Who is Who, Crawley Publishers, 1980.
Transcript of an oral history interview by Peter Sorensen with Graham Glick at his home in Dianella on Friday, the 15th of March, 2002.
Maguire, Andrea, Quiet achiever built a solid reputation, The West Australian: Obituaries, 26 December 2023.
Biography author - Peter Blockley 22 June 2020.
