Allan Gordon Robertson
ROBERTSON, Allan Gordon (Robbie) OBE OAM, BE(Hons) FIEAust CPEng (1916-2009)
Allan Robertson was born in Perth on April 25, 1916. He was the second son of Buntine police constable, William David Robertson, and his wife Mabel Louise (May) Robertson, née Poole. His elder brother, Edwin David Robertson, died in January 1916, three months before Allan was born. Allan Robertson commenced an engineering degree at the University of Western Australia in 1934 from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering in April 1939.
Initially working for the WA Metropolitan Water Board and lecturing at the Perth Technical College, he joined the Metropolitan Board of Works in Melbourne in 1939. In July 1940 he enlisted in the Australian Army reaching the rank of Major.
On April 29, 1943, he married Shirley Jean Peachey in Melbourne.
On his return from war service in 1946, Robertson became Resident Engineer on the Yarra Silvan Conduit and was Resident Engineer and Deputy Project Engineer for the Upper Yarra Project from 1950 to 1957. These were large scale projects employing as many as 1,000 men. From 1957 to 1960 he was Board Senior Projects Engineer and then Chief Construction Engineer from 1960 to 1967. In 1967 he was appointed Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, a position he held until his retirement in 1976.
Robertson was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in June 1978 for public service. He was also awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 1999 for service to the community. He was a long term member of Engineers Australia, joining as a Student Member in 1935, becoming a full member in 1946 and being recognised as a Fellow in 1959.
Allan Robertson died in Sandringham Hospital, Melbourne, on September 18, 2009.
References:
Tony Dingle and Carolyn Rasmussen, "Vital Connections", Penguin Books, Ringwood, 1991
http://adb.anu.edu.au/essay/20 accessed February 9, 2020
