Robert Rolland
ROLLAND, Robert Anthony RSIE (1857-1931)
Robert Anthony Rolland was born in Edinburgh on March 22, 1857, the son of solicitor James Rolland and his wife Maria Rebecca Rolland, nee Stothert.
When Rolland travelled to Australia his older brother, the Reverend William Stothert Rolland, was already in Victoria, and so Robert Rolland initially worked at Langland’s Foundry in Melbourne. Another brother, James Henry Rolland, came from London to visit his brothers in Victoria in 1891/92 after their father's death in Edinburgh in 1890. James Henry also visited Robert in 1895, when Robert was in Mildura, and they then travelled together from Mildura to Melbourne to see their elder brother William. William Rolland eventually became the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Australia.
Around 1880, Rolland travelled to New Zealand and was employed by civil engineers, Barr and Oliver of Dunedin. By 1881 he was licensed as a surveyor in New Zealand. Around 1886 he returned to Victoria and spent seven years in the rail construction branch of the Victorian Railways. Around 1893 he moved to Mildura as a fruit grower. He was a member of the Mildura and Wentworth Rail Executive, seeking an extension of the railway to Mildura, and a Director of the Mildura Irrigation Company.
Rolland travelled to Western Australia and was registered as a licensed surveyor in WA on June 19, 1896. In that same month he joined the Public Works Department as an engineering surveyor. By 1898 he was appointed as an assistant engineer, based at Cossack, and was responsible for north west works. In January 1903 he was appointed District Engineer in the Water Supply Branch and in July 1903 he was appointed Resident Engineer.
On April 27, 1905 Rolland married Norma Gertrude Pearse at the Rottnest Island chapel. They had two daughters, Marie Norma Rolland born 1906 and Gertrude Monteith (Monty) Rolland born 1908.
By 1913 Rolland had become the Assistant Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department, a position he held until his retirement in 1919. Later, in December 1920, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner of the Public Service Board, in which role he undertook a review of the salaries and classifications of the professional officers in the State Public Service.
Robert Rolland was an active member of many professional bodies. He was an appointed representative on the Land Surveyors Licensing Board from 1906 to 1924. He was a foundation member of the WA Institution of Engineers as well as serving on its Council for 1918 20 and being Vice President for 1919 20. He was also a member of the WA Town Planning Association.
Rolland died on July 5, 1931 at his residence in West Perth, survived by his wife and two daughters.
References:
J. S. Battye (ed), Cyclopedia of Western Australia, vol 1 (Adel, 1912)
Mildura Cultivator, 23.3.1895, p7
WA Public Service List, 1905
West Australian, 3.4.1919, p4
