John Blondel Scott
SCOTT, John Blondel, BE FIEAust (1914-2002)
John was born on August 12, 1914, at Bridgetown, the second son of farmer Robert Wooley Scott and his wife Ellen Sophia Scott (nee Henderson). John grew up on the historic property ”Falnash” at Bridgetown.
His secondary schooling was at Bunbury High School where he completed his Junior Certificate in 1930. The Depression necessitated him leaving school early and he worked as an apprentice electrician, engine driver in a power station and as a truck driver whilst studying at Perth Technical College. He completed his Leaving Certificate through Perth Technical College in 1935.
In 1936, he commenced a five-year engineering course at the University of Western Australia.
In 1939, he was nominated as a suitable candidate to work with Bunnings by Professor Frankel. John started work with Bunnings during a University vacation and went to Lyall’s Mill to learn about railway construction and later to the new Nyamup Mill site.
He completed a Degree in Electrical Engineering, graduating in absentia in April 1942. On December 29, 1941, on completing his formal studies he had enlisted in the Australia Army. He served in the Royal Australian Engineers 1st Armoured Workshop Sydney, then with the 1st Armoured Division Mingenew, Gunnedah, Kalgoorlie, Port Pirie and Moora. He undertook Adjutant Training in Sydney and was posted to the South West Pacific, disembarking at Morotai. He also served at Labuan and Borneo. He was promoted to the rank of Captain.
On January 30, 1942, he married Janet Ainslie Rae at St Martin’s Church, Killara, NSW. They had a daughter born in August 1943.
On being demobilised, he contacted Bunnings to see if they had any requirement for an engineer and was promptly recruited. He rose to the position of Chief Engineer with Bunnings and over 40 years in that role was pivotal in improving timber transport and mill technology. He was responsible for the design and construction of new mills, such as Donnelly River Mill that opened in 1951.
In 1951. John travelled to North America to assess the latest saw milling practice, including large scale power generation from mill waste. Features of American and Canadian mills which John felt could be adopted to the benefit of the West Australian saw milling industry included better handling and turning of logs on the carriages in the mills, modem log carriages with mechanical dogging (power operated log holding equipment), more accurate gauges to control the thickness of the sawn timber, and improved handling and sorting facilities.
John was also in charge of the planning of the 14.5 hectare Welshpool site, which opened in 1970 to replace the West Perth site. It was the most advanced timber processing facility in Australia and was designed to have a timber production capacity of 2,500,00 super feet of timber a month.
He is pictured with the Assistant to the Managing Director, Don Stewart and the Vice Chairman of Bunnings Gavin “Tom” Bunning at the old West Perth facility.
John joined the Institution of Engineers as a Student in 1938, a Junior Member in 1945, becoming a Member in 1948 and a Fellow in 1965.
John died on May 26, 2002, aged 87 years. He was survived by his wife Janet who died in 2010.
References:
Jenny Mills, The Timber People, A History of Bunnings Limited, Bunnings Limited, 1986.
West Australian, 6.1.1931, p. 12.
West Australian, 7.1.1936, p. 11.
West Australian, 27.11.1936, p. 22.
West Australian, 11.4.1942, p. 3.
Manjimup and Warren Times 2.5.1951, p. 10.
West Australia, 25.8.1953, p. 4.
Christina Gillgren, Interview with John Scott, State Library WA, 1997.
