James Bryan Wilson
James Bryan Wilson
(1922- )
James Bryan Wilson, known as Bryan, was born at Croydon Park on 26 November 1922. His father was a law clerk and worked in the insurance industry, though Bryan felt that his mother was more influential in his life, In 1927 his family moved to Strathfield and he started school at South Strathfield Public School where he remained until 1934, being dux of the school that year. His education was then continued at Fort Street Boys High School until 1940 when he gained his Leaving Certificate.
He started work at the National Standards Laboratory of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research as a laboratory assistant in the physics section in January 1941.
In October 1942 he joined the Australian Army and served until October 1946 in 6th Australian Regiment. He suffered illness during his military service and was not posted overseas. Upon demobilisation he returned to the National Standards Laboratory until the new year when he resigned and commenced engineering studies at Sydney University under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme. Between the third and fourth years of the course he spent approximately six months in Tasmania working with the Tasmanian Hydro-Electricity Commission, mainly gaining experience on the Commission’s Clark Dam which was under construction I Central Tasmania.
After graduating in 1951 as Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering Bryan commenced work with Gutteridge, Haskins and Davey, Consulting Engineers as a design engineer. he designed various component of water supply and sewerage schemes including an inverted syphon at Grafton.
After six months he left GH&D and commenced work at the Sydney City Council designing various road improvement schemes, including Pyrmont Bridge Road. In early 1953 he commenced work as Assistant Engineer at Hastings Shire Council at Wauchope on survey and design of roadworks. In July of that year he married Leone Grace Elizabeth McAlpin and they lived at Port Macquarie for seven months.
In February 1954 he started work with the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board at Warragamba Dam where he and his wife took up residence. They eventually had five children with the two eldest being born while living at Warragamba Dam.
For the first twelve months he was a Concrete Control Shift Engineer on rotating afternoon and night shifts. This was followed by construction work on the dam site, particularly on the spillway training walls, the construction of the concrete work for the 50-megawatt hydro-electric power station and the 14 feet (4.2m) diameter penstock. For the final twelve months of the dam construction, he was concrete control engineer.
Following the completion and “opening” of the dam at the end of 1969 Bryan was transferred to the Board’s Western District Construction Office at Granville. For twelve months he was the Plant Engineer, followed by three years on district construction works – sewerage and water reticulation, construction of reservoirs, pumping stations etc.
In 1965 he was transferred to the Board’s Prospect District, initially working on construction of St Marys Sewage Treatment works, then to supervisor of the Warragamba to Prosect Reservoir 120-inch (3.050m) pipeline with a staff of four engineers. Towards the end of the seven years there he was Senior Assistant Engineer to the District Engineer.
In 1971 Bryan was transferred to Hear Office, Construction Branch, where he was for three years Senior Assistant to an inspecting engineer and the Chief Engineer Construction. In 1974 he was transferred to the Prospect District Office as Works Engineer, a newly created position, Three months later he was transferred to the Western District as District Engineer.
In 1976 Bryan was transferred to Head Office as an inspecting engineer, responsible to the Chief Engineer Construction for the supervision of two of the Board’s six construction districts. About 1981 he was appointed as the Senior Inspecting Engineer, relieving as Chief Engineer Construction as required. He was appointed Chief Engineer Construction in September 1983 and retired a year later.
Bryan had been a member of Epping Rotary Club since 1976, a member of North Epping Probus Club since 1991 and played golf at Castle Cove Country Club with a group of ex-Water Board Officers since 1984. From 1985 he was a volunteer member of the Sydney Maritime Museum, later known as the Sydney Heritage Fleet.
To access an oral history interview with James Bryan Wilson please use this link:'
