Water
Kenneth J. Dalgarno BE, FIE Aust.,
LGE (NSW), HE (Tas.) and
A.E. Minty BE, FIE Aust. FCIT
John Dalgarno graduated from the University of Sydney in 1933 following which he spent 14 years with the Sydney Water Board, finally as Senior Shift Engineer on the construction of the Captain Cook Graving Dock.
In 1948, after a brief period in Tasmania, he was appointed to the Commonwealth Department of Works in Canberra, initially as Project Engineer (Construction) for the raising of Cotter Dam. Subsequently as a Supervising Engineer, he had responsibilities for water supply, sewerage and drainage including Bendora Dam exploratory drilling and construction, structural projects and major development projects. He retired in 1973.
After twenty years on major dams, wartime flying and hydro electric work, Bill Minty joined NCDC in 1959 as the Project Engineer for the planning, design and construction of Lake Burley Griffin. He was subsequently appointed a Director with responsibilities for a wide range of hydraulic, transportation and other major projects. He retired in 1981 after nearly 23 years with NCDC.
As well as being a past chairman of Canberra Division of The Institution of Engineers, Australia, and a Councillor from 1979 to 1981 he has been a member of the National Panel on Engineering Heritage since its inception in 1979.
CANBERRA was conceived in the aftermath of the 1897 to 1902 drought, and amidst the bitter wrangles between the newly federated States over the allocation of Murray River waters. In addition, with the memory of the human toll and suffering from disease in the later part of the 19th century still fresh in people’s minds, the need for adequate sanitation remained a major public issue well into the early 1900s.
Not surprisingly, therefore, when Scrivener was given the task by the Commonwealth Parliament of determining the site for the National Capital, he was directed to choose a district which included a catchment capable of supplying a reliable and pure water supply, and which would provide for “a perfect sanitation system”.