News Engineers Australia Northern Division
October 2010
Survey House 14 Shepherd Street Darwin GPO Box 417 Darwin NT 0801 Telephone (08) 8981 4137 Fax (08) 8941 3449 Email nt@engineersaustralia.org.au Website: www.engineersaustralia.org.au
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President’s Report
President’s Report Director’s Report Young Engineers AGM CDU Careers Fair In memory, Ron Beekman CPD Presentation Alice Springs Engineers Australia Christmas Drinks and Annual Meeting Louise McCormick Winner Nokia Business Innovation Award 2010 Telstra Business Women’s Awards Statehood Information Seminar Forensic Engineering Alice Springs/Darwin Seminars Home Warranty Insurance Update New Wind Codes 2010 HMAS Coonawarra Visit Poole’s Ponderings Historical Perspective of Engineering and Aviation in the NT CPEng Seminar Infrastructure Report Card Launch
All members should, by now, have received their new copy of the Code of Ethics. The new code is the product of two years hard work from our national steering committee, headed by Rolf Hartley, and reflects the many comments and input made by our members during the review period. You will have noticed that this new document is very different from our former Code of Ethics. Our new Code is a very concise and focussed document which fits onto a single page and reflects the ethical standards required to take us well into the 21st century. The ballot to endorse the proposed new By-law, is fast approaching and I urge all of our corporate members to vote in this ballot. Voting will be on- line so it will be a simple process and will not take up much of your time. The new By-Laws have been formulated over the past two years and have undergone many reviews and modifications, over that period, to achieve the final document which was again reviewed and modified slightly at a special Congress meeting held last July. Congress voted overwhelmingly to accept this new document, and Council has also voted to endorse the acceptance ce of the new document. The other major event which has been keeping is busy during September and October is the formulating and reviewing of the 2010 infrastructure Report Card for the Northern Territory. The final editing and scoring is taking place as I write this report, so please come along to our launch dinner on 9 November to find out the state of our infrastructure. I would personally like to thank all of our members who volunteered their time to assist with the reviewing and scoring of the various infrastructure sections within the document. As this is our last newsletter for the year I ask you to please remember to come to our Annual General Meeting and Christmas function on Wednesday 1 December. I know that our AGM usually clashes with a number of other Christmas functions however ours will most definitely be better so please come along and support your organisation. Len Chappell President Northern Division
Partners
Director’s Report
Charles Darwin University Careers Fair
This month I was privileged to attend the Telstra Business Women’s Awards where Louise McCormick won the Business Innovation Award. Louise is a well known young engineer amongst our members and has previously won the Young Professional Engineer of the Year award in 2007 and has been on the National Women in Engineering Committee. Congratulations Louise and we hope you go well at the national titles. We were sad to hear of Ron Beekman’s death recently. Ron has been a significant supporter of the Engineering Excellence Awards for many years and has looked after the graduates at Macmahons with great enthusiasm. His energy will be sadly missed. The Infrastructure Report Card Committee have been busily working behind the scenes for the launch of the report card to be held at Skycity on 9 November at 12 noon. The next newsletter will have our annual report attached. Where has this year gone? There are still events happening so I urge you to support what you can and spend time networking with your colleagues. The Annual Christmas function will be held on 1 December at the office so we look forward to seeing you there. This will include a brief Annual Meeting. (No positions are decided at this event so it is safe to attend!)
Engineers Australia recently attended the Charles Darwin University Careers Fair along with other IT and industry related organisations. Amanda and Karen attended the fair and provided much needed advice to some overseas students who were looking for assistance on the skilled migration process, as well as encouraging students to become members. Charles Darwin University provided an excellent barbecue for the students and the organisations who attended.
Bronwyn Russell Director Northern Division
Young Engineers are encouraged to attend the Annual General Meeting of Northern Division’s Young Engineers Committee Tuesday, 30 November 2010 Where: Hanuman Restaurant, Mitchell Street, Darwin Time: 6.30pm onwards Price: $15 members $30 Non-members Register on line: https://events.engineersaustralia.org.au/ei/getdemo.ei?id=529&s=_JDS0YN4CY
All welcome (including the not so young) If you have any queries regarding this event, please contact Amanda by email to averhoeven@engineersaustralia.org.au or by phoning 8981 4137
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In Memory - Ron Beekman, FIEAust CPEng It is with great sadess that Macmahon lost a splendid asset and colleague recently, with the passing of Northern Territory’s Construction Manager, Ron Beekman. Ron has had a long history with the Northern Territory, having begun as a stuRon Beekman far right accepting dent on work experience back the SKM and Macmahon Conin 1981, under his future State tractors Award at the July 2010 Manager, Robert Wilson, with Engineering Excellence Awards was then Hentry Walker. After accepting opportunities to work in Asia, Indonesia and the USA, Ron returned to the NT in 2001 to work once again alongside Robert. Over the years Ron has been a great mentor to young engineers, many of whom now hold senior positions with both Macmahon and other major contracting companies, and helped coordinate the challenging but successful transition from HWE to Macmahon in 2005. He was particularly proud of his involvement in the Darwin Waterfront Project and enjoyed watching its transformation from plan to completion, forever changing the face of Darwin. Tiger Brennan Drive is another major project that will change the face of Darwin. He was a great asset throughout the estimating, planning and construction phase of the project. Ron was a Fellow of Engineers Australia, a Member of the Australian Institute of Management, a Board member of CAL and regularly attended Board meetings on behalf of Macmahon for the Civil Contractors Federation. Ron will be remembered for his intellect, attention to detail and generosity to colleagues and community. Robert Wilson General Manager Macmahon
CPD Presentation in Alice Springs On Thursday 9th September in Alice Springs a group of five engineers attended a presentation on Chartered Status and how to obtain it. Speakers were Keely Quinn and Chris Jenkins from the Northern Division office. Alice Springs was experiencing unusually wet weather during this visit with that particular evening contributing to the rainfall charts.
Northern Division’s Christmas Drinks and Annual Meeting - All Welcome!
Members and Partners are invited to attend Engineers Australia Northern Division Christmas Drinks and Annual Meeting to be held on Wednesday, 1st December at 5.00pm
The meeting will be followed by Christmas Drinks and Nibbles Please contact Karen or Amanda on 8981 4137 to confirm your attendance for catering purposes
This is a perfect opportunity to catch up with colleagues and friends prior to Christmas in a very relaxed atmosphere!
Keely described the advantages to be gained by being a Chartered Member of Engineers Australia and sought feedback on the ways to improve members services in Alice Springs and similar communities. The process involved in progressing from a degree or advanced diploma to Chartered Professional Engineer/Engineering Technologist/Engineering Officer and Registration (NPER, NETR and NEAR) was described by Chris Jenkins. Chris also outlined the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for Chartered Members. Chris Jenkins
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Louise McCormick MIEAust - Winner Northern Territory Telstra Business Women’s Award Engineers Australia is proud to announce that Louise McCormick has been named Winner of the 2010 Telstra Business Women’s Award in the Nokia Business Innovation Award. As an engineer with Main Roads Queensland, Louise McCormick was a government representative on a project to build Australia’s first fibre composite bridge. Louise was responsible for field testing and ensuring the design standards Winner of Nokia Business Innovaof the innovative ‘plastic’ tion Award Louise McCormick, bridge would be accepted by Department of Construction and Industry pictured at the recent 2010 Australia’s engineering comEngineering Excellence Awards munity and road authorities. Technology and techniques used in the award-winning project led to sales of the fibre composite bridges to the US and Russia. Louise is currently a projects manager with the Major Projects group in the NT Government’s Department of Construction and Infrastructure, responsible for the two largest road and bridge projects ever constructed in the Northern Territory. Congratulations to Louise for her achievement in winning this prestigious Award.
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Statehood Information Seminar for Members
Engineers Australia is hosting an information session on the Northern Territory Statehood for Members Michael Tatham, Executive Officer will give members an overview of the current community consultation and the processes required for the Northern Territory to become a State Where: Engineers Australia, 14 Shepherd St, Darwin When: 29 October 2010 Time: 12:15pm—1:15pm Register online www.engineersaustralia.org.au/events
Forensic Engineering coming to Alice Springs and Darwin Supported by Structural Engineering College
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New Home Warranty Insurance (HWI) Consumer Package An Easy Reference Outline Government has decided that there will be a Home Warranty Insurance (HWI) Consumer Package as follows: • a Home Warranty Insurance (HWI) scheme that will commence early in 2011; • it will be managed by the Territory Insurance Office (TIO) on behalf of Government; • it will be mandatory; • it will be last resort; • it will replace the Home Building Certification Fund; and • it will be supported by regulated progress payments, statutory warranties and a residential statutory dispute resolution process with rectification orders. Regulated progress payments are essential to manage the liability of HWI. Statutory warranties ensure documentation for the consumer and builder of the standard of works required and underwritten by HWI. A residential statutory dispute resolution process effectively makes “last resort” HWI equivalent to “first resort”. The following is the proposed detail of the HWI consumer package: HWI 1. HWI is to be mandatory and taken out by the builder as a precondition for a building permit. 2. It will be last resort in that claims can only be made when the builder is unable to complete the work due to death, insolvency/ bankruptcy, disappearance and loss of registration. The insurer will be able to seek recovery of the cost of claims from the assets of the former builder. 3. HWI will be required for residential building works that need a registered builder and are for a new house or flat up to and including 3 storeys plus underground and under-croft car-parking or additions for more than $12,000 to an existing house or flat. 4. It will provide cover for non-completion of houses except those built by owner-builders, developers and the NT/Australian Governments. The cover is only for additional costs directly related to changing from the original builder to the new builder and claims will be capped at 20% of the contract price up to $200,000. 5. It will also provide cover under the same cap for non-compliance for 5 years for structural and 2 years for non-structural matters for houses and flats up to and including 3 storeys plus underground or under-croft car-parking except those owned by the NT/ Australian Governments. 6. HWI will be managed by TIO and underwritten by the NT Government (since mid 2010, effectively all other jurisdictions underwrite HWI and the two private insurers remaining in the market generally only provide fee based services). 7. Pre-qualification of builders will be required to determine turnover limits by assessment of financial and business capacity. See information at the end of this document on National threshold factors for HWI eligibility for Builders. 8. There will be the similar premiums for most builders and these could be in the order of $6000 for a $500,000 house. However, a discount may be given to a builder based on that builder’s risk being lower as assessed through the pre-qualification process. 9. As a consequence, builders may need to re-structure their businesses in terms of assets, capital and cash flow. Progress Payments 10. Existing provisions require contracts that cover progress payments but do not specify the quantum except the deposit which is to be no more than 5%. 11. It is proposed that a percentage for each stage of construction that triggers a progress payment will be specified. Interstate norms are 5% deposit, 10% base stage, 15% frame stage, 35% enclosed/lock up stage, 25% fixing stage and final 10%. It is proposed that the
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final payment cannot be made before the issue of an occupancy permit. 12. There will be the ability to modify percentages for works that are not typical. However, the consumer and HWI insurer will need to specifically approve the modification. 13. Again, builders may need to re-structure in terms of cash flow. Statutory Warranties 14. Statutory warranties will specify such matters as using new materials (unless specifically stated in the contract), work to be in accordance with building permit, and work to be in workman-like manner. 15. They will be complemented by practice guidelines that will quantify the tolerance range of acceptable work. 16. The warranties etc provide the measures of what is acceptable practice when resolving HWI claims or disputes. 17. The warranties will run for the same prescribed period for noncompliance under HWI (5 years structural and 2 years nonstructural). However, they are not to replace any other rights a consumer has to make a claim under the “reasonable life of a product” consumer laws. Dispute Resolution 18. To improve Government services to the community and industry, it is proposed that all complaints related to building works, building services and building practitioners be received by the one agency, Consumer Affairs. 19. If a complaint cannot be resolved at the inquiry stage through information and advice, it will be categorised and referred to the appropriate officer (eg if only related to technical compliance or practitioner conduct, it would be referred to the Director Building Control who in turn may refer it to Building Practitioners Board). 20. If it is a consumer matter (eg where there is or has been a contractual relationship between the parties), Consumer Affairs will determine whether the complaint is to be managed under existing powers and processes or under the proposed statutory residential dispute resolution process described below. 21. The proposed statutory dispute resolution process will only apply to prescribed work (all residential building work) that was done by a prescribed practitioner (building contractor). 22. The complainant can only be the consumer who had a contract which has been terminated or completed. 23. A three stage process is proposed. The first stage is providing information on obligations and industry practice and encouraging the consumer and the builder to resolve their differences. 24. If they cannot resolve their differences the complaint is to be put in writing and a site inspection will be carried out to further assist them to resolve their differences. 25. If unsuccessful, the second stage will be commenced on payment of a processing fee. 26. Technical experts will be engaged and a conciliated agreement sought. 27. If unable to reach agreement, the Commissioner will make a determination. 28. If the determination is not accepted by both parties, the Commissioner can issue a binding rectification order on the builder (eg to do certain work). The consumer must allow access to the site. 29. The third stage is the right of appeal by either party to a court/ tribunal. 30. The appeal is a review of all documentation upon which the statutory officer made the order. Generally no new material would be allowed. The appeal may be determined with or without a hearing. The court/tribunal has the power to obtain expert advice. 31. If a builder is in breach of a rectification order or, in the case of an appeal, a determination of the court/tribunal, the Commissioner is
New Home Warranty Insurance (HWI) Consumer Package An Easy Reference Outline cont... to advise the HWI insurer and the Building Practitioners Board. Both will have the power to restrict the builder to existing work being done by the builder and not allow new contracts to be entered into. 32. It will be an offence to be in breach of a rectification order or, in the case of an appeal, a determination of the court/tribunal. 33. An appropriate summary of disputes will be placed on the public record. 34. The Commissioner may refer matters to the Director of Building Control and Building Practitioners Board for prosecution or disciplinary action under their existing powers. 35. If the practitioner is de-registered or meets the other HWI triggers and is unable to do the work, HWI would be activated. 36. The HWI insurer can seek to recover costs of claims from the former builder. Existing Home Building Certification Fund (HBCF) 37. The existing HBCF is managed by TIO on behalf of Government. 38. It commenced in 1993 with privatisation of building certification as a means of ensuring confidence in the certification of a house or flat. 39. HBCF is mandatory and taken out jointly by the builder and consumer as a pre-condition for a building permit. 40. It applies to all residential building work even if a registered builder is not required (eg renovations and minor work – these will not be covered by HWI). 41. HBCF is for non-compliance only for houses and flats 3 storeys or less for 10 years. 42. The premium for the average $500,000 house is in the order of $2,000. 43. Government takes full liability as it is unable to recover the costs of successful claims from builders. 44. HWI will replace HBCF but HBCF will continue to carry liabilities for 10 years from the issue of the last policy. 45. Transitional arrangements are proposed to allow a consumer with HBCF, a contract and building permit where the building works are in progress to convert the HBCF policy, at a price, to HWI subject to the builder pre-qualifying for HWI. National threshold factors for HWI eligibility for Builders: Shareholder Funds – a difference between correctly valued and attachable assets and properly assessed liabilities of 10%-20% of projected turnover subject to a minimum of $50,000 for turnover ≤$2m. Over $2m turnover the free capital ratio can scale down.
• Gross Profit Margin • Debtor Days • Creditor Days • Turnover changes • Changes to Work-In-Progress while secondary factors such as – size areas of activity length of time in business job costing system financial reporting frequency adverse information are also modelled. Secondary factors are unlikely to improve a builder's financial based rating by more than 20% but there is usually no limit on those factors reducing the rating. Most risk rating models in Australia for the residential construction sector rate builders on a scale of 1 to 5 with a rating of 1 to 3 indicating a strong or satisfactory builder with the following characteristics in business for >5 years. stable turnover pattern. shareholder funds of 10% to 20% of turnover. consistent gross profit relative to turnover. net profit margins adequate to support an appropriate return to shareholders payment of creditors within 30 days. Collection of debtors within 14 days. no past claims or adverse credit history.
Corporate Structure – where the operating business is a sole trader, part- Builders rated 1 to 3 usually have their relative risk recognised through nership or limited liability company (not $2 companies or trust struc- the pricing of their HWI certificates with a 2 and a 3 rating attracting premiums scaling up from a rating 1 on an increasingly step curve. ture). Licensed – the person(s) primarily responsible for building operations Builders rated 4 or 5 are unlikely to be accepted for HWI eligibility withmust hold the relevant licence category and/or the building entity must out a radical change to their business or a significant injection of capital. be appropriately registered. Eligibility Profile – a rolling turnover limit not exceeding 10x shareholdHistory – shareholders or directors have not been involved in failed busi- ers funds and an individual project limit relative to past activity with a nesses or criminal activity (within defined periods) nor do they have a minimum of $350,000 for project homes and $100,000 for additions and significant history of building complaints. Similarly, trade suppliers and alterations is required. banks have not specifically withheld or constrained credit. Risk Profile - from a detailed assessment of the P&L and Balance Sheet to establish trading performance and shareholders funds (or net tangible worth of sole traders or partnerships) for model purposes a builder is rated based on a minimum of 3 years of trends/ratios from primary factors such as –
Article supplied by Peter Russell Building Industry Reference Group Representative
• Profit before Interest and Tax to Total Tangible Assets (PITTAI) and Total Liabilities to Total Assets (TLTAI)
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New Wind Codes proposed for release in 2010 The new wind code proposes requirements for determining wind actions for use in structural design. It includes revised sections on combination factors and cantilevered roofs and new provisions for torsion and windborne debris testing. It also (i) provides for the treatment of doors as openings, and increased local pressure factors. Wind speeds and direction factors are given for regions in Australia and New Zealand. Factors are provided to cover the environment around the structure, the geometry of the structure and the dynamic interaction of the structure with the wind. Proposed as a Joint Australian/New Zealand (j) Standard. The objectives of this revision are to remove ambiguities, to incorporate recent research and experiences from (k) recent severe wind events in Australia and New Zealand. The wind speeds provided are based on analysis of existing data. No account has been taken of any possible future trend in wind speeds due to climatic change. (l) This edition differs from the previous editions as follows: (a) A torsional loading requirement in the form of an ec (m) centricity of loading is prescribed for tall buildings (greater than 50 m in height). (Clause 2.5.4).
(iii)
Case SA5 (K l = 3.0) will, in future, not be required to be applied to those buildings greater than 25 m in height with low aspect ratios.
Values for structural damping ratios for structures with dynamic response to wind have been removed, Users should seek other sources for advice on possible values of damping as a function of height of building and amplitude of vibration. A note to Table C3, Appendix C, for shape factors for curved roofs has been added to cover the case of building height to rise greater than 2. The load distribution specified in Paragraph D5, Appendix D, for Cantilevered roofs has been revised to reflect recent research. Drag coefficients for pentagonal sections have been added to Table E4, Appendix E.
(b)
Addition of windborne debris impact loading criteria (Clause 2.5.7).
Drag coefficients for sections of UHF television antennas Types 1 and 3 in Table E7, Appendix E, have been revised. The value of drag force coefficients for the Type 2 antenna have been removed from the Standard, since this type has not been used in Australia or New Zealand for many years.
(c)
Regional wind speeds V1 , V250 , V2500, V5000 and V10000 have been added for serviceability design requirements, and for compatibility with AS/NZS 1170.0. (Clause 3.2).
Article supplied by Peter Russell Building Advisory Board Representative
(d)
Nominally closed doors, such as roller doors, to be treated as potential dominant openings unless it is shown that the doors and their supports and fixings are capable of resisting the applied wind loads and the impact of debris. (Clause 5.3.2).
(e)
Addition of a new clause requiring consideration of wind loads on internal walls and partitions. (Clause 5.3.4).
(f)
Adjustment of internal pressure coefficients for dominant openings on leeward walls, side walls and roof, to more correctly reflect the relationship between internal and external pressures when multiple opening occur (Table 5.1(B).
(g)
Clause 5.4.3 on the combination factor (Kc ) has been changed to remove some ambiguities and confusion in the previous version. An expanded Table 5.5 gives more examples of the use of this factor.
(h)
Several changes to Table 5.6 on local pressure factors have been made, including the following: (i)
A factor of 1.5 for small areas on windward walls.
(ii)
A factor of 3.0 for small areas near the corners of roofs.
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Member Information
Jean-Luc Revell at the October Graduation Ceremony at Charles Darwin University receiving his Doctorate in Building and Maintaining Capacity in a Community Service Organisation.
Young Engineers - HMAS Coonawarra Site Visit On Thursday 16th of September, 25 Engineers Australia members and friends visited HMAS Coonawarra for a personal tour of the Naval yards and the Admiral Class patrol boats used by the Australian Navy. The site visit was previously planned for Engineering Week, but a VIP visit took priority on the day and dates were pushed back to September. The eager group was split into two, and Chief Petty Officers’ La Fontaine and Winchester were the tour guides for the day. One group headed straight for the patrol boats, while the others headed towards all the maintenance sheds, where 2 very impressive ships, HMAS Betano (Landing Craft Heavy) and HMAS Bathurst (Admiral Class Patrol) were dry docked for maintenance procedures. Standing aside these ships allowed everyone to see just how big each vessel is and how much work goes into the maintenance. On board HMAS Pirie, the visitors had an opportunity to see the Bridge, and Chris Jenkins, our National Assessor, had a short rest – in the Captains Chair. The sophisticated systems run from the Bridge were reviewed, and the internal surveillance, used primarily for safety of the officers, was commandeered to ‘spy’ on the other team deep in the bowels of the ship! After the site visit, everyone relaxed in air-conditioned comfort – it was a unseasonably hot day- while a representative of Navy recruitment outlined the benefits and experiences of working for the Navy. Unfortunately a few of our members were a touch too old to join, the cut off age is 57 years…. A photo opportunity with the boats topped off a great site visit. Many thanks to the Young Engineers that organised this site visit, and The Royal Australian Navy, for allowing us entry and access to their base. Adam James President Young Engineers Australia
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Poole’s Ponderings - Engineering and Aviation in the Northern Territory an Historical Perspective Two totally unrelated matters some time ago lead to the preparation of this article;- the death of Don Darben an Engineer whose first work in the Territory was with the Department of Civil Aviation. - a letter to the editor of the NT News by a recently returned resident who was lamenting the lack of International airlines passing through Darwin compared to the number forty years ago. The Northern Territory has a long association with aviation resulting from its geographical location and the limited capability of early aircraft. The progress of aviation technology has been rapid leading to changes in aviation infrastructure and services. The Wright Brothers first flew a 785lb plane over a distance of a few hundred feet in December 1903 within seventy years aeroplanes of over 400 tonnes were flying 10,000 kilometres. The technological developments have been in almost all fields of Engineering; materials, metallurgy, structural, mechanical, electronics, communication, hydraulics, propulsion, control etc and last but not least aeronautical engineering. My mechanical engineer son tells me that mechanical engineers design missiles; civil engineers build targets. I suppose that if civil engineers did not build runways and aprons there would be nowhere to land and park these technologically advanced aeroplanes so we have had some input into the advancement of aviation technology. The first aircraft were of very lightweight construction utilising wood; wire and fabric with purpose built engines or modified automobile engines. The Wright brothers were bicycle manufacturers. Instrumentation and controls were basic to those required to make short local flights. Remember the ribbon tied on the wire bracing to give airflow direction and speed? Ground facilities were none existent with any paddock of sufficient dimensions able to be used; runways were not marked the pilot just took off into the wind. Refuelling was from small drums poured one at a time into the planes fuel tank. World War I caused major advancements in aircraft development and by wars end planes of 5 tonnes and able to fly hundreds of kilometres were in service. Ground facilities still consisted of an open paddock with aircraft taking off into the wind; fuel was carried in small bulk tanks mounted on truck chassis. Ground control was by visual means, hand signals, flares, lights and flags; as was plane-to-plane communication once airborne. The Australian Government recognising the potential benefits of air transport offered a prize of ₤10,000 for the first group that could fly an aeroplane from England to Australia in under 30 days. This is where Darwin’s location as the front door to Australia placed it in the forefront of Australian aviation for the next 50 years. Ross and Keith Smith were the first to meet the government’s requirements arriving at Fannie Bay on 10 December 1919 in a Vickers Vimy twin-engine ex-bomber. The exact spot were the plan touched down is marked in the park in Giles Street Fannie Bay.
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The arrival of the Smiths was the precursor to many other aviators. The only place in Darwin fit for arriving aviators to stay was the Victoria Hotel and to mark their arrival they signed their names on the wall of the hotel, their signatures are still there for public viewing.
Replica Vickers Vimy Darwin Aviation in the Territory expanded in the 1920’s and 30’s as airlines connected Australia with the outside world through the North. Daly Waters was to be the southern end of the North Australian Railway. The railway failed to reach Daly Waters as funding ran out at Birdum during the depression however Daly Waters was Australia’s first International Airport serving airlines arriving from the north, east and west. The Daly Waters facilities are still in existence however they are not maintained. I worked with Alan Mc Kinnon a CDW Works Supervisor in the 1960’s and 70’s. He advised that one of his more unusual projects was resealing the runway in preparation for a flight of Sabre jets refuelling enroute to Darwin on exercises The airport closed officially in 1965 however a Fokker Friendship I was on landed there in December 1968.The Comet Hangar still exists as well as some of the other aviation infrastructure and the flying fox across the creek which enabled travellers to reach the Daly Waters hotel from the airfield when the creek was in flood.
Daly Waters Hangar, Toilets, Fuel Store and Flying Fox
Poole’s Ponderings - Engineering and Aviation in the Northern Territory an Historical Perspective QANTAS constructed a similar hangar to the one at Daly Waters; at Parap in the 1930’s the hangar with WWII shrapnel damage remains in use today as a museum. Eddie Connellan, Clyde Fenton, John Flynn and others were developing aviation for commercial and humanitarian purposes through out the Territory. “Substantial” airstrips were constructed at Parap, Katherine and Alice Springs with many other landing grounds being prepared at pastoral properties through out the Territory. The Flying Doctor Service commenced in Central Australia in 1928 Clyde Fenton was carrying out a similar task in the north in the 1930’s. Navigation aids and radio communications were still in their infancy with the Commonwealth Government reluctant to make improvements. It took the crash in late 1938 of the ANA DC 2 aircraft Kyeema on Mt Dandenong east of Melbourne to finally force the government to upgrade radio navigation aids and air traffic control and create the Department of Civil Aviation to control all facets of aviation in Australia. Don Darben originally worked in the Territory with DCA on airport infrastructure. The need for navigation aids and communication systems had been identified several years before however politics and the buy British policies of government had prevented the implementation and calibration of the required systems.
The approach of WWII and developing international flights saw increased activity in the north; QANTAS were using flying boats as part of the air route to England. One of the routes saw Catalina flying boats transiting through Umbakumba Groote Eylandt. The lagoon at Umbakumba was ideally suited to flying boat operations as planes could “land” on either side of the sand spit forming Little Lagoon on Port Langdon. The RAAF took over operations at Umbakumba as WWII developed. Flying Boats continued to operate passenger services through Darwin prior to WWII.
Catalina modified for civilian use The aeroplanes developed for military and commercial purposes in the 1930’s were typically all metal monoplanes with tricycle under carriage with a mass of 15 tonnes. Planes of this size required prepared surfaces to operate from so runways, taxiways and hardstands were formalised and where necessary improved pavements were constructed. The sealing of surfaces with bitumen was not the norm however until after the bombing of Darwin in 1942. The NSW Department of Main Roads and Victorian Country Roads Board crews sealing the north south road were redeployed for almost twelve months after the bombing of Darwin bituminous surfacing bomber and fighter strips throughout the Territory.
From Air Crash Vol 1 1921-39 Macarthurjob and Aerospace Publications 1991
Lockheed 12 1936 All Metal Aeroplane
Civilian and “military” DC 3’s
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Poole’s Ponderings - Engineering and Aviation in the Northern Territory an Historical Perspective The entry of the United States of America into the war • created a need to upgrade the RAAF Base Darwin infrastructure. The base had been constructed in the late 1930’s to suit contemporary Australian (British sourced) equipment with a mass of 15 to 20 tonnes and a wing span of 20 metres, the USAAF had planes of 30 tonnes and 35 metre wing spans. Pavements needed to be thickened and widened to handle the larger planes, aprons and hardstands needed to be larger. At the end of WWII the Territory had very high standard aviation facilities available for commercial aircraft operations. Sealed runways had been constructed in Darwin, Katherine, Tennant Creek, and Alice Springs; numerous other bomber and fighter strips had been constructed down the Stuart Highway and across Arnhem Land including Gove and in the north west of Western Australia. Radio communication, navigation aids and meteorological services existed at each major airport. International flights recommenced after WWII with flying boats operated by QANTAS transiting through Darwin It was not long however before large land based planes, derivatives of WWII bombers, were developed as passenger aircraft. The range of these aircraft dictated that they made numerous refuelling stops between the south and Darwin in their journey north to Asia and Europe. The introduction of Lockheed Constellation and DC 6 aircraft brought improved comfort and greater range. The introduction of jet aircraft reduced the number of intermediate refuelling stops further however most airlines stopped in Darwin to refuel. This is the reason for matter (ii) above. In the late 60’s and early 70’s airlines stopped in Darwin because they had too! The introduction of the new technology wide bodied planes with greater range allowed planes to fly from southern airports to Singapore and other Asian destinations without the need to refuel in Darwin, therefore less flights into Darwin and Paul Keating being able to remark “The best view of Darwin is from 30,000 feet on the way to Paris”.
Katherine has seen great changes in aviation infrastructure. The WW II airstrip has been abandoned. As mentioned previously the FSU is a museum, two benefits of the closure are that a dangerous bend on the Gorge road could be removed by realigning the road over the airstrip and the Cemetery could be extended onto the airstrip. I had a young engineer spent a little time trying to identify a new cemetery site as the original was fast running out of space. The disadvantage of the closure was that you could not wait until you heard the Fokker doing its down wind leg of its approach to land before heading out to the airport. Katherine was able to close as the WW II Tindal airstrip had been upgraded in the early 1960’s by 5 Airfield Construction Squadron of the RAAF. The political situation to Australia’s north was in a state of flux. The Commonwealth government saw the need for an upgrade to the Darwin and Tindal facilities. Initial works at Tindal comprise a longer, wider runway able to handle modern fighters and bombers, taxiways and an apron. A domestic apron for civil use was constructed in 1970. The decision to base 75 Squadron in the north after the RAAF withdrew from Butterworth Malaysia lead to the further upgrading of Tindal however these works in the form of taxiways hardstands and replenishment areas are purely for military use.
Infrastructure at all airports has been upgraded since it was originally constructed :-
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•
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Alice Springs had a new runway and apron constructed in 1961.The apron has been extended and a new terminal constructed in the late 1980’s. The construction and further upgrading of the airstrip at Yulara has occurred with • some impact on flight numbers through Alice Springs. Tennant Creek had runway upgrades in the early 1960’s. As a young engineer I remember Frank Vroombout a road engineer with experience in airfield design and construction describing how to accurately trim large areas of pavement before the days of string line, laser and total station control on graders.
Domestic Terminal Tindal RAAF Base Darwin’s WW II airside operations infrastructure has been totally replaced, many WW II buildings and landside infrastructure remain in use but with upgrades. 5 Airfield Construction Squadron constructed a new runway taxiways and aprons in the early 1960’s. Upgrades to allow the operation of Mirage fighters and B 52 bombers were carried out in the 1980’s. The facility was identified as an emergency landing strip for US Space Shuttle operations. The construction of a new civil terminal to replace the WW II hanger modified for use as a terminal was a drawn out affair work started and then stopped as politicians made and broke commitments for the construction of the terminal. The terminal with taxiways, aprons, aero bridge and light aircraft areas was opened in 198?
Poole’s Ponderings - Engineering and Aviation in the Northern Territory an Historical Perspective
Mirage ending service with RAAF FA18 on delivery flight
Post WW II Darwin Terminal and Light Aircraft Apron Mirage ending service with RAAF FA18 on delivery flight Mining companies have upgraded or constructed airfield infrastructure at remote locations such as Gove, Angurugu, Ranger, Mc Arthur River, The Granites, Bootu Creek and Merlin to name a cross section over the past 45 years. Wealthy pastoralists have constructed runways capable of handling large corporate aircraft at Tipperary and Newcastle Waters.
RAAF Caribou, DC3 and F28 Fellowship at Angurugu Groote Eylandt The Northern Territory government has since semi self government had a program of upgrading airstrips at remote aboriginal communities. The aeroplane selected by the NT government appointed operator of the RPT services had very little clearance between the gravel pavement and the propeller tip, this lead to high maintenance costs and the need to seal pavements.
Sealing Maningrida Airstrip soon in use by Connellan Heron Radar installations had been in operation during the war however radar for air traffic control was not operational in Darwin till the late 1970’s. The radar first antenna (Thompson CSF) is now in the Aviation Museum at Winnellie. It has had its support structure truncated as was done with the RAAF water tower relocated to the same museum. The introduction of improved communication systems and navigation aids has been an ongoing process. Until the 70’s every major airfield had some form of local manning / presence. Katherine, Tennant Creek and Gove had Flight Service Units from where radio operators gave aeroplanes operating in range of the air port advice on other air traffic and weather conditions; it was not an air traffic control system just advice on what was happening in the area of the airport. Alice Springs and Darwin had air traffic control, with the Darwin civil controllers controlling air traffic approaching and overflying Darwin and RAAF controllers responsible for air traffic operating into and out of Darwin. The introduction of modern communications systems has dramatically changed how air traffic is controlled. The FSU’s have been closed and air traffic control is now provided via satellite linked radio systems from Melbourne and Brisbane. RAAF Darwin still operates and RAAF Tindal commenced operations when Tindal was made an operational base. An example of how fast this technological change occurred is the DCA operation at Gove; in the 1970’s air traffic between Darwin, Gove and Cairns was increasing, the need for air traffic control at Gove to replace the FSU was recognised. The decision was made to upgrade services and construct a control tower, by the time the facility was constructed technology had changed and it was decided not to man it. It stands in the bush to the north of Gove terminal never having been operated.
FSU at Tennant Creek from an F27 Friendship
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Poole’s Ponderings - Engineering and Aviation in the Northern Territory an Historical Perspective The FSU buildings at Katherine with its WW II heritage have been converted into a museum; Clyde Fenton’s plane is on display there. The DCA buildings at Darwin were demolished as well as the original RAAF control tower to provide space for the fighter dispersal / replenishment areas. Navigation aids have progressed from crude radio direction and distance measuring systems operated from the ground and from the aircraft to automatic direction and range measuring from the aircraft utilising initially ground based radio transmitters and more recently GPS. Perhaps an Engineer with more detailed knowledge of this technology could prepare an article for the news letter One of the benefits of having Darwin Airport in the middle of our town was the number of times you could go onto the airport and look at planes either organised or by just walking in. The US government has undertaken research into weather systems; an Electra and a U2 are pictured. It is sad to reflect on how our society has changed from one where you could accompany the pilot on his walk around inspections of his plane and sit in the cockpit with him even whilst the plane landed to today’s situation where you wait in a “sterile area” to board the plane and cannot even visit the flight deck.
Chris Jenkins, National Assessor is hosting a workshop on CPEng When: 10 November Time: 12 noon Where: Engineers Australia, 14 Shepherd St, Darwin • Come along to Chris’ workshop and find out how to complete your CER (Career Episode Report). • Alternatively, if you have already completed your CER’s, get them in now and be ready for your professional interview! • Check with your firm. Does it have a PDP? Chris can do an individual session with your firm if you have enough interested. If you would like further information, please contact Amanda on 8981 4137 Register online at www.engineersaustralia.org.au/events
Darwin High meets the Challenge! On October 20, 2010, Darwin High Schools’ team of 34 Year 10 students participated in the Silver Division of the Science & Engineering Grand Challenge in Gosford. Competing against some of the best and accomplished schools in Australia, Darwin High School came away with 2nd place in the Division! This is the second year that Darwin High School has competed in the Grand Challenge, last year coming 4th in the Silver Challenge. This year’s fantastic result of second place is the best a Northern Territory school has ever achieved and shows the caliber of students studying in the Northern Territory. Engineers Australia want to congratulation teacher Anne Disney and all the students that took part in this exciting day and worked hard for this fantastic result. Opportunities such as these only happen with support from the community, so we wish to thank Charles Darwin University with their assistance in getting the team down to Gosford.
CONGRATULATIONS DARWIN HIGH SCHOOL! US Lockheed Electra and U2 Atmospheric Research Aircraft. Article researched and written by Peter Poole Heritage Committee
Keely Quinn Youth Programs Coordinator
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Infrastructure Report Card Launch - November 2009
Infrastructure Report Card Launch 9 November 2010 The Official Launch of the Northern Territory’s Report Card will be held at SkyCity at a luncheon to be held in the International Room from 12 noon. The Infrastructure Report Card committee have been working extremely hard behind the scenes to bring the report together and to ensure that gradings are accurate for the future of the Territory. The Infrastructure Report Card will be officially launched by Treasurer Hon. Delia Lawrie. Venue: SkyCity International Room Cost: $50.00 per person Register on line at https://events.engineersaustralia.org.au/ei/getdemo.ei?id=540&s=_H8C0OFW63
!!CONFERENCE ROOM AVAILABLE FOR RENT!! Hire
Equipment
The conference room hire is:: • Half days at $110 • Full days at $220 • Evenings at $165
Catering
The conference room has a kitchen White board, TV, DVD/Video and OHP are free to with fridge, oven, stove, microwave use but the following charges for us of the follow- and dishwasher. ing: We charge a minimum of $30.00 per • Data projector is $220 per day day for continuous tea & coffee for • Laptop is $88 any number under 20 people and $1.50 If data projector is being used for three days or more it will be charged at half price. All prices are per person for numbers over 20. Negotiable
Cleaning
It is the responsibility of the hirer to set up and clean the room. We have a vacuum cleaner in the server room.
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Engineers Australia Northern Division Calendar of Events 2010 Date
Event
Speaker/Venue
29th October 12:15pm
Statehood Information Seminar
10th November 12 noon
CPEng Workshop with National Assessor
9th November 12 noon 12th November 12 noon
Infrastructure Report Card - Launch
Michael Tatham Engineers Australia, 14 Shepherd Street, Darwin Chris Jenkins Engineers Australia, 14 Shepherd Street, Darwin International Room Skycity Darwin Gavin Altus Engineers Australia 14 Shepherd Street, Darwin Dr. Rob Heywood Engineers Australia, 14 Shepherd Street, Darwin Dr. Rob Heywood Chifley Resort, Alice Springs Hanuman Restaurant, Mitchell St, Darwin 14 Shepherd Street, Darwin
Engineeering Education Australia (EEA) Capability Model. Have input into future Northern Division courses
18th November 5:00pm
Forensic Engineering
19th November 12 noon
Forensic Engineering
30th November 6.30pm 1st December From 5:00pm
Young Engineers AGM Annual Meeting - Engineers Australia
MEMBER INFORMATION
Congratulations to the following members who have achieved Chartered Status
Scott Davis, MIEAust CPEng NPER Jayson Koother, MIEAust CPEng NPER Jennifer Harris, MIEAust CPEng NPER
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