Northern Division October Newsletter

October 2011 Newsletter

I attended a president's forum last month where we looked at the value propositions in becoming chartered.

When chartered status is mentioned, most members focus on "what's in it for me" without considering the benefits that becoming chartered will have on the profession as a whole. Without chartered status there is no protection mechanism to ensure that members of the engineering team maintain the level of competence which is expected from potential clients and the community in general.

Engineers Australia along with APESMA and Consult Australia are working together to establish a National registration system which will enable professional engineers to work in any State or Territory in Australia without the need to reestablish their credentials on a State by State basis. Chartered status will be a requirement under this scheme so I recommend that we all look into becoming chartered as soon as possible.

It with pleasure that I can announce that the Governor General has ratified our new By-laws and they became effective as of 26 September 2011.

I'm sad to advise that we are losing Eric Valentine who is moving back to the colder climates of the globe. Eric has been a valuable member of the northern division management committee for many years now, and he will be sorely missed. On behalf of all our management team I wish him well in his new venture and we hope to see him back in Darwin one of these days.

As this will be our last newsletter prior to our Annual Meeting, I ask you all to please make the time and come along to our Annual Meeting and Christmas function on 30 November. I know that our Annual Meeting usually clashes with a number of other Christmas functions however, as I advised last year ours will definitely be the better function, so please come along and support your organisation.

Len Chappell President

The Division is losing one of its assets on the Management Committee, Professor Eric Valentine. Those members who attended Eric’s recent goodbye at the Division office had the opportunity to pass on their thanks for his contribution to the Coastal and Water Committees at a local level and National level.

Eric has been very busy over the last 3 of years with the IHAR Congress, Water Symposium and National conference on Hydraulics. Over 1,000 participants attended this conference and Eric was involved in assisting with the reviewing of over 590 papers.

He managed to fit in a presentation before he left which was held at the Division office on 12th October and was given a small momento by Len Chappell for his contribution and efforts throughout his time over the past 7 years.

Good luck to Eric on his return to the United Kingdom. If there is a member who would like to become involved in the Water and Coastal Committee and has the necessary qualifications then we would be interested in hearing from you.

Engineers Australia welcomes its newest Partner - Shell Australia Shell Australia has come on Board as the Division’s newest Partner. Shell has provided funding over a 3 year period for the SMART (Science, Maths and Real Technology) Program. This funding will enable to the Division to provide this program in regions which it has currently not been able to do including, Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek, additional Island Communities and other regional areas. We welcome Shell Australia on Board and thank them for their contribution to this important Youth Program.

Partners

Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

President’s Report Director’s Report National Assessor required CELM Breakfast Biomedical Conference Humanitarian Conference, Darwin Sunchase Alice Springs Chasing the Sun in Darwin Sunchase 2011 Kirsty McInnes MBA Winner Continuing Professional Development Young Engineers Annual Meeting Generational Exchange Dinner Engineers Australia Annual Meeting Northern Division Outback Heritage Trip - Peter Poole Calendar of Events

Produced by: Engineers Australia Northern Division 14 Shepherd Street Darwin NT 0800

FROM OUR DIRECTOR We have had a great time with young people these past couple of months with Sunchase both in Darwin and Alice Springs. I am eternally thankful for our energetic volunteers who help out at these events, as are the students and their teachers. Each year a new group of young people discover the delights of creating something fun from their science knowledge.

As the year end creeps up I am reminded that Chris Jenkins will be leaving us soon to return to the cooler climes of Newcastle. There is some information in this edition about his role in case any of you are interested in pursuing it. I believe we will be able to replace his position which is good news. We have had a surge in interest in becoming chartered with Chris here and I would like to remind you, if you are on that journey and want to complete it with him, you will need to do it now. We have enjoyed having Chris as part of the Northern Division team and will find it hard to let him go!

There have been several meetings recently with Ministers, the Building Board and Government regarding the move towards nationally consistent registration of engineers. When this does occur, and I believe it will, the criteria for becoming registered will likely be chartered status. Beat the rush now and get your career episode reports assessed. The Queensland experience in recent times has demonstrated how hard it is to get the volume of people assessed who need it in a hurry. Our politicians and departments see the benefit of registration for all engineers and will probably support it at COAG meetings.

We are committed to holding a forum for the Year of Humanitarian Engineering on Thursday 3 November at the Darwin Convention Centre. This was given to us with only a month to organize it but I am sure you will support it and bring colleagues along as well. There will be three distinct themes, Timor Leste, Northern Territory Indigenous Issues and Disaster experiences and planning. Many of the speakers and panel members are now set, including some from Timor Leste, so it will be an event not to be missed.

Northern Division nominations for 2012 Management Committee were extremely poor so we now have a number of casual vacancies. These will be filled shortly and you will be notified of the outcome.

There are still some events happening before the end of the year so I encourage you to read your weekly emails so you don’t miss anything.

Bronwyn Russell Northern Division

Phone: (08) 8981 4137 Fax: (08) 8941 3449 Email: nt@engineersaustralia.org.au Web: www.nt.engineersaustralia.org.au Content was correct at time of printing.

Please check the website for the most up to date listings of events and programs.

Advertising Please contact Karen Relph by email krelph@engineersaustralia.org.au Editorial krelph@engineersaustralia.org.au

Sponsor Page 2

National Assessor required for Northern Division

What does a National Assessor do?

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National Assessor Stage 2 competencies

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Engineers Australia has appointed a group of National Assessors whose roles include the assessment of candidates for chartered membership and/or registration. The work involves doing Stage 2 competency assessments which are those required to become a chartered member of Engineers Australia.

The same competencies are used to gain entry to the national engineering registers (NPER, NTER and NEAR) and, for professional engineers, to become a registered professional engineer in Queensland (RPEQ).

As the title suggests, these assessors are part of the National Office staff and are authorised to assess candidates from any state or from overseas countries. For practical reasons, most Assessors are based in the Division Offices. In March, 2010, the Northern Division received its first National Assessor, Chris Jenkins. Chris will be leaving us late in February, 2012 and we are looking for a replacement.

So, what does a National Assessor do? Assessors are part of a team which • Assesses candidates to determine whether they have reached the stage where they are qualified to be chartered and/or registered.

• Counsels candidates who have been found to be not yet qualified.

• Provides training assistance and continuous assessment to participants in the Professional Development Programs run by various organisations.

• Assists Engineers Australia by initiating and reviewing proposals for policy or management changes which impact on chartered membership or registration.

• Advises members and others on the benefits of, and the requirements for, chartered status and registration.

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In brief, the requirements for an assessor include: Must be a Chartered Member of Engineers Australia (CPEng).

May be of any engineering discipline — the competencies are generic, covering all disciplines and occupational categories.

Must have several years of experience in engineering work.

May not be an office bearer (Division or National).

In practice, most assessors are retired, semi-retired or otherwise not fully employed and come from a wide range of disciplines and work areas including university, consulting, government and the defence forces, to name a few. One of our assessors balances her assessment duties with raising a young family. The work may be carried out in a Division Office or it may be largely undertaken by telecommuting. Most assessors view the work as a means of giving something back to the profession.

Is this a job that you might be interested in doing? To find out more please contact the division office to talk to either Bronwyn or Chris.

The workload in the Northern Division is usually quite light and Chris has been employed on a casual basis. He has, however, been called on to assist when other assessors have taken extended leave or retired.

Are you looking for a challenge?

Engineers Australia Northern Division is looking For a National Assessor This is not a fulltime position (terms of employments to be negotiated).

You must be a Chartered Professonal Engineer. Flexibility would be an advantage.

If you would like further details Please contact Bronwyn on (08) 8981 4137

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Centre for Engineering Leadership Breakfast - Future Submarines Program Commodore Mark A Sanders (pictured left) was the keynote speaker at our first CELM event in 2011.

Over 30 members and guests came along to hear Mark speak about the Future Submarines Program including the issues that the Royal Australia Navy face in implementing this program and sourcing the right submarines for the Australian environment.

Commodore Sanders is the current Director General of the Future Submarine Program and joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1977. He spoke about his leadership and management skills. There were many questions following his presentation with guests staying on for some time following the breakfast to speak with Mark.

The event was held at the Holiday Inn Esplanade and was proudly sponsored by AusIndustry.

Gary Boyle, the Engineers Australia Northern Division CELM representative said in his thank you to Mark “this was certainly an interesting presentation as it highlighted the obstacles that the Royal Australian Navy faced with the Futures Submarine Program”. Gary presented Mark with a memento from Engineers Australia.

Engineers Australia Biomedical Conference Engineers Australia Biomedical Engineering Conference was held at the Darwin Convention Centre recently. There were 348 delegates and the program included a one day workshop on Humanitarian Engineering to fit with the theme of 2011. Northern Division has not had a representative on the College Board previously but as a consequence of this meeting Julie Woerner will be our representative. Congratulations Julie!

Delegates attended Mindil Beach market as part of the program and some delegates were known to visit the local crocodiles. Perhaps they were exploring the cause of some people losing vital limbs from close encounters with our famous reptilian creatures! Fortunately there were no casualties!

The Division was host to a number of meetings as adjuncts to this conference.

Biomedical participants at Mindil Beach

Two Professional Rooms available for Rent ♦ ♦ ♦

Quiet setting in the Darwin CBD Ample Parking Suitable for small business professional or city base for out-of-town business Room 1 $179 plus GST p/week Room 2 $265 plus GST p/ week For further details please phone Jan (08) 8981 3339

Supporter Page 4

Diploma in Project Management Course

Humanitarian Conference - 3 November

UPCOMING CONFERENCE Engineers Supporting Humanitarian Outcomes in East Timor and Indigenous Australia – Determining a Role for Engineers in the Acute Phase of Disasters, Conflict and Complex Emergencies When: Thursday, 3 November 2011 Time: Full Day Event Registration: Commencing at 8:00am www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern/events

Program Session 1: Session 2:

Session 3:

East Timor Transitioning to a Better Future Engineers Supporting Humanitarian Outcomes in partnership with Indigenous Australia The Challenges of Reconstruction in Recovery

Each topic will be followed by panel sessions. There will be a range of speakers including representatives from Timor Leste.

For more information on EngQuest, and how you can be involved, go to

ww.engquest.org.au

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Sunchase 2011 - Alice Springs On Friday 16th September the Alice Springs Sun-chase 2011, a solar propelled, kit cars, boat and model cars compe on for local school students, was held at Centralian Senior College. Power and Water Corpora on is the event main sponsor with other organisa ons such as Engineers Australia, local Rotary clubs and businesses also contribu ng volunteer labour and money.

The Alice Springs Sun-chase organising commi*ee, chaired by Mrs Renee Vincent of Ogden Power, includes Steve Sawyer, Jean-Luc Revel, Ron Saint, Ben Hu*on, Dow Airen, Felicity Wall, and Kate Musaers.

The 2011 event was a great success with all par cipants, including Engineers Australia Bronwyn Russel and Keely Quinn from Darwin, having a rewarding experience. Students had the opportunity to show the result of their hard work and enjoy the high compe ve spirit shown on the day whilst volunteers had the sa sfac on to contribute to a very worth while educa onal program promo ng the use of renewable energy.

Engineers Australia Bronwyn Russell and Keely Quinn and Power and Water Corporation’s Felicity Wall

Model car competitor ready for its time trial

The winners were:

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Model Cars, St Phillip’s College in first, second, and third places Solar boat, Living Water first, Braitling second, and third places Kit cars, Living Water first, Bradshaw Primary second and third places

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Chasing the Sun in Darwin - Sunchase Model Solar Car & Boat Challenge The 2011 Sunchase Model Solar Car & Boat Challenge time to the event.

Thanks also to the NT Fire Service came was held at the Royal Darwin Showgrounds on 14 October in along to fill up the pool. conjunction with the World Solar Car Challenge.

A great day was had by all and the Sun was certainly Over 250 students, teachers and volunteers gathered in our favour on the day! at the Showgrounds with students proudly displaying their boats and cars. There was 60 registered cars and 8 boats on the day.

The day started with scrutineering of the boats by our band of volunteers and then the race was on. Heats were held in both the boats and cars throughout the day with the final winners being announced. Middle and Upper Primary school classes competed in the heats with the final announcements of the overall winners and runners-up as follows: (note the finals of the Boats was held between Upper and Middle classes due to the number of boats entered): Boats 1st - Solar Sailors - Larrakeyah Primary 2nd - Thunderstruck - Nemarluk School 3rd - Riding Solo - Larrakeyah Primary Cars Upper Primary School 1st - Purple Potatoes - Good Shepherd Primary 2nd - The Blur - Good Shepherd Primary 3rd - Solar Chicks - Good Shepherd Primary Middle Primary School 1st - Black Thunder - Larrakeyah Primary 2nd - Crazy Scientists - Nakara Primary 3rd - The Elites - Larrakeyah Primary Thanks must go to Power and Water who once again proudly sponsored the Challenge and Brian VanDerStelt who was instrumental in getting over 9 volunteers and helpers from Power & Water. Thanks must also go to Nortruss Group of companies who actively worked behind the scenes to modify the pool for the boats and the purpose built track. This group helped with the set up of both the pool and the car track to ensure that all went smoothly on the day.

As well as the Challenge, students also had the opportunity to attend “Science Outside the Square� workshops conducted by the Royal Institute of Australia and also visit the World Solar Cars to see how the scrutineering is conducted for this event.

The Poster prize of $100.00 was won by Good Shepherd Primary School. The winners of the Boat and Car Races were also awarded $100.00 for their school.

Thanks must also go to our base of Volunteers on the day, as without their support, the event would not be possible.

Our official photographer was Warren Leeder who donated his

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Kirsty McInnes. FIEAust wins MBA Award Congratula ons to Kirsty McInnes of UNO Management Services on a*aining the award for Construc on Women of the Year with the Master Builders Associa on.

Judges advised Kirsty demonstrates a strong commitment to improving the local industry through her involvement with numerous industry associa ons and the wider community. She is currently chairing the Society of Sustainable Environmental Engineering in Darwin and has offered her me and exper se to Charles Darwin University’s engineering department as a senior lecturer. The judging panel felt that Kirsty was an inspira onal role model for other women in the construc on industry and a worthy winner of this year’s Master Builders' Women in Construc on Award.

Final fellows and companions luncheon for 2011 The final Fellows and Companions Luncheon will be held on Tuesday 15 November Featuring Keynote Speaker Details as follows: Venue: Date: Cost: Time: Registra on:

Darwin Conven on Centre, Exhibi on Foyer Tuesday, 15 November 2011 $50.00pp (partners welcome) 12 noon www.engineersaustralia.org.au/

northern/events

Continuing Professional Development What is Con nuing Professional Development?

We live and work in a changing world. When I started work as a civil engineer, a slide rule and a book of log tables were essen al. Each new technology required us all to learn how to use it in order to stay competent. We now call that learning process Con nuing Professional Development (CPD).

We should start our CPD as soon as we have gained our ini al qualifica on. The benefits include: • maintaining or increasing your level of technical competence, • an extension to your range of engineering skills, • competency in new areas of exper se, • confidence and pride in your work, • links with fellow professionals, and • enhancement of your career op ons The alterna ve is to become out-of-date and lose out to those who remain compe ve.

CPD is necessary for all prac cing engineers. It must be relevant to your career as an engineer and may take many forms: ⇒ post graduate study ⇒ technical presenta ons ⇒ short courses, workshops, seminars or conferences, ⇒ workplace learning, ⇒ private study, ⇒ service to the engineering profession, ⇒ prepara on and presenta on of material for courses, conferences and seminars, ⇒ ter ary teaching or research, or ⇒ any other ac vi es that will assist you to acquire knowledge and skills which are relevant to your engineering work.

All of the above applies to all engineers who are s ll prac cing.

CPD becomes mandatory for engineers who become chartered or registered. All such engineers must undertake and record CPD in accordance with the minimum requirements set out on the Engineers Australia website. The requirements include 150 hours over a 3 year period, in which, at least: ♦ 50 hours must relate the engineer’s area of prac ce, ♦ 10 hours must cover risk management, ♦ 15 hours must address business and management skills, and ♦ The remainder must cover a range of ac vi es relevant to your career and interests.

There are special provisions for engineering academics and teachers and for part me workers.

Chartered and registered engineers will be audited from me to me and will lose their status if the audit does not show compliance with the CPD policy.

There is a facility available to members on the Engineers Australia website which is designed to assist you to maintain your CPD records.

By Chris Jenkins

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Young Engineers Annual Meeting - 18 November 2011

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Generational Exchange (GENX) Dinner Engineers Australia Annual Meeting On Friday, 9th September, Young Engineers Northern Division hosted a generational exchange (GENX) dinner at Kantillas Lounge at TIO Stadium at Marrara. This dinner was a sell out with members/non-members being turned away.

The dinner provided a chance for young engineers to meet their peers and benefit from their experience.

Special guest speaker was Erin Hughes an engineer from the Torres Strait Islands and provided an insight into Humanitarian Engineering from first hand experience.

There was also a disaster display kit by Peter Clouting from Charles Darwin University. This kit is used in emergency disaster relief both here and overseas. Peter also gave a talk on his disaster experiences.

Activities for the evening included a couple of quizes.

The first quiz was based on Humanitarian Engineering and the second quiz was based on different generations.

Thank you must go to Charles Darwin University and the NT Centre for Oil & Gas for their sponsorship of students.

The Young Engineers dressed in their finest for the evening and impressed the not so young Engineers who attended the dinner.

Northern Division’s Annual Meeting and Christmas Party Come along and share “The Year that Was” with your Division staff and Committee of 2011 We’ll be celebrating with a few drinks and nibbles There’ll also be an announcement of the new Committee for 2012 When: Wednesday, 30th November Venue: Engineers Australia, 14 Shepherd Street, Darwin Time: 5:00pm This is an opportunity to meet your fellow colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere. We hope you can join us.

Register online at www.engineersaustralia.org.au/ northern/events Please call Karen or Kristy on (08) 8981 4137 if you have any enquiries

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Study Engineering at Charles Darwin University

Experienced Mechanical Engineer wanted looking for a new challenge

Do you want to pass on your academic knowledge and wisdom to the next generation?

If so please call Chris Lugg or Friso de Boer on (08) 8946 7280 or Mobile 0429 010753

Supporting the Engineers of the future

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Outback Heritage Trip - Observations by Peter Poole The second bridge was built by the NSW Department of Main Roads in 1942 as part of the war time Stuart Highway construction. The DMR constructed 12 bridges between Coomalie Creek and Warlock Ponds; they are all of similar deck design with two steel beams, transverse steel joists (railway line) and a concrete traffic surface. The footings and support structures vary from steel piles and concrete headstocks to mass concrete abutments. The bridges remain intact however the approaches have washed out on the King River and some are now on private property following realignment of the Highway.

The third bridge was constructed in 1971 as part of the Stuart Highway upgrading; I worked on the construction, under the supervision / guidance of experienced engineers. Bob Kennedy, (RH-ve), was the engineer in charge, how he got that abbreviation for a name is another story; however an engineer in Darwin with the same name was RH+ve. The bridge was an interesting design consisting of rows of 8 or 9 steel piles with a cast in situ uniform thickness concrete deck. The piles were impossible to drive as solid granite was at shallow depth so they were potted in concrete filled holes jack hammered into the rock. The deck was poured in two halves with on site batched and mixed concrete. The batching plant and agitator truck were set up in fixed positions close to the pour and a crane placed the concrete. In those days cement in the north was available in 50kg bags from Japan, a lot of manpower was required to handle and empty bags into the batch plant. The concrete pours were some of the largest in the NT up to that date; chilled water for temperature control was yet to be adopted. This bridge although higher and longer than the WW II bridge still closed periodically due to flooding, The fourth bridge is a high level structure for the new railway; the railway engineers adopted two standard designs for bridges with the Cullen River being one the long span type.

The footings varied with a mass concrete pedestal on piles or cast directly on to rock with a steel tapered column supporting a concrete headstock which supported two precast pre stressed Constructing the concrete beams.

Cullen River Bridge The fifth bridge is a road bridge to provide a higher lev1971 el crossing and an additional carriageway for the Stuart Highway. It is of precast prestressed beam construction. It is interesting to note that both the original National highway upgrade bridges over the Edith and Cullen Rivers suffered from frequent closures due to flooding which became less acceptable as traffic numbers increased and public acceptance of delay decreased.

The prediction of flood flows was a developing science in the early 1960’s and 70’s with Ian Cameron of Cameron McNamara being the lead Consultant in the field.

Continued…………..

I recently completed a ten day trip through the NT and Queensland Outback providing ambulance coverage for the Variety Club Bash.

The Bash provides me with a chance to go back to places I have not been for decades or to visit remote places I doubt I would get in the normal course of events, Past Bash’s have taken me back to Lonely Springs on the Top Springs Wave Hill Beef Road, my first work experience in the Territory; the Victoria Highway and Victoria River crossing, second work experience; and Burke Town Qld to see my brother.

This years Bash was from Daly Waters to Longreach via Balbarinni, Barkly Homestead, Camooweal, Urandangi, Boulia, Mt Isa, Winton and Longreach. I decided to volunteer to go as I had never been to Urandangi or Boulia and a revisit to the Landsbourgh highway after 35 years and since its upgrading had attractions.

The drive to Daly Waters along the Stuart Highway is always interesting to me, a real trip down memory lane. Three items of interest this trip were the construction of a new bridge over the Cullen River, the installation of the NBN optic fibre at the Fergusson River and Military convoys heading north to Darwin.

The new bridge over The Cullen is the fifth bridge over this river; the first was constructed in the 1917 as part of the railway extension from Pine Creek to Emungalen by the Commonwealth Government. It is a really low level structure; it would be interesting to see the flow estimations prepared as part of the design. The designers had a long term plan for it as although it was constructed to suit narrow gauge tracks it also could be modified to standard gauge. Steam trains were able to traverse it in flood so long as they did not extinguish the fire; diesel electrics had to wait until the flood receded. This bridge was used until the NAR closed in 1976.

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Outback Heritage Trip - Observations by Peter Poole The Fergusson River is an area of much engineering interest. The Stuart Highway, old and new, the railway old and The high new, the 132 kV power line, gas pipe line and Telstra and NBN level road optic fibres all cross the river in close proximity. The Overland (1976?)

Telegraph crossed about 5 km upstream of the current cross- and railings. way

(1917) bridges over The Fergusson River

Installing the NBN optic fibre Old Stuart Highway Fergusson River The most interesting bridge at the Fergusson, from my point of view, is the low level railway bridge. It was constructed in 1917 as a temporary crossing whilst the high level bridge was completed; the piers of this bridge were subsequently reused in 1942 by the NSW DMR to construct the WWII Stuart Highway road bridge. The bridge is in good condition but the southern approach needs some dental concrete to protect the integrity of the floodway. The approach road has been disturbed by the installation of the NBN optic fibre.

The new railway uses the original high level railway bridge constructed in 1917 and “moth balled” in 1976. The bearings supporting the beams were upgraded and the intention was to use wooden sleepers (ties) however steel sleepers were installed to enable the structure to be re-used. The NSW DMR installed a timber deck on the railway bridge in 1942 to enable motor vehicles to drive over the bridge when the river was in flood. The Adelaide and Katherine railway bridges also had decks for motor traffic installed by the NSW DMR The high level road bridge was constructed in the 1976?

It has a composite concrete deck on steel beams with concrete piers. The earthworks cut on the northern approach was a major cutting when constructed and required ongoing removal of rock slips for many years after construction.

An intermittent stream of military traffic returning from exercises in Queensland was heading north up the highway in convoys as we headed south to Daly Waters.

Daly Waters is another location that has a rich engineering history where the application of technology by mankind has left its mark however as the technology was superseded the reason for the place to exist goes. Daly Waters is now a 1930’s hotel that is a tourist attraction. The Overland telegraph station has gone, the airport runway, hangar, buildings, flying fox across the creek, and town infrastructure remain as testament to the past when Daly Waters was the International airport for Australia and where the railway was to reach in the 1930’s.

The Hanger, toilet block and fuel store at Daly Waters Aero Drome

The temporary railway bridge and WW II road bridge at The Fergusson River

Continued……………………..

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Outback Heritage Trip - Observations by Peter Poole The construction of the railway to Daly Waters had been funded by the Commonwealth in 1929, all materials were delivered and construction by day labour and contract being carried out; the money ran out and construction was never completed past Birdum. The materials remained in stock piles until they were used in WWII infrastructure; some rail was used in the construction of bridges for the road.

The Carpentaria and Tablelands Highway were then traversed, these roads were constructed as beef roads by the Commonwealth in the 1960’s / 70’s. The Carpentaria Highway had considerable flood damage from last wet season. Sections of both roads have been upgraded / widened. It was interesting to note that some of the bridges on the Tableland Highway must have sunk under traffic as the supporting piles had been cut, the deck raised and plates welded across the gaps in the piles.

The Barkly Homestead on the Barkly Highway is a dramatic improvement on the Wayside Inns that previously existed at Frewena and Barry Caves. The NT government recognising in the early 1980’s that a better standard of facilities for tourists was required compulsorily acquired both the old establishments and after the Barkly Homestead opened demolished them. The Wonarah line depot also has gone; this was a PMG maintenance establishment near Barry Caves when telephone lines were the method of communication between the south and the Territory.

The Barkly highway from Three Ways to Camooweal was constructed by Queensland Main Roads Department during WWII. The highway in the Territory was up graded to National Highway Standard in the late 1970’s early 1980’s. A major bridge was constructed over the Ranken River 1979/80 to replace the low level high maintenance WWII bridge. The Queensland government had other priorities to upgrading the highway from Mt Isa to Camooweal so each wet season the Barkly would be closed at the Georgina River crossing at Camooweal.

Paul Everingham the first NT Chief Minister decided to put pressure on the Qld government and announced that if Jo Bjelke Peterson Qld Premier and Russ Hinze Main Roads Minister would not upgrade the Georgina Crossing then the NT would. In 1979 an inspection of the bridge site was carried out

by Don Darben, Bill Steel and Mic Martin to publicise the offer, I was chauffer on the trip; we had an interesting evening at the Camooweal Hotel!. In the end a new high level bridge was constructed by Qld. The original bridge remains in the shadow of the new.

Barkly Homestead horse drawn scraper and steam engine

Old and new bridges over the Georgina River at Camooweal Note the expendable form work (sheet pile) in the old bridge

Continued……………………………….

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Outback Heritage Trip - Observations by Peter Poole From Camooweal we headed south to Urandangi, the track was a little better than a flat bladed track and once we got on to the black soil it was a flat bladed track. the interesting engineering to observe was the kilometres and kilometres of HV SWER electrical distribution with wooden poles and the cable stayed telecommunication towers. Urandangi is another town that has declined as technology has changed, the hotel is the only none residential establishment operating, the SWER system had not reached there, so the pub and one house each had generators running.

The last leg of the trip was down the Landsborough Highway to Longreach vie Winton. The last time I had driven on this road was 1975 when it was a flat bladed track over black soil, that trip we averaged 20 mph for two days, the road has been upgraded to National Highway standard with a speed limit of 110 kph, Henry and Walker did a section near Kynuna a few years ago. A large proportion of the road is constructed over black soil plains and consequently the edges have deformed over time, considerable reconstruction works were being undertaken.

Black soil plains South of Camooweal

The road has large numbers of road trains hauling ore from near Mc Kinley to Mt Isa. It would appear that the drainage structures might be suffering under the traffic as several major culverts and bridges had reduced speed limits for road trains and one major two lane bridge had traffic controls to limit traffic to single lane operation with a 40 kph speed limit.

Police were enforcing the speed limits.

The Jindalee Over the Horizon Radar tower near Longreach is a sight to behold; it is a very very tall cable stayed structure; the QANTAS museum is also interesting. They have a lot of historic engineering items to do with aircraft construction and maintenance on display as well as the memorabilia that passengers would remember. The change in aircraft power plants is demonstrated by the first small inline piston engines through to the large twin row radial piston engine. A JT8D and RB211 engine are also on display. A DC3, Boeing 707 and 747 are parked out side the museum.

The biggest contrast in engineering progress evident on the trip was to do with telecommunications, near Longreach the remnants of a single wire telephone circuit had the NBN optic fibre ploughed in beside it. A large number of the 1970’s vintage micro wave repeater towers were missing their equipment shelters so micro wave is a thing of the past. The old Telstra optic fibre runs on one side of the road the new NBN fibre on the other.

Peter Poole Heritage Committee Northern Division

The Landsborough Highway 1975

We continued south to Boulia and then turned north heading back to Mt Isa but still on the dirt. Boulia used to be a well frequented town by Territorians driving to and from Queensland. Sealed beef roads had been constructed through Boulia linking Mt Isa to the south east whereas the Flinders Highway east of Mt Isa was gravel. If you wanted to look after your car you took the longer way through Boulia on the bitumen.

Mt Isa appears to be a thriving town with much of its history on display.

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Date/Time

Host

Event

Venue/Cost/Registration

3rd November All Day Registration: 8:00am

Engineers Australia

Engineers Supporting Humanitarian Outcomes in East Timor and Indigenous Australia – Determining a Role for Engineers in the Acute Phase of Disasters, Conflict and Complex Emergencies Sessions x 3 1st Session East Timor Transitioning to a Better Future 2nd Session Engineers supporting Humanitarian Outcomes in partnership with Indigenous Australia 3rd Session The Challenges of Reconstruction in Recovery (Disaster Recovery)

Darwin Convention Centre $105 Engineers Australia Members $105 NGO employees $ 35 Students Members $150 Non-Members Registration: http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/ divisions/northern-division/events/

7 & 8 November All Day

Engineering Education Australia

Contract Management Course

Engineers Australia Northern Division, 14 Shepherd St, Darwin $990 for 2—Day Course Register at http://www.eeaust.com.au/ Contract-Management

10 & 11 November All Day

Engineering Education Australia

Managing People in Projects

Engineers Australia Northern Division, 14 Shepherd St, Darwin For more information and to register go to—http://www.eeaust.com.au

15 November 6:30pm

Engineers Australia

Fellows and Companions Luncheon Plus Partners

Darwin Convention Centre Exhibition Foyer $50.00 Registration: http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/ divisions/northern-division/events/

18 November 6:30pm

Young Engineers Australia Northern Division

Young Engineers Annual Meeting and Christmas wind-up

Nirvana Restaurant $15.00 Registration: http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/ divisions/northern-division/events/

30 November 5:00pm

Engineers Australia

Engineers Australia Northern Division Annual Meeting and Christmas Wind-up

Engineers Australia 14 Shepherd Street, Darwin Registration: http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/ divisions/northern-division/events/

Division Office Closure for Christmas New Year Break Friday 23 December to Tuesday 2 January 2011