Biographical entry Fowler, Thomas Walker (1859 - 1928)

Summary

Thomas Walker Fowler initially worked as an engineer for the surveyor's branch of the Victorian and New South Wales railways. In 1882 he was appointed engineer to the Shire of Huntley (Victoria) and oversaw the water-supply schemes and their associated conservation schemes for the areas of Broken River, Shepparton, Yarrawonga and Gisborne. Fowler spent the next twenty-seven years combining a private consulting practice with lecturing and demonstrating for the Engineering Department of the University of Melbourne. In 1913 he moved to Tasmania to head the Public Works Department. Thomas Fowler was a member of many professional bodies and committees including the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (Secretary then President) and the Victorian Institute of Surveyors and was widely published.

Details

Events

1876

Life event - Migrated to Australia (Melbourne)

1879

Education - Certificate in Civil Engineering (CS) completed at the University of Melbourne

1880 - 1881

Career position - Engineer at the Victorian Railways

1881

Career position - Engineer at the New South Wales Government Railways

1882 - 1885

Career position - Engineer at Huntley Shire, Victoria

1885

Education - Master of Civil Engineering (MCE) completed at the University of Melbourne

1885 - 1891

Career position - Private practice as a Consulting Engineer in Melbourne

1891 - 1903

Career position - Lecturer in Surveying at the University of Melbourne

1892

Career position - President of the Victorian Institue of Surveyors

1896 - 1904

Career position - Demonstrator in Engineering at the University of Melbourne

1905 - 1909

Career position - Lecturer in Civil Engineering at the University of Melbourne

1908 - 1913

Career position - Chairman of the Municipal Surveyor's Board of Victoria

1909

Career position - Member of the special board of inquiry into Melbourne water supply

1909

Career position - Member of the Perth and Fremantle sewerage report for the Western Australian Government

1909 - 1912

Career position - Private practice as a Consulting Engineer in Melbourne

1912 - 1913

Career position - Engineer at the firm Fowler & Tuxen

1913 - 1918

Career position - Engineer-in-Chief and Head of the Public Works Department in Tasmania

Published resources

Book Sections

• O'Neill, Sally, 'Fowler, Thomas Walker (1859-1928)', in Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle (eds), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 8, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1981, p. 565. Also available at http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A080581b.htm. Details

Online Resources

• 'Fowler, Thomas Walker', in Physics in Australia to 1945, R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham, Australian Science Archives Project, June 1995, http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/physics/P001053p.htm. Details
• National Library of Australia, 'Fowler, Thomas Walker', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1467738. Details