Person

Butters, John Henry (1885 - 1969)

MBE CMG

Born
23 December 1885
Alverstoke, Hampshire, England
Died
29 July 1969
Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Engineer

Summary

Sir John Butters was Chief engineer and general managerof the Tasmanian Hydro- Electric Department from 1914-1924 and in 1925-1929 was Chief Commissioner of the Federal Capital Commission. He maintained a private consulting engineering practice until 1954.

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Details

MBE 1920, CMG 1923, knighted 1926. Educated Hartley University College, Southampton (University of London intermediate bachelor of science (engineering) degree and first-class certificate for electrical engineering from Hartley College 1904). Apprentice and improver, John I. Thornycroft & Co. Ltd, shipbuilders and engineers of Southampton1904-05, technical department, Siemens Brothers Dynamo Works Ltd 1905-08, assistant engineer, head office, London 1908-09, chief engineer, Australasian branch, Melbourne 1909-11, engineer-in-chief and manager, Hydro-Electric Power and Metallurgical Co. Ltd 1911-14, chief engineer and general manager, Hydro-Electric Department, Tasmania 1914-24, chairman, Federal Capital Commission 1924--29, consulting engineer, Sydney 1929-54, director of a large range of companies. President, Tasmanian Institution of Engineers 1918, chairman, Tasmanian division, Institution of Engineers, Australia 1920, president, Institution of Engineers, Australia 1927-28, president, Royal Automobile Club of Australia 1937-49. Commemorated by Butters Drive, Phillip, ACT.

Chronology

19 October 1920
Award - Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
2 June 1923
Award - Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG)
9 May 1926
Award - Knighted, at Canberra, on the occasion of the inauguration of the new Capital, for services rendered as Chief Commissioner, Federal Capital Commission.

Related Corporate Bodies

Related People

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • John Henry Butters - Records, 1921 - 1963, MS 4990; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Published resources

Conference Papers

Journal Articles

  • 'Obituary : Sir John Butters', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 41 (9) (1969), N68. Details
  • 'First members of institution [Diamond Jubilee feature article]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 51 (20) (1979), 69. 'Registered member number 9'. Details
  • Butters, J. H., 'The Great Lake Hydro-Electric Scheme of the Tasmanian Government', Proceedings of the Electrical Association of Australia, Victorian Section, II (1915-1916), 77-107. Details

Reports

  • Advisory Council of Science and Industry, Report of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Advisory Council of Science and Industry: for the year ended 30th June 1918 (Melbourne: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1918), 64 pp. http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2004795988. Details

Resources

See also

  • Engineers Australia ed., Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders (Barton, A.C.T.: Institution of Engineers Australia, 2019), 136 pp. 'A Capital Idea - Sir John Butters' p.62. Details
  • Engineers Australia ed., Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 236 pp. p.32. Details
  • Institution of Engineers Australia. Sydney Division. Engineering Heritage Committee, The Historic Engineering Plaques of Australia (Milsons Point, New South Wales: The Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1994), 38 pp. p.33. Waddamana 'A' Power Station, Waddamana, TAS. Details
  • McFie, H. H., 'Great Lake, Tasmania and Waddamana Hydro-electric Power Development, First (1916) and Second (1923) Stages - an Engineering Heritage Perspective', in First Australasian Conference on Engineering Heritage 1994: Old Ways in a New Land; Preprints of Papers (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1994), pp. 61-69., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.625396454523390. Details
  • Sinclair, Bruce, 'Some National Presidents of IEAust', in Eleventh National Conference on Engineering Heritage: Federation Engineering a Nation; Proceedings (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2001), p. 259., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.521182246276277. Details

Gavan McCarthy [P004098]; Ken McInnes

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023

EOAS ID: biogs/P001132b.htm

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