Dare, Henry Harvey (1867 - 1949)

Summary

Henry Harvey Dare, ME MInstCE MIEAust, was Chief engineer, and Commissioner, of the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission, New South Wales from 1913 until he retired in 1935. During this period, under his direction, the major Burrinjuck Dam was completed together with the associated Murrumbidgee irrigation works, Wyangala Dam was constructed, and Coomealla irrigation area was established. He was also the representative of New South Wales on the River Murray Commission from 1917 to 1935, and acted as a consultant for water-storage works in Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Auckland, New Zealand, and served on expert committees for works carried out by the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board of Sydney.

Earlier, between 1899 and 1904, he was involved with the preparation of designs for many significant bridges in New South Wales, including cardioid-tracked bascule bridges, and bridges with "Dare Truss" spans - a refinement of the timber/steel "Allan Truss" of Percy Allan where the timber bottom (tension) chord was replaced by steel. In 1908-1909, Dare prepared preliminary design and estimate works for Royal Commissions on the Sydney Harbour crossing and the Sydney railway.

His distinguished contributions to engineering were recognised when he was awarded Telford premiums in 1904 and in 1922 by the Institution of Civil Engineers, London; and when he was awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1930.

The town 'Dareton' in the Coomealla Irrigation Area, was named in his honour in 1922.

Details

Associated works:

1899 - 1904:
* Lift bridge over Murray River, Cobram;
* Lift bridge over Murrayt River, Koondrook;
* Bascule bridge over Murrumbidgee River, Darlington Point;
* Bascule bridge over Richmond River, Coraki;
* Bascule bridge over Clarence River, Maclean;
* Suspension bridge over Nepean River;
* Road and rail bridge over Nepean River, Camden;
* Composite truss bridge over Clarence River, Tabulam;
* Steel truss bridge over Hunter River, Luskintyre;
* Steel truss bridge over Hunter River, Singleton;
* Reinforced concrete arched bridge over Hawkesbury River, Richmond;
* 'Dare Truss' bridges: between 1905 and 1936, 40 Dare truss road bridges were built in NSW. [27 survived in service in 2004.]

1904 - 1910:
* Water supply works: Cataract Dam, Katoomba, Lithgow, Cowra, Gunnedah, Gundagai, Singleton;
* Sewerage works: Newscastle, Parramatta, Sydney Southern and Western suburbs outfall, four pumping stations Sydney, Katoomba, Lithgow;
* Irrigation and Water Conservation works: Murrumbidgee Northern Irrigation Scheme - Barren Jack Dam [Burrinjuck] Dam;,Berembed Diversion Weir, Canals, Regulators and Escapes, etc;
* Railway and Tramway works: Central Railway Station roofs etc, Manila to Barraba railway, Temora to Barellan railway, Bellevue Hill tramway, North Coast railway (3 sections).

* Wyangala Dam;
* Coomealla irrigation area.

Chronology

1888

Career event - Student Member (StudInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London [under W H Warren MInstCE]

1888

Career position - Assistant Astronomical Observer, Sydney Observatory

1888

Education - Bachelor of Engineering (BE) (First class honours and gold medal), University of Sydney

1889 - 1899

Career position - Draughtsman and Computer, Public Works Department, New South Wales [under Percy Allan]

1890

Career event - Member, Royal Society of New South Wales

6 Dec 1892

Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1894

Education - Master of Engineering (ME) (First class honours and gold medal), University of Sydney

1895

Career event - Member, Sydney University Engineering Society

1899 - 1900

Career position - President, Sydney University Engineering Society

1899 - 1904

Career position - Design engineer, Roads, Bridges and Public Watering Places Branch, Public Works Department, New South Wales [Designing many large bridges]

1904

Award - Telford Premium, Institution of Civil Engineers, London - for paper: "Recent Road Bridge Practice in New South Wales."

1904 - 1910

Career position - Engineer-in-charge, inspection of steel and iron work, for all engineering branches, Public Works Department, New South Wales

1904 - 1911

Career position - Design of irrigation and drainage work, Public Works Department, New South Wales [under J Davis, W J Hanna, L A B Wade, W Hutchinson, E M de Burgh]

1908 - 1909

Career position - Prepared preliminary design and estimates for railway and road tunnel schemes for the Royal Commission on Communications between Sydney and North Sydney

1908 - 1909

Career position - Prepared preliminary design and estimates for the Sydney railway for the Royal Commission on Improvement of the City of Sydney and its Suburbs

1909

Award - Life Member, Sydney University Engineering Society

1911

Career position - Engineer-in-Chief, Sewerage [Responsible for outfall sewer to Long Bay]

10 Jan 1911

Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1912

Career position - Chief engineer, National Work and Drainage, New South Wales

1913 - 1915

Career position - Deputy Commissioner, Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission, New South Wales [deputy to L A B Wade]

1913 - 1934

Career position - Chief engineer, Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission, New South Wales

1915 - 1916

Career position - Acting Commissioner, Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission, New South Wales

1916 - 1934

Career position - Engineering Representative, Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission, New South Wales

1917 - 1934

Career position - Representative of New South Wales, River Murray Commission

1918 - 1919

Career position - Member of the Board of Special Experts, enquired into the extension of the Sydney water supply [recommended the construction of the Cordeaux, Avon and Nepean Dams]

1919

Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1919

Lecture - Invited lecturer, inaugural general meeting, Institution of Engineers Australia

1920

Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

1921 - 1930

Career position - Member, New South Wales Advisory Committee, Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1922

Award - Telford Premium, Institution of Civil Engineers, London - for paper: "The Spillways of Burrinjuck Dam."

1922

Life event - 'Dareton' the town in the Coomealla Irrigation Area, was named in his honour.

1928 - 1930

Career position - Representative of Australia, on the Council, Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1930

Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia

1933 - 1941

Career position - Member, NSW Advisory Committee of Council, Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1935

Career position - Consultant engineer, Stanley River Works Board, Queensland

1935

Life event - Retired

1936

Career position - Consultant engineer, Sydney Water Board

1937 -

Career position - Foundation chairman, Australian National Committee on Large Dams

Related entries

Published resources

Edited Books

• Coltheart, Lenore; and Nicholas, Amie eds, The timber truss bridge book ( Auburn, N.S.W.: Transport for NSW, 2019), 210 pp, http://heritagensw.intersearch.com.au/heritagenswjspui/handle/1/10518. Details
• Coltheart, Lenore; Fraser, Don ed., Landmarks in Public Works: Engineers and Their Works in New South Wales, 1884-1914 (Sydney: Hale and Iremonger, 1987), 144 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• 'Obituary Notice - Henry Harvey Dare.', Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 84 (1) (1950), xxv, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46147921. Details
• 'First members of institution [Diamond Jubilee feature article]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 51 (20) (1979), 69. 'Registered member number 12'. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'The opening bridges of New South Wales', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 1 (1896), 1-11, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2304. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'Presidential address. Sydney University Engineering Society', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 5 (1900), 1-8, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/1990. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'Preliminary Work on the proposed connection between Sydney and North Sydney, with some notes on long span bridges and subaqueous tunnelling', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 14 (1909-1910), 67-111, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2168. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'The water supply of Singleton, N.S.W.', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 15 (1910-1911), 61-74, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2143. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'The Hunter River flood of May 1913', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 18 (1913-1914), 78-93, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2212. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'Water conservation and irrigation, N.S.W.', Commonwealth Engineer, 2 (11) (1915), 383-. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'The River Murray Waters Scheme', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 21 (1917-1920), 93-120, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2073. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'The River Murray Waters Scheme.', Commonwealth Engineer, 7 (6) (1920), 178-182. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'The design of spillways for large dams. [1]', Commonwealth Engineer, 9 (7) (1922), 218-222. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'The design of spillways for large dams. [2]', Commonwealth Engineer, 9 (8) (1922), 274-282. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'Burrinjuck Dam, Murrumbidgee River', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers Australia, 9 (1928), 1-23, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.264918880772974. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'Notes on some failures and unforeseen factors in the design of works', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (1931), 247- , Discussion p.427. Details
• Dare, H. H., 'The River Murray Waters Scheme', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 6 (1934), 185-. Details
• Deakin, M. A. B., 'Henry Harvey Dare and the New South Wales Cardioids', Australian Mathematical Society gazette, 22 (5) (1995), https://www.austms.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Gazette/1995/Dec95/cardiods.html. Details
• Deakin, M. A. B.; Fraser, D. J., 'Cardioid-Tracked Bascule Bridges in NSW', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers Australia: Multi-Disciplinary Engineering, GE18 (2) (1994-1995), 163-171. Details
• Fraser, D. J., 'Moveable Span Bridges in New South Wales Prior to 1915', Transactions of The Institution of Engineers, Australia: Multi-Disciplinary Engineering, GE9 (2) (1985), 71-81. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Eleventh Annual Report [1930]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (1931), 136-141. 'Prizes - The Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1930 award) to Mr Henry Harvey Dare, Member, Sydney Division. Mr. Dare is Commissioner of Water Conservation and Irrigation, N.S.W.', p.138. Details
• Warren, W. H.; Dare, H. H., 'The determination of working stresses for bridges', Journal and abstract of proceedings of the Sydney University Engineering Society, 6 (1901), 41-56, https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/SUES/article/view/2015. Details

Resources

• 'Obituary. Henry Harvey Dare, 1867-1949', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/IJOTI.1950.12911. Details
• 'Recent Road Bridge Practice in New South Wales (including plate at back of volume) [Awarded a Telford Premium]', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1904.17926. Details
• 'Vehicular Ferries in New South Wales', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1912.16834. Details
• 'The Spillways of Burrinjuck Dam [Awarded a Telford Premium]', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1922.14459. Details
• Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 'Application: 8291, 1892', Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/3585/. Details
• 'Dare, Henry Harvey (1867-1949)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-578041. Details

See also

• Fraser, D.J., 'Darlington Point Bridge Reconstruction', in Fifth National Conference on Engineering Heritage 1990: Interpreting Engineering Heritage; Preprints of Papers (Perth, Western Australia: Fifth National Conference on Engineering Heritage 1990: Interpreting Engineering Heritage; Preprints of Papers, 1990), pp. 81-87.. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.624259843276640. Details