Styles, James (1841 - 1913)

Summary

James Styles was a civil engineer and contractor, who worked on railway lines, water-supply and sewerage works in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria. From 1891-1901 he was a member of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works, where he clashed frequently with the board's chairman and chief engineer over Melbourne's sewerage system.

Details

Born 3 July 1841. Died 4 February 1913. Arrived in Melbourne 1849. Railway contractor, Melbourne, moved to Brisbane 1861, worked as a contractor for municipal street and sewerage works, on the construction of the Ipswich-Toowoomba railway and then on the Toowoomba-Dalby line, returned to Vectorial 1869, contracting and engineering work on the Seymour-Benalla and Oakleigh-Bunyip railways, resident engineer and agent on the Burra-Hallett extension, South Australia 1977-78, contractor for government water-supply works and major portions of the Adelaide sewerage system 1879-83, reclamation contracts for the Melbourne Harbour Trust and the Department of Public Works, Victoria 1883-89, gave up contracting 1889 but continued to work as a consulting engineer and arbitrator. Member of the Williamstown Municipal Council 1885-88 and 1890-1901, member of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works 1891-1901, chairing its sewerage committee 1891-94. Served on the Melbourne Harbour Trust 1891-94 and the Board of Health 1896-1912.

Published resources

Book Sections

• Browne, Geoff, 'Styles, James (1841-1913), Contractor, Civil Engineer and Politician' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 12 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990), p. 133. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120150b.htm. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q16058758. Details
• 'Styles, James (1841-1913)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1465614. Details