Alsop, Peter Findon Bethune (1935 - 2014)

Summary

Peter Alsop was a supervising civil engineer with the Country Roads Board, Victoria in Geelong, and in the latter part of his career concentrated on hydraulic design for bridges, coastal erosion, sand dune stabilisation and traffic engineering.

Peter was also a well-respected local and engineering historian. His thorough research identified and helped protect many important road bridges and historic buildings in Geelong and the Victorian Western District. He successfully argued that when historic road bridges were no longer adequate for modern traffic, and improved road alignments could be provided, this would enable historic bridges to be saved.

Details

Peter was president of the Geelong Historical Society from 1984 to 2007, was on the committee of Engineering Heritage Victoria, and was on other industrial history committees.

In 2007, the Geelong Historical Society created the "Peter F B Alsop Occasional Lecture" in his honour, and in 2014 he was awarded an Honorary Master of Science from Deakin University.

Chronology

1955

Career event - Student Member (StudIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

c. 1960

Education - Diploma of Civil Engineering (DipCE), Gordon Institute of Technology

1961

Career position - Engineer, with consultants in London, designing steel framed high-rise buildings

1962

Career event - Graduate Member (GradIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

c. 1962

Career position - Engineer, State Rivers and Water Supply Commission, Geelong and Melbourne

c. 1962 - c. 2000

Career position - Engineer, Country Roads Board, Geelong

1968 - 1969

Education - Studied coastal sand dunes, Department d'eaux et forets, France

1968 - 1969

Education - Studied design and construction of roads, Ecole des ponts et chausess, France

c. 1969

Career event - Researched early colonial engineers in Australia, while in England

1970

Career event - Member, Newcomen Society

1977 - 1978

Career event - Study tour to Europe and Africa, concentrating on history of engineering and engineers, and sand dune stabilisation

1984 - 2000

Career position - Vice-president / President, Geelong Historical Society

2007

Award - Peter F B Alsop Occasional Lecture, Geelong Historical Society, named in his honour

2008

Award - Award of Merit for exception service to history in Victoria, Royal Historical Society of Victoria

2014

Award - Honorary degree of Master of Science, Deakin University

Published resources

Books

• Alsop, Peter F.B., A History of the Geelong Tunnel (Geelong, Vic: The Author, 1996), 48 pp. Details

Conference Papers

• van der Molen, J. L.; Alsop, P. F. B., 'Early Reinforced Concrete Structures - a Heritage Issue', in Second Australasian Conference on Engineering Heritage, Auckland, 14-16 February, 2000: Proceedings (Auckland, New Zealand: Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, 2000), pp. 231-236., https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.911134642703081. Details

Edited Books

• Alsop, Peter F. B. ed., Nineteenth century engineers in the colony of Victoria (Geelong North, Victoria: Author, 2002), 372 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'A history of the Prince Albert Bridge with a biography of Captain Foster Fyans', Roadlines : the staff magazine of the Country Roads Board, 11-19. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Bridging the rivers 1839 - 1859 : Part I: The Barwon Breakwater', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 3 (2) (1968), 85-109. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Bridging the rivers 1839 - 1859 : Part II: David Lennox', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 3 (3) (1968), 155-174. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Bridging the rivers 1839 - 1859 : Part III: Punts - The 1852 flood - Timber bridges to 1853', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 3 (4) (1968), 214-230. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Bridging the rivers 1839 - 1859 : Part IV: The Road Act of 1853 - The Central Road Board - Conditions on the Queen's Highways', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 4 (1) (1969), 33-43. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Bridging the rivers 1839 - 1859 : Part V: The Barwon Iron Bridge', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 4 (2) (1969), 84-101. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Geelong's First Water Supply', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 6 (1) (1971), 15-26. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The Shelford Iron Bridge', Roadlines : the staff magazine of the Country Roads Board (1971), 5-8. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The Telegraph Bridge at Ashby, Geelong : An historical note', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 7 (1) (1972), 8-11. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The Telegraph Bridge at Ashby - Geelong', Roadlines : the staff magazine of the Country Roads Board (1972), 5-7. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Moving the Monument', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 9 (1) (1974), 23-27. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Matthew Flinders Memorial Cairn', Roadlines : the staff magazine of the Country Roads Board (1974), 6-7. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The Shelford Bridge', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 9 (4) (1974), 117-134. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Arches through the ages [Letters]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 50 (24) (1978), 4. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Pollocksford Bridge', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 15 (1) (1980), 24-29. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Bridge construction at the turn of the century [Letters]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 53 (2) (1981), 3. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The Early Roads of Victoria: Part 1: an Outline History 1801 to 1844', Roads Victoria, 4 (1984), 9-11. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The Early Roads of Victoria: Part 2: an Outline History 1844 to 1853', Roads Victoria, 5 (1985), 9-13. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The Early Roads of Victoria: Part 3: an Outline History of Victoria's Early Roads: the Gold Rush Era, 1851 to 1856', Roads Victoria, 6 (1985), 4-6. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The early roads of Victoria. Part 5: an outline history of Victoria's early roads: the decline of road building, 1856 - 75 (Part 2)', Roads Victoria, 8 (1986), 5-9. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The early roads of Victoria. Part 4: an outline history of Victoria's early roads: the decline of road building, 1856 - 75 (Part 1)', Roads Victoria, 7 (1986), 6-8. Details
• Alsop, Peter F. B., 'The Early Roads of Victoria: an Outline History, 1801-1844', Accounting History Newsletter, 13 (Summer) (1986), 13-19. Details
• Gill, Edmund D.; Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Radiocarbon date for Geelong keys', Investigator : magazine of the Geelong Historical Society, 72, 95-100. Details
• Gill, Edmund D.; Alsop, Peter F. B., 'Radiocarbon dating of coastal sands at Thirteenth Beach, West of Barwon Heads, Victoria', The Victorian naturalist, 100 (1983), 76-79, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/39960760. Details
• van der Molen, J. L.; Alsop, P. F. B., 'Early Reinforced Concrete Structures - a heritage issue', Transactions of Multi-disciplinary Engineering, Australia, 26 (2002), 81-87, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/engine.222009. Details