Myers, Walter Harold (1881 - 1965)

Summary

Walter Harold Myers, BE MIEAust, was Chief Electrical Engineer, New South Wales Government Railways from 1924 to 1946 and was responsible for the generation of power at the Ultimo, White Bay, Lithgow, and Zara Street (Newcastle) Power Stations, and its distribution for the purposes of the Sydney and Suburban electric railway systems, and the Sydney and Newcastle tramway systems, and also the supply of electricity in bulk to distributing bodies in the metropolitan, northern, and western areas of New South Wales.

In 1917 with Dr. J. B. Cleland he was appointed to investigate Electrical sterilisation of milk.

He authored many notable and award winning scientific and technical papers presented in Australia and overseas and he was prominent in associated activities: as a representative of the Department of Railways on the Electricity Supply Association of Australia; as a member of the Electrical Advisory Committee, N.S.W.; as Chairman of the Electrical Sectional Committee, Northern Section, Standards Association of Australia, and as Member of The Institute of Transport.

Myers was also an early proponent of a large hydro-electricity scheme in the Snowy Mountains, windmills for generating electricity, and an interconnected electricity supply grid across Eastern Australia.

His distinguished contribution to engineering in Australia was recognised when he was awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1946.

A small waterfall 'Myers Fall' in the Blue Mountains National Park was named after him in 1986.

Details

Chronology

1901

Education - Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), BE(Civil), University of Sydney

1902 - 1904

Career position - Engineer, Messrs Noyes Bros, Melbourne

1903

Education - Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical), BE(Mech&Elec), University of Sydney [First to obtain that degree at that University]

1903 - 1915

Career event - Member, Electrical Association of New South Wales

1904 - 1906

Career position - Engineering draftsman, N.S.W. Government Railways

1906 - 1921

Career position - Assistant Engineer, Electrical Branch, N.S.W. Government Railways

1910

Award - Rooke Premium, Electrical Association of New South Wales

1914 - 1915

Career position - President, Electrical Association of New South Wales

1915

Career event - Member, NSW Section, Electrical Association of Australia

1918

Career position - Federal Councillor, Electrical Association of Australia

1919

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

1920

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

1921 - 1924

Career position - Chief Assistant Electrical Engineer, N.S.W. Government Railways [Under O W C Brain]

1924

Career event - Overseas study tour, Great Britain, Europe, America [In anticipation of the electrification of the Sydney Suburban Railway System, and to investigate electric power developments generally]

1924

Career event - Representative of the Commonwealth Government and the Institμtion of Engineers, Australia, at the First World Power Conference, London

1924 - 1946

Career position - Chief Electrical Engineer, Railways and Tramways, N.S.W. Government [In succession to O W C Brain]

1926

Career position - Adviser to the Greater Brisbane Council in connection with its electricity problems

1930

Career event - Representative of the Commonwealth Government and the Institμtion of Engineers, Australia, at the Second World Power Conference, Berlin

1936

Award - Gold Medal, Institute of Transport, Great Britain

1937

Award - Electrical Association Premium, Institution of Engineers Australia

1939

Career event - Overseas study tour, engineering and electrical traction

1946

Life event - Retired

1946

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

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• 'Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal: 1946 Award [Walter Harold Myers, BE MIEAust]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 18 (1946), 267. Details
• Grant, R.; Bate, E.; Myers, W. H., 'Influence of bacteria on corrosion in condensers', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers Australia, 2 (1921), 41-68, Discussion p.279, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.633566530926326. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twenty-third Annual Report [1942]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 15 (1943), 35-51. 'Prizes - Electrical Association Premium: 1937 Award to Mr W H Myers, BE MIEAust, Sydney Division, for his paper "The electrical services at Wynyard Railway Station, Sydney"'. Details
• Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twenty-seventh Annual Report [1946]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 19 (1947), 10-23. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1946 Award), to Mr Walter Harold Myers, BE MIEAust, Sydney Division' p.12. Details
• Myers, W. H., 'Electrification of Sydney and suburban railways: IV. - power supply and distribution', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers Australia, 7 (1926), 384-494, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.865794937441746. Details
• Myers, W. H., 'The electrical services at Wynyard Railway Station, Sydney', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 9 (1937), 259-. [Awarded the 1937 Electrical Association Premium, Institution of Engineers Australia]. Details
• Myers, W. H., 'Flow of Small Coal in Power Station Bunkers', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 15 (1943), 95-. Details
• Myers, W. H.; Grant, R., 'Some Practical Points in Ionic Medication', Proceedings of the Electrical Association of Australia, New South Wales Section, 4 (1918-19) (1920), 18-23. Details
• Myers, W.H., 'Supply of electricity in bulk', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1 (1929), 115-127, Discussion pp.241, 369. Details
• Myers, W.H., 'The reconstruction of Ultimo Power Station, Sydney', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 5 (1933), 253- , Discussion pp.330, 377. Details
• Myers, W.H., 'Notes on a case of damage by lightning', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 7 (1935), 186-. Details
• Myers, W.H., 'Lightning discharge phenomena', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 8 (1936), 275-. Details
• Myers, W.H., 'The supply of electricity in bulk, with special reference to conditions in New South Wales', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 16 (1944), 40- , Discussion pp.147, 210. Details

See also

• Dorman, Selwyn; Hagarty, Don; Johnson, Geoff; Reid, Noel; Sharp, Stuart; Winney, Ken, 'Chapter 4: Sydney's railways' in Sydney: from settlement to city: an engineering history of Sydney, Don Fraser, ed. (Crows Nest, New South Wales: Engineers Australia, 1989), pp. 63-96. Details