P007145 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

All key entry types: Awards; Concepts; Corporate Bodies (Organisations); Cultural Artefacts; People; etc

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2022-12-14 human Ken McInnes updated 2026-05-05 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007145b.htm person Waitt Frank William Foster AACR2 28 November 1895 21 September 1989 Place of Birth Petersham, New South Wales, Australia Place of Death Inala Village, Blackburn, Victoria, Australia Hydraulic engineer Civil engineer Frank Waitt was the Chief Hydraulic engineer, Commonwealth Department of Works. He took a leading role in investigating rainfall and catchment runoff, stream flows, flood estimation and reservoir yields associated with many major projects across Australia. His method of using the lowest streamflow sequence on record as the basis of a "safe yield" for a water reservoir, described in his 1945 paper, was widely adopted as the "Waitt" or "Rippl and Waitt" method. Later, when working as a consultant with Scott and Furphy consulting engineers, he guided the development of innovative methods for analysing complex urban catchments and storm water stream and drainage flows. His father, William Arthur Foster Waitt (1863-1949), was Secretary and later Manager, of John Danks and Son Pty. Ltd., Melbourne and Sydney, the well known hardware manufacturer and distributor.

Frank Waitt provided evidence to the following Commonwealth Parliamentary Papers:
- 'Report Relating to the Proposed Construction of a Sewerage Installation at Alice Springs, Northern Territory'; CA PP No.73 (1948-49), pp.10-11
- 'Report Relating to Proposed Extension to the Water Supply Storage System at Canberra, A.C.T.'; CA PP No.52 (1954-55) pp.1-32

He also contributed to discussions of papers in overseas publications, including in the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

1916 1919 Military service - First World War. On active service. 10th and 17th Field Companies Engineers, AIF [under Major W.T.B. McCormack MInstCE, Lt-Col. Clogstoun RE] 1919 1919 Career event - Foundation Junior Member (JrIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia 1920 1920 Education - Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE(hons)), University of Melbourne 1920 1922 Career position - Engineering Draftsman, Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage (MBWSS), Sydney [under J.G.S. Purvis, engineer-in-chief; B.Rourke, Chief draftsman] 1922 1924 Career position - Assistant to Supervising engineer, Water Supply Maintenance, Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage (MBWSS), Sydney [under H.J.Renwick] 1924 Career position - Resident engineer, Water main construction, Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage (MBWSS), Sydney 1924 1924 Career event - Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia 9 Feb 1926 9 Feb 1926 Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London 1930 1930 Life event - Married Hilda St.Clair Andrews, Lindfield NSW 1931 1931 Education - Master of Civil Engineering (MCE), University of Melbourne 1936 Career position - Engineer-in-charge, Water investigations, Metropolitan Board of Water Supply and Sewerage (MBWSS), Sydney 1945 Career position - Investigating Engineer, Water, Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board 1946 c. 1948 Career position - Engineer for Water Supply and Sewerage, Commonwealth Department of Works and Housing, in Victoria c. 1948 1952 Career position - Chief Hydraulic Engineer, Water Supply & Sewerage, Department of Works and Housing, Melbourne 1950 1950 Career position - Engineer for Water Supply and Sewerage, Commonwealth Department of Works and Housing. [Assisted Queensland with the Walsh River irrigation scheme.] 1952 1960 Career position - Chief Hydraulic engineer, Commonwealth Department of Works 1962 1962 Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia c. 1962 c. 1970 Career position - Consultant hydrology engineer, Scott and Furphy, Consulting engineers 13 Sep 1968 13 Sep 1968 Career event - Fellow (FIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Members were designated Fellows on this date.] Boyd, Robert James (1876 - 1953)

Robert Boyd MInstCE endorsed Frank Waitt's nomination for AssocMInstCE in 1926

 McCormack, William Thomas Bartholomew (1879 - 1938)

William McCormack MInstCE, endorsed Frank Waitt's nomination for AssocMInstCE 1926. Frank served under him in the First World War.

 Kelso, Alexander Edward (1894 - 1943)

Alexander Kelso AssocMInstCE, endorsed Frank Waitt's nomination for AssocMInstCE 1926. Kelso also graduated BCE with Frank Waitt in 1920.

 Higgins, George (1856 - 1943)

George Higgins MInstCE endorsed Frank Waitt's nomination for AssocMInstCE 1926.

 Payne, Henry (1871 - 1945)

Henry Payne MInstCE endorsed Frank Waitt's nomination for AssocMInstCE 1926.

 McInnes, Kenneth Graham (1945 - )

Frank Waitt guided the successful development by Ken McInnes of 'CIRCE', a computer program system that modelled rainfall and stormwater flows in complex urban and rural drainage networks.

 Department of Works and Housing, Commonwealth of Australia (1945 - 1952)

Chief Hydraulic Engineer, Water Supply & Sewerage c1948 - 1952; Engineer, Water Supply and Sewerage c1946 - c1948.

 Department of Works, Commonwealth of Australia (1952 - 1973)

Chief Hydraulic engineer c1952 - 1960

 Scott and Furphy (1933 - 1991)

Consultant hydrology engineer, c1962 - c1970

 'Waitt, Frank William Foster', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Waitt, Frank William Foster Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: Intensity, frequency, and distribution of heavy rainfall in N. S. W. (Discussions and communications) McIllwraith, J. F. (Nimmo, W. H. R.; Mott, C. B.; Miller, A. W.; Waitt, F. W. F.) Intensity, frequency, and distribution of heavy rainfall in N. S. W. (Discussions and communications) 1945 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 17 6 124-129 Journal Article: Warragamba Dam (Discussions and communications) Nicol, T. B. (Speedie, M. G.; Michels, V.; Waitt, F. W. F.; Sweet, H. G.; Taylor, F. G.; Fulton, A. A.; Thomas, H. H.; Hunter, J. K.; Walters, R. C. S.; Leonard, M. W.; Sparkes, S. R.; Blackmore, W. E.; Loewy, E. W.; Biswas, Asit K.) Warragamba Dam (Discussions and communications) 1965 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 37 3 71-82 Journal Article: Studies of droughts in the Sydney catchment areas (Discussions and communications) Waitt, F. W. F. (Nimmo, W. H. R.) Studies of droughts in the Sydney catchment areas (Discussions and communications) 1945 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 17 10-12 225 Journal Article: Studies of droughts in the Sydney catchment areas (Corrigenda) Waitt, F. W. F. Studies of droughts in the Sydney catchment areas (Corrigenda) 1945 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 17 7-8 149 Book: Report on a visit to Canada and the United States of America, 1939 Waitt, F.W.F. Report on a visit to Canada and the United States of America, 1939 Sydney, NSW Sydney Water Board 1939 Journal Article: The variability of annual and seasonal river discharge Waitt, F. W. F. The variability of annual and seasonal river discharge 1962 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 34 10-11 265-273 Journal Article: Studies of droughts in the Sydney catchment areas Waitt, F. W. F. Studies of droughts in the Sydney catchment areas 1945 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 17 4-5 90-97 Journal Article: Maintenance and protection of cast iron water pipes with special reference to economic factors Waitt, F. W. F. Maintenance and protection of cast iron water pipes with special reference to economic factors 1934 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 6 9 293 Book: Systematic variation of dry season river flows. [Australian Water Resources Council ; 69/18] Waitt, F. W. F.; O'Neill, I. C. Systematic variation of dry season river flows. [Australian Water Resources Council ; 69/18] Melbourne, Vic Department of Civil Engineering, University of Melbourne 1974 Book: Report on Warragamba Dam flood provision Robinson, G.E.; Waitt, F.W.F. Report on Warragamba Dam flood provision Sydney, NSW 1942 Thesis: The economical maintenance of cast iron water mains : with special reference to mains of small diameter. Waitt, F.W.F. The economical maintenance of cast iron water mains : with special reference to mains of small diameter. University of Melbourne 1931 Resource: Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930 Institution of Civil Engineers, London Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930 ancestry.com