P007407 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 2024-06-26 human Ken McInnes updated 2026-04-29 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007407b.htm person Loder Louis Francis Kt CBE AACR2 30 December 1896 11 February 1972 Place of Birth Sale, Victoria, Australia Place of Death Healesville, Victoria, Australia Civil engineer Public servant Sir Louis Loder, Kt CBE MCE DEng HonFIEAust MInstCE CE, civil engineer, was founding Director-General, Commonwealth Department of Works, from 1945 during the post-war reconstruction period until he retired in 1961. During this period, he also chaired major Joint Commonwealth-State Technical Committees, including the committees that developed the Snowy Mountains Scheme; that investigated the West Australian Comprehensive Water Supply Scheme; that investigated the Burdekin River Scheme and the Mareeba-Dimboola Scheme in North Queensland; and that developed major projects in Papua - New Guinea. He was also Deputy-President / Chairman, and representative of the Commonwealth on the River Murray Commission. During the war he was Director-General of Allied Works and took a major role in the construction of the Stuart Highway from Alice Springs to Darwin. Before that he was Chairman and Chief engineer, of the Country Roads Board, Victoria. His eminent achievements were recognized by being awarded an honorary Doctor of Engineering from the University of Western Australia 1949; Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) 1953; Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal 1954; Kernot Memorial Medal 1955; Knight Bachelor 1962; and Honorary Member, Institution of Engineers Australia in 1966.

Associated Major Projects: 1942 - 1961:
* Stuart Highway, Alice Springs to Darwin (1942 - 1945);
* Captain Cook Graving Dock, Sydney Harbour (1945) £10m;
* Mascot Aerodrome £7.5m;
* Snowy Mountains Scheme (Proposals) (1946 - 1949);
* Woomera Rocket Range, South Australia (from 1947) £15m;
* Canberra development £6m/annum;
* Recurrent program of harbour works, in Darwin and Papua-New Guinea, aerodrome construction throughout Australia, water supply, sewerage, electricity generation and structural engineering works, amounting to about £20m/annum;
* Construction of the 'beef' roads program in northern Australia (1961).

1916 1919 Military service - First World War. Australian Imperial Force, 30th Machine Gun Company; Commissioned as a Flying Officer, Australian Flying Corps 1917 1917 Award - Mentioned in Despatches (MID) 1919 1919 Career event - Foundation Junior Member (JrIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia 1922 1922 Education - Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE), University of Melbourne 1923 1923 Award - Stawell Research Scholarship, University of Melbourne 1923 1923 Career position - Design engineer, Johns & Waygood Ltd 1923 1925 Career position - Engineer, Bridge Design Section, Country Roads Board, Victoria [Design and supervision of large highway bridges, including Echuca and Stratford] 1925 1928 Career position - Highway engineer, Country Roads Board, Victoria 1926 1926 Education - Master of Civil Engineering (MCE), University of Melbourne 1928 1928 Career event - Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia 1928 1940 Career position - Chief engineer, Country Roads Board, Victoria [Instrumental in developing the use of low-cost methods of road construction for main highways] 1934 c. 1942 Career position - Member of Committee, Melbourne Division, Institution of Engineers Australia 1935 1935 Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia 1937 1950 Career position - Part-time lecturer. Member of the engineering faculty, University of Melbourne [Lectured in roads and streets, soil mechanics] 1940 1944 Career position - Chairman, Country Roads Board, Victoria 1941 1941 Career position - Chairman, Melbourne Division, Institution of Engineers Australia 1941 c. 1954 Career position - National Councillor, Institution of Engineers Australia 1942 1945 Career position - Co-ordinator of State instrumentalities in Victoria, Allied Works Council [The C.R.B. surfaced with bitumen 787 miles (1267 km) of the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory] 1944 1945 Career position - Director-General, Allied Work Council. [succeeded E. G. Theodore. Works costing £34m in first year] 1945 1961 Career position - Director-General, Commonwealth Department of Works (Department of Works and Housing, from July 1945 to June 1952) [Responsible for the design, costing, supervision and execution of all architectural and engineering works for the Federal government] 1946 1949 Career position - Chairman, joint Commonwealth-States technical committee on the proposed Snowy Mountains project 1947 1947 Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia c. 1948 1949 Career position - Chairman of the Committee which investigated the West Australian Comprehensive Water Supply Scheme 1949 1949 Award - Doctor of Engineering (DEng), honoris causa, University of Western Australia 1950 1961 Career position - Deputy-President, [Chairman], and Commonwealth Member, River Murray Commission. [President being the Commonwealth Minister] c. 1953 Career position - Member, Business Advisory Group, Australian Atomic Energy Commission 1953 1953 Award - Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) - Director-General of the Department of Works 1953 1953 Award - Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1954 1954 Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia c. 1954 1960 Career position - Chairman of the Commonwealth Committee investigating the Burdekin River Scheme and the Mareeba-Dimboola Scheme in North Queensland 1955 1955 Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne 1960 Career position - Member, Australian Road Research Board 1961 1961 Life event - Retired 1962 1962 Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt) - Director-General of Commonwealth Works 1963 1963 Career position - Chairman, Sub-committee of Melbourne transportation committee 1963 1966 Career position - Chairman, Committee to report to the Commonwealth government on transportation requirements in Northern Australia 1966 1966 Award - Honorary Member (HonMIEAust), Institution of Engineers, Australia 1968 1968 Award - Honorary Fellow (HonFIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Hon.Members were designated Hon.Fellows on this date.] Department of Works, Commonwealth of Australia (1952 - 1973)

Director-General 1952 - 1961

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

Founding Director-General 1945 - 1952 (and to 1961)

 Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) (1960 - 1995)

Member of the Board 1960 -

 Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal, Institution of Engineers, Australia (1922 - )

Awarded the Medal 1954.

 Victoria Division, Institution of Engineers, Australia (1919 - )

Chairman, Melbourne Division 1941

 Kernot Memorial Medal, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Melbourne (1926 - )

Awarded the Medal 1955

 Country Roads Board, State of Victoria (1913 - 1983)

Chairman 1940 - 1944; Chief engineer 1928 - 1940

 'Loder, Louis Francis', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Loder, Louis Francis Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Edited Book: Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders Engineers Australia Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders Barton, A.C.T. Institution of Engineers, Australia 2019 Journal Article: Low cost road construction in Victoria (Discussions and communications) Loder, L. F. (Tregoning, A. C.; McCormack, W. T. B.; Parkhurst, R. W.; Broadhead, C. F.; Short, J. G. W. C.) Low cost road construction in Victoria (Discussions and communications) 1931 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 3 11 396-397 Journal Article: Low cost road construction in Victoria (Discussions and communications) Loder, L. F. (Kemp, J. R.) Low cost road construction in Victoria (Discussions and communications) 1931 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 3 7 243-244 Journal Article: Low cost road construction in Victoria Loder, L. F. Low cost road construction in Victoria 1931 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 3 6 193-205 Journal Article: Presidential address [1948] - Engineering works carried out by the Commonwealth during the war Loder, L. F. Presidential address [1948] - Engineering works carried out by the Commonwealth during the war 1948 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 20 4-5 25-31 Journal Article: The Snowy River Scheme Loder, L. F. The Snowy River Scheme 1949 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 21 3 40 - 41 Journal Article: Electric arc welding in bridge construction Loder, L. F. Electric arc welding in bridge construction 1936 Commonwealth Engineer 23 8 255 Journal Article: Notes on highway pavements Loder, L. F. Notes on highway pavements 1932 Commonwealth Engineer 20 3 82-85 Journal Article: Obituary: Louis Francis Loder, CBE MCE DEng HonFIEAust Obituary: Louis Francis Loder, CBE MCE DEng HonFIEAust 1972 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 44 3 14 Resource: B2455 First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 CA 2001 Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office B2455 First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch Journal Article: Election of Office Bearers of the Council of The Institution [1945] Election of Office Bearers of the Council of The Institution [1945] 1945 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 17 6 122 Journal Article: President of The Institution, 1947 [Louis Francis Loder MCE MIEAust] President of The Institution, 1947 [Louis Francis Loder MCE MIEAust] 1947 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 19 4 93 Journal Article: Honorary Members of the Institution : Sir Albert Axon, KBE ME DEng DSc HonMIEAust; Sir Louis Loder, CBE MCE DEng MICE HonMIEAust. Honorary Members of the Institution : Sir Albert Axon, KBE ME DEng DSc HonMIEAust; Sir Louis Loder, CBE MCE DEng MICE HonMIEAust. 1966 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 38 12 N117 Book Section: Prominent people - People from earlier times Anon Prominent people - People from earlier times Bondi Junction, NSW Faircount Media Group 2013 VicRoads centenary : keeping Victorians connected for 100 years. 1913-2013 Darragh O'Keeffe 30-33 Edited Book: ARRB: the first fifty years Sharp, Kieran.; Brindle, Ray; Lay, Max; Metcalf, John; Johnston, Ian; Jones, Dave ARRB: the first fifty years Vermont South, Vic. ARRB Group Ltd 2011 Conference Paper: 20th Century Victorian Engineers - Case studies of engineers as leaders in Victoria from 1890 to 1990 Lay, M. G. 20th Century Victorian Engineers - Case studies of engineers as leaders in Victoria from 1890 to 1990 Barton, ACT Institution of Engineers Australia 1994 Fourth International Conference on Engineering Management, 1994: Preprints 7-12