P007417 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 2024-07-10 human Ken McInnes updated 2026-05-21 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007417b.htm person Hebblewhite William Rayner OBE AACR2 31 December 1885 11 April 1966 Place of Birth Strathfield, New South Wales, Australia Place of Death Australia Mechanical engineer Bill Hebblewhite, OBE BE MIEAust, was the Director and executive head of the Australian Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association / Standards Association of Australia, from 1924 until he retired in 1953. Under his leadership the organisation played crucial roles in the development of standardisation to promote industrialisation, and in particular, production related to military and civil defence during the Second World War. As Director, he was ex officio the Secretary of the Australian National Committees of the World Power Conference, the International Electro-technical Commission and the International Commission on Large Dams (ANCOLD). He was appointed by the Commonwealth Government to represent Australia at the inaugural meetings of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in New York (1945) and London (1946). At the 1946 ISO Conference, he was appointed Chairman of the Statutes Committee which drafted the ISO Constitution, and elected Australia a member of the ISO Council for the first three-year period. Hebblewhite attended the ISO Council Meeting and the first triennial Assembly in Paris in 1949. Before and during the Second World War, he was seconded for short periods to the CSIRO. Firstly, in 1937 as the Executive Member of the Secondary Industries Testing and Research Committee, he was responsible for the drafting of the Committee's Report, that recommended the establishment of the National Standards Laboratory, and the Aeronautical, Building, and other Research Laboratories. Secondly, in the war period he was seconded to make a survey of all the testing facilities in the Commonwealth as a basis for the co-ordination of these facilities for defence purposes. During the war, under his direction the Standards Association prepared and issued several hundred specifications to meet defence requirements. For twenty years he was a member of the New South Wales State Committee of CSIRO; he was a member of Council and Executive Committee of the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) from its inception until 1953; was a member, appointed by the Commonwealth Government, of the Building Research and Development Advisory Committee from its establishment; and was a National Councillor of the Institution of Engineers Australia from 1935 to 1951, and its President in 1949. His distinguished engineering service and career was recognised when he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1956; and he was awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1959. In 1978, Hebblewhite Street, Monash, Canberra was named in his honour. 1907 1911 Award - Peter Nicol Russell Scholarship, Mechanical and electrical engineering, University of Sydney 1911 1911 Education - Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical), (BE(Hons)), University of Sydney 1912 1912 Career position - Assistant Engineer, Commonwealth Portland Cement Co. Ltd. 1913 1922 Career position - Lecturer, Royal Military College, Duntroon 1919 1919 Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia 1922 1923 Career position - Lecturer-Demonstrator, Peter Nicol Russell School of Engineering, University of Sydney 1923 1923 Career position - Seconded as Executive Member, Institution of engineers Australia's Committee, to prepare "Report on the Power Resources of Australia" to the First World Power Conference 1924 1953 Career position - First full-time officer, Australian Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association (later, Director, Standards Association of Australia) c. 1929 c. 1959 Career position - Member, New South Wales State Committee of CSIRO 1930s 1952 Career position - Secretary, Australian National Committee of the World Power Conference 1930s 1953 Career position - Secretary, Australian National Committee of the International Electro-technical Commission 1935 1935 Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia 1935 1935 Career position - Chairman, Sydney Division, Institution of Engineers Australia 1935 1951 Career position - National Councillor, Institution of Engineers Australia 1937 1952 Career position - Secretary, Australian National Committee of the International Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) c. 1944 c. 1959 Career position - Member, appointed by the Commonwealth Government, Building Research and Development Advisory Committee 1945 1949 Career position - Australian representative, International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) [Chairman of council that drafted the ISO Constitution, attended 1945 New York Congress, 1946 London Congress, and 1949 Paris Congress] 1946 1946 Career event - Australian delegate, representing the Institution of Engineers Australia, at the first British Empire Engineering Institutions Conference, London [with T H Upton] 1947 1953 Career position - Member of Council and Executive Committee, National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) 1949 1949 Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia Jun 1951 Jun 1951 Career event - Representative of the Institution of Engineers Australia, Joint Engineering Conference in London, on the occasion of the Festival of Britain [with C W Goodman] 1953 1953 Life event - Retired 1954 Career position - Retained as a consultant, Standards Association of Australia 1956 1956 Award - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) - Secretary of the Standards Association 1959 1959 Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia Australian National Committee of the World Power Conference (1925 - )

Secretary, 1925 - c1953. Prepared the "Report on the Power Resources of Australia" 1923.

 Standards Association of Australia (1929 - 1988)

First full-time officer, and later Director, 1924-1953

 Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association (1922 - 1929)

First full-time officer, and later Director, 1924-1953

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

Awarded the Medal 1959.

 Institution of Engineers, Australia (1919 - )

President 1949; Councillor 1935 - 1951; Chairman, Sydney Division 1935

 'Hebblewhite, William Rayner', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Hebblewhite, William Rayner Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Journal Article: Some economic aspects of the water power problem in N.S.W. (Discussions and Communications) Jeffrey, Charles Stuart (Carter, H. G.; Vine-Hall, R.; Regli, E.; Hebblewhite, W. R.) Some economic aspects of the water power problem in N.S.W. (Discussions and Communications) 1930 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 2 2 66-67 Journal Article: The future of the engineering profession (Discussions and communications) Chapman, W. D. (Hebblewhite, W. R.; Dennis, S.) The future of the engineering profession (Discussions and communications) 1935 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 7 8 281-282 Journal Article: Standardisation in Australia - A review of the work of the Australian Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association Hebblewhite, W. Rayner Standardisation in Australia - A review of the work of the Australian Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association 1929 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 1 1 31-33 Journal Article: Chairman's Address [Sydney Division] - Some contributions by science to national and industrial development Hebblewhite, W. Rayner Chairman's Address [Sydney Division] - Some contributions by science to national and industrial development 1937 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 9 5 188-194 Journal Article: Coercion or co-operation? The basis of standardisation Hebblewhite, W. R. Coercion or co-operation? The basis of standardisation 1929 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 1 7 285-286 Journal Article: The president of The Institution [1949. Mr. W. R. Hebblewhite BE MIEAust] The president of The Institution [1949. Mr. W. R. Hebblewhite BE MIEAust] 1949 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 21 3 43 Journal Article: Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal: 1959 Award [W. R. Hebblewhite, OBE BE MIEAust] Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal: 1959 Award [W. R. Hebblewhite, OBE BE MIEAust] Institution of Engineers, Australia 1960 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 32 1-2 N5 Journal Article: Obituary: William Rayner Hebblewhite Obituary: William Rayner Hebblewhite 1966 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 38 4-5 N53 Journal Article: Presidential address [1950] Hebblewhite, W. R. Presidential address [1950] 1950 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 22 3 39-43