John Job Crew Bradfield (26 December 1867 – 23 September 1943) was an Australian engineer best known as the chief proponent of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, of which he oversaw both the design and construction. He worked for the New South Wales Department of Public Works from 1891 to 1933. He was the first recipient of an engineering doctorate from the University of Sydney, in 1924. Other notable projects with which he was associated include the Cataract Dam (completed 1907), the Burrinjuck Dam (completed 1928), and Brisbane's Story Bridge (completed 1940). The Harbour Bridge formed only one component of the City Circle, Bradfield's grand scheme for the railways of central Sydney, a modified version of which was completed after his death. He was also the designer of an unbuilt irrigation project known as the Bradfield Scheme, which proposed that remote areas of western Queensland and north-eastern South Australia could be made fertile by the diversion of rivers from North Queensland.
Early life Bradfield was born on 26 December 1867 in Sandgate, Queensland. He was the fourth son of Maria (née Crew) and John Edward Bradfield, and also had four sisters. His father was a Crimean War veteran who had arrived in Brisbane from England in 1857. Bradfield began his education at the North Ipswich State School before winning a scholarship to Ipswich Grammar School. He was the dux of his school and won the chemistry medal at the senior public examination in 1885. The colonial government awarded him an exhibition to attend the University of Sydney, as Queensland did not have a university of its own at the time. He enrolled at St Andrew's College and graduated as a Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in 1889, winning the University Medal. After graduating, Bradfield began working for the Queensland Railways Department as a draftsman under the chief engineer. He married Edith Jenkins in 1891, with whom he had five sons and a daughter. In the same year, he was retrenched due to an economic depression, and instead moved to New South Wales where he became a draftsman in the Department of Public Works. Bradfield became an associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1893 and returned to the University of Sydney to complete a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree, where he won first-class honours and was again awarded the University Medal. He was a founder of the Sydney University Engineering Society and later served two terms as its president.
Professional career
Bradfield worked on a variety of projects during his time at the New South Wales Department of Public Works, including the Cataract Dam near Sydney and the Burrinjuck Dam across the Murrumbidgee River. In January 1909, he was promoted to the rank of assistant engineer with a salary of £400. The following year he applied unsuccessfully for the position of foundation chair of engineering at the University of Queensland. In 1913 he was appointed chief engineer for metropolitan railway construction, when he commenced his long association with Confidential Secretary, Kathleen M. Butler. In 1915 Bradfield submitted a report outlining a grand scheme for Sydney's railways involving the electrification of the suburban railways, a city underground railway and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. World War I led to the collapse of all three proposals. During World War I, Bradfield worked with Professor Warren and Mr A.E. Cutler to establish the first civil aviation school, where pilots were trained for overseas service. In 1924, Bradfield was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) for a thesis titled "The city and suburban electric railways and the Sydney Harbour Bridge", the first doctorate in engineering awarded by the University of Sydney. In 1935 the University of Queensland awarded him the ad eundem degree of Doctor of Engineering (D.Eng.).
Sydney Harbour Bridge and Bradfield railway scheme
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