Herbert Edward De Courcy King
Herbert Edward De Courcy King (1887-1936)
1936 Obituary [1]
HERBERT EDWARD DE COURCY KING was in the service of the Western Australian Government Railways for thirty years.
He was born at Guildford, Western Australia, in 1887, and in 1906 was selected after competitive examination, for cadetship in mechanical engineering in the railway workshops at Midland Junction, where he served for five years. At the terminal examinations in 1910 he gained the highest number of marks of any cadet who had passed through the shops up to that time. He then became a draughtsman in the chief mechanical engineer's department, and at the same time lectured on mechanical subjects to the classes for workshop apprentices at the Technical School.
In 1913 he was transferred to the civil engineering branch of the Western Australian railways, and at first held the position of draughtsman. He studied chemistry and geology at the University of Western Australia during that year, and later he assisted the chief engineer on a survey for a deviation around Swan View Tunnel.
From that time until his death, which occurred at Guildford on 25th January 1936, Mr. King was engaged on railway civil engineering, and was eventually promoted to the position of engineer. He carried out or supervised a number of important railway works in connexion with the construction of bridges, stations, and deviations, in addition to the regular maintenance of the track. For some years he was also lecturer on applied mechanics and mechanical drawing at Perth Technical College.
Mr. King was elected a Graduate of the Institution in 1911 and was transferred to Associate Membership in 1915.