John Peart
John Peart (1855-1938)
1938 Obituary [1]
JOHN PEART served for many years on the Australian Advisory Committee of the Institution, and together with Mr. R. J. Chalmers, M.I.Mech.E., he undertook the correspondence in connection with Queensland until he resigned from the Committee in 1936.
He was born in England in 1855 and served his apprenticeship from 1871 to 1876 with Mr. Robert Robinson, engineer, of Darlington, under whom he gained experience in the construction of bridges and railways. He then became assistant to Mr. Robinson, and was chiefly engaged on public works contracts until 1883, when he joined the Darlington Wagon and Engineering Company. After superintending the erection of bridgework by the firm he was made manager of the engineering works in 1885. He became a partner in 1895, and was made a director of the company.
Some years later Mr. Peart went to Queensland and for the rest of his career was concerned with water supply schemes. He was responsible for designing the Lake Manchester scheme and other works in connection with Brisbane's water supply and was for many years engineer to the Water Supply and Sewerage Board of the city.
In addition he was engineer for the construction of the Toowong syphon and the reservoirs at Bartley's Hill and Tarragindi and installed the filtration plant; he also enlarged and modernized the pumping station at Mount Crosby. A considerable proportion of the water supply system of Brisbane was reconstructed under his direction.
In 1929 Mr. Peart retired and lived at East Brisbane, where his death occurred in December 1937. He had been a Member of the Institution since 1901.