Thomas William Weston Perry
Thomas William Weston Perry ( -1934)
1934 Obituary [1]
THOMAS WILLIAM WESTON PERRY was well known in South Africa for the improvements which he carried out in the Dominion's roads.
He was a native of Shropshire, and received his technical education at the Birmingham and Midland Technical Institute.
In 1889 he entered the Ryland Street works of Messrs. Young, hydraulic engineers, of Birmingham, and served an apprenticeship until 1893, after which he was employed for two years in Messrs. Deacon, Maxwell and Dire's foundry in Nile Street, Birmingham.
He then left for South Africa where he became a draughtsman in the Public Works Department at Cape Town. In 1899 he was appointed assistant engineer, and supervised the erection of several road bridges in the Cape Town district, and the construction of a jetty for Robben Island. He succeeded to the position of engineer to the department in 1909, with responsibility for the supervision of the engines and other mechanical equipment of a large number of public institutions and acted as consultant to the Treasury and Agricultural Department on mechanical matters, and as technical adviser to the Government on all applications for patents involving mechanical devices.
On the constitution of the Union of South Africa he was appointed engineer to the Cape Provincial Council, and in 1917 he became chief engineer to the Cape Divisional Council, holding this position until his retirement in 1931. In this capacity he carried out a long series of road improvements, and bridge-building undertakings. Under his supervision, the total length of proclaimed roads, amounting to 171 miles in 1917, was nearly doubled. Mr. Perry was a pioneer in carrying out bitumen tests in South Africa. He was also responsible for the introduction there of mechanical transport for road-making purposes.
After his retirement he became associated with Messrs. African Bitumen Emulsions, and lived at Durban, where his death occurred on 10th September 1934, in his sixty-second year.
He was elected to Associate Membership of the Institution in 1905 and was transferred to Membership in 1910.
He was president of the South African Society of Civil Engineers in 1930.