John Job Crew Bradfield

Brief description

PER-141

Full description

John Job Crew Bradfield was born on 26 December 1867 at Sandgate, Queensland, son of John Edward Bradfield and his wife Maria, née Crew. Bradfield was educated at North Ipswich State School and Ipswich Grammar School. In 1889 he graduated from the University of Sydney with the University Medal for engineering, and subsequently obtained his doctorate.

Bradfield worked as a draftsman under the chief engineer of the Railways in Brisbane until he was retrenched in 1891. From there he joined the New South Wales Department of Public Works as a temporary draftsman until he was made permanent in 1895.

In 1903, during a his presidential address to the Sydney University Engineering Society, he made reference to the competition for the design of a bridge across Sydney Harbour.
In 1913 Bradfield submitted a cantilever design for the bridge. A year later the Parliamentary Standing Committee accepted Bradfield's design for a cantilever bridge connecting the commercial part of Sydney with the northern shore of the harbour. In the same year Bradfield was appointed chief engineer for Metropolitan Railway Construction.

In 1915 he reported on the proposed underground electric rail system for the city of Sydney. (1)

From 1912 to 1916 Bradfield was the Chief Engineer of the Sydney Harbour and City Transit Branch which later became the Metropolitan Railway Construction Branch. (2)

At this stage Bradfield's scheme of suburban electrification of the rail system was postponed as a general war economy measure.

In 1922 the Sydney Harbour Bridge Act was passed, and in 1924 Bradfield recommended that the government accept the tender of Dorman, Long and Company of England. In the same year Bradfield received the first doctorate of science in engineering awarded by the University of Sydney for his thesis "The city and suburban electric railways and the Sydney Harbour Bridge".

The opening of St James and Museum Stations, and the new section of Central Station in 1926 marked the first result of Bradfield's plan for a suburban electric railway. (3)

Between 1921 and 1930 Bradfield was paid an allowance by the Public Works Department for his duties as Chief Engineer, Sydney Harbour Bridge while he was an officer of the Railway Commissioners. (4)

In February 1930 he was retired by the Railway Commissioners, however Cabinet preserved his status in the Department of Public Works and he continued to represent the government in supervising the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge until its opening on 19 March 1932.

Bradfield retired from the Public Service in July 1933, but he continued to be involved in design and construction. In 1934 he was appointed the consulting engineer for the design and construction of the Story Bridge in Brisbane and technical advisor to the contractors of Hornibrook Highway in Queensland. Bradfield also helped plan and design the University of Queensland when it moved to its new location at St Lucia.

Bradfield also had a interest in irrigation and water conservation, and early in his career had prepared the calculations governing the design of Cataract and Burrinjack dams in New South Wales. J.T. Lang wrote "Bradfield was probably the first man to plan for Sydney as a city of two million people".

John Job Crew Bradfield died on 23 September 1943. (5)

Footnotes and References:
(1) Australian Biographical Dictionary Online edition, q.v. Bradfield, John Job Crew (1867-1943) http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070391b.htm (cited 25 May 2009).
(2) New South Wales Government Gazette.
(3) Australian Biographical Dictionary.
(4) NRS12535.
(5) Australian Biographical Dictionary.