Sir Bernard James Callinan, (2 February 1913 – 20 July 1995) was an Australian soldier, civil engineer, businessman, and sport administrator.
Early life
Born in Melbourne on 2 February 1913, after attending St Kevin's College Callinan completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering at the University of Melbourne. Upon graduating in 1935, he joined the embryonic consulting practice of Gordon Gutteridge, which became Gutteridge, Haskins and Davey a few years later and is now known as
GHD.
Military service
Callinan was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Citizens Military Force in June 1940, being appointed into the
Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army (although the word corps does not appear in their name or on their badge). The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, b ...
.
In March 1941, he volunteered for overseas service and joined the
Second Australian Imperial Force
The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the name given to the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial ...
, taking up a posting as an instructor at the Demolitions Wing, at the 7th Infantry Training Centre. He was promoted to captain in July 1941, and subsequently posted as the second-in-command to the
2/2nd Independent Company, deploying with them to
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is East Timor–Indonesia border, divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western p ...
as part of
Sparrow Force
Sparrow Force was a detachment based on the 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion and other Dutch, British, US and Australian 8th Division units during World War II. The force was formed to defend the island of Timor from invasion by the Empire ...
in December 1941. He subsequently led the commandos during their campaign on the island and in July 1942 was temporarily promoted to major.
[
Upon returning to Australia, his promotion to major was confirmed and he served on the headquarters of the First Army as a staff officer before taking up a posting as second-in-command of the 31st/51st Battalion at Merauke in November 1943. In early 1945, he was promoted to ]lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
and assumed command of the 26th Battalion, leading them through the Bougainville Campaign
The Bougainville campaign was a series of land and naval battles of the Pacific campaign of World War II between Allied forces and the Empire of Japan, named after the island of Bougainville. It was part of Operation Cartwheel, the Allied ...
. In February 1946, he was discharged from the 2nd AIF,[ but later returned to the Citizen Military Forces and commanded the 58th/32nd Infantry Battalion, commanding it from 1948 to 1951.] For his wartime service he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
and Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries.
The MC i ...
for outstanding leadership and gallantry. He was also Mentioned in Despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...
.[
]
Professional career
Returning to GHD from service in World War 2, Callinan developed the practice in Victoria and Tasmania, creating a vibrant and enthusiastic team with a reputation for efficiency and integrity. Callinan was a great believer in diversifying the scope of work that GHD performed, particularly in urban planning. He studied this subject at Melbourne University part-time and topped his class with honours. This enabled GHD to add another service to its offering and grow its relationships with local government clients. He was appointed chairman and managing director of the company in 1971 and received a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
for his services to engineering. The following year he was presented with the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal from the Institution of Engineers Australia. In 1977 he was knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
for services to engineering and retired from GHD in 1978, after 44 years of service. Callinan led the company through a period of rapid expansion, as it grew to 500 employees with offices around Australia and began to establish a global footprint.
Callinan held many positions in the commercial field, including director of CSR Ltd, director of British Petroleum Company of Australia, chairman of the new Federal Parliament House Construction Authority, commissioner of the Australia Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...
and the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC), deputy chancellor of La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria an ...
and president of the Institute of Engineers
An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body.
In some countries, institutes can ...
Australia. From 1963 he served as Commissioner of the SEC Victoria.
Sport administration
Callinan joined the Melbourne Cricket Club
The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia.
The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Ground ...
(MCC) committee in 1966 and served as president from 1980 to 1985. He fought to retain the Victorian Football League
The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...
(VFL) grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadiu ...
(MCG), and was a long-serving Victorian Amateur Football Association
The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. It consists of seven senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 4.
In addition there ...
(VAFA) Patron-in-Chief.
Later life
He died in 1995. His five children and his wife, Naomi, survived him.[
]
Notes
External links
Bernard Callinan's publications.
* .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callinan, Bernard
1913 births
1995 deaths
Australian Army officers
Australian civil engineers
Australian Knights Bachelor
Australian Army personnel of World War II
Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
Recipients of the Military Cross
Companions of the Order of Australia
Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
20th-century Australian businesspeople