Donald Victor Darwin (11 October 1896 – 8 March 1972), M.M., M.C.E., M.I.C.E., M.I.E. (Aust.), CE., F.A.P.I., was an Australian civil engineer. He was born at
Redhill, South Australia
Redhill (formerly Broughton) is a town in the Mid North of South Australia adjacent to the Broughton River.
Governance
Redhill is in the Port Pirie Regional Council local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral d ...
to Henry Darwin, a native-born bank manager, and his wife Jessie Louise Cleta, née Gmeiner.
Darwin was educated at
St Peter's College, Adelaide
, other_name = The Collegiate School of St Peter
, seal_image = St Peter's College, Adelaide Logo.svg
, seal_size = 150
, image = SPSC chapel and memorial hall.jpg
, image_size ...
and the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
, receiving his BCE in 1920, and subsequently the MCE. Service in the Australian military during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
interrupted his university studies; he served with the 10th Field Company Engineers,
AIF, in France and Belgium from 1916 as a
sapper
A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefie ...
. In 1918 he was awarded the Military Medal. He was discharged in 1919.
Darwin's professional career was entirely with the Victorian
Country Roads Board
The Country Roads Board was a government authority responsible for the construction and maintenance of main roads in the state of Victoria, Australia between 1913 and 1983.
History
The Country Roads Board (CRB) was formed to take over responsi ...
(CRB), which he joined in 1920 as Assistant Engineer, becoming Bridge Engineer in 1924, responsible for the design and construction of highway bridges throughout Victoria. One of his major projects was to design the new bridge over the
Barwon River on the
Princes Highway
Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...
in
Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
.
, the CRB engineers were engaged on road, airfield and other civil engineering defence works in Victoria and Northern Territory.
In addition to his other duties, during the 1940s Darwin was a part-time Lecturer in Roads and Street at the University of Melbourne. He became a Councillor of the
Victoria Division (IEAust) from 1949, and President in 1957. He was appointed to the Tourist Development Authority in 1958, from which he retired in June 1962, although he continued to assist the Australian Road Research Board.