John Robb (4 September 1834 – 18 May 1896) was an Irish immigrant to Australia who was responsible for several important civil engineering works.

History

Robb was born in Lislaird near

Castlederg Castlederg (earlier Caslanadergy, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Derg and is near the border with County Donegal, Ireland. It stands in the townlands of Castlesessagh and Churchtown, in the historic barony ...

, County Tyrone, Ireland, to Arthur Robb and his wife Sarah Robb, née Bird. In 1854 Robb and two brothers Robert (aged 18) and Samuel (aged 15) left for Australia aboard ''Fitzjames'', arriving at

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in October 1854. He joined the rush to the goldfields, teamed up with fellow ''Fitzjames'' passenger Thomas Stranger carting stone, then formed a partnership Overend & Robb with Best Overend (c. 1833 – 30 November 1877) as contractors. Thomas Stranger, whose sister Elizabeth he later married, was with them from the outset and served as their supervising engineer to at least 1888. Around 1860 Overend & Robb won a contract to demolish Batman's Hill to make way for the projected

Spencer Street railway station Southern Cross railway station (until 2005 known as Spencer Street station) is a major railway station in Docklands, Victoria, Docklands, Melbourne. It is on Spencer Street, Melbourne, Spencer Street, between Collins Street, Melbourne, Collins ...

. Later projects of Overend & Robb were the Sunbury Industrial Schools and sewerage and water supply works at

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

and Yan Yean in Victoria. He won contracts to build railway lines in Victoria: *1874

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had an estimated urban population of 19,318 at June 2018. Wangaratta has recorded a population growth rate of almost 1% annually ...

Beechworth Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859. Beechworth's many histor ...

*The first section of the

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, ...

to Colac railway, including the tunnel *

Morwell Morwell is a town in the Latrobe Valley area of Gippsland, in South-Eastern Victoria, Australia approximately 152 km (94 mi) east of Melbourne. Morwell has a population of 14,389 people at the . It is both the seat of local governme ...

to Mirboo *

Murtoa Murtoa is a wheat district town in Victoria, Australia, situated around Lake Marma on the Wimmera Highway, north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is in the Shire of Yarriambiack local government area. At the , Murtoa had a popul ...

Warracknabeal Warracknabeal ( ) is a wheatbelt town in the Australian state of Victoria. Situated on the banks of the Yarriambiack Creek, 330 km north-west of Melbourne, it is the business and services centre of the northern Wimmera and southern Mallee d ...

* Ararat to

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and Hamilton to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

He built railways in other States:

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. *1868 Launceston and Western Railway in Tasmania (Launceston and Deloraine railway). *1877 line from

Kapunda, South Australia Kapunda is a town on the Light River and near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance t ...

to the North West Bend, Murray River. It was while engaged on this project that Overend died, perhaps of

heatstroke Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...

. *Narracan Valley line *Cairns railway in Queensland, whose costs exceeded £50,000, and the subject of considerable litigation. Robb was also involved in water reticulation and sewerage projects in Victoria and South Australia, and the screwpile jetty and breakwater at

Victor Harbor, South Australia Victor Harbor is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located within the City of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. The town is the large ...

, at the time heralded as an engineering marvel. His last project was a section of the

Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line The Cairns-to-Kuranda Railway is a heritage-listed railway line from the Cairns Region to the Shire of Mareeba, both in Queensland, Australia. It commences at Redlynch, a suburb of Cairns and travels up the Great Dividing Range to Kuranda wi ...

in far North Queensland between Kamerunga & Myola, which involved a steep climb up the Barron Gorge. Robb’s 1887 tender of £290,094 was accepted, but proved inadequate for the work and expense involved, and though he was awarded another £20,000 after a lengthy legal battle, he lost substantially on the project. He was in 1894 found to be insolvent. The completion of the project is commemorated by a cairn at Kuranda. Robb was a strong man who barely had a day's illness in his life, and died suddenly of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

. His remains were buried in the Melbourne Cemetery.

Other interests

*He was partner with Arthur Blackwood in Talawanta Station, near the Queensland border *He had large sugar plantations on the Tweed River, New South Wales *He had interests in mines of Ballarat, Rutherglen, and the tin-fields of Tasmania *He was a major shareholder and founding director of the

South Australian Brewing Company The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited is a brewery located in Thebarton, an inner-west suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Lion, which in turn is owned by Kirin, a Japan-based beverage company. It manufactures ...

*He was largely responsible for the building of the Wesleyan Church, Toorak *He was associated with the Presbyterian Church *He was a founding director of the Federal Bank in 1881 *He built the Royal Exchange on King William Street, Adelaide in 1888, as a private speculation.

Recognition

Robb's Monument
a natural stone pillar near Barron Gorge, was named for him. * Robb's Building, long since demolished, and nearby Robb's Lane were named for him *The Robb Scholarship at

Prince Alfred College , motto_translation = Do Brave Deeds and Endure , established = 1869 , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boarding , headmaster = David Roberts , chaplain = Reverend ...

was instituted in his memory.

Family

John Robb married Elizabeth Stranger (c. 1840 – ) on 6 October 1858. They had thirteen children, of whom seven survived him: *Arthur T. Robb, civil engineer with extensive contracts in Victoria *William J. Robb, solicitor of Victoria *John Robb, sugar plantation manager in Queensland *Mortimer Robb *Maggie Robb married Charles Mortimer Muirhead, of Adelaide, on 11 October 1882 *Lizzie Victoria Robb married Alfred Dunn, architect of Melbourne, on 16 April 1890 *Miss Robb Their home for many years was "Coonac", Clendon Road, Toorak.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robb, John 1834 births 1896 deaths Australian civil engineers People from Castlederg Irish emigrants to colonial Australia

History

Other interests

Recognition

Family

Further reading

References