Sir Manuel Richard Hornibrook OBE (7 August 1893 – 30 May 1970) was an Australian builder and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

. He founded the firm M R Hornibrook Pty Ltd that after merger with

Baulderstone Baulderstone, formerly Baulderstone Hornibrook, was an Australian construction company. History MR Hornibrook In 1926, Manuel Hornibrook founded a construction company in Brisbane. Amongst its notable projects were the Story Bridge and William Jo ...

became one of the largest Australian civil engineering firms. Known as "MR", Hornibrook was knighted in 1960. He was highly respected and a builder of bridges across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Papua New Guinea as well as other major projects including Stages 2 (the Sails) and 3 of the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

Early life

As one of seven children of Catherine Hornibrook, Manuel was educated at

Nambour Nambour is a rural town and locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 11,187 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital, Brisbane. The town lies in the sub ...

, Obi Obi,

Bowen Bridge The Bowen Bridge is a four-lane road bridge crossing the Derwent River in Tasmania, Australia. Description The bridge lies on the river about halfway between the Tasman Bridge and the Bridgewater Bridge. The bridge links the East Derwent Hi ...

and

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisba ...

state schools.

Building (and engineering) career

Brisbane's Story Bridge under construction, 1939 (3989364752)

StateLibQld 1 69527 Construction of the William Jolly Bridge, Brisbane, 1931

At the age of 13 Hornibrook commenced apprenticeship with builder HW Fooks. In 1912, at the age of 19, Manuel with his brother Reginald established their own business, which started with building drainage channels and sewerage systems. Soon the bridge building became Hornibrook's speciality. The business quickly moved into civil engineering contracting, excavating the State's first open-cut coal mine at Blair Athol in 1923. The

William Jolly Bridge The William Jolly Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge over the Brisbane River between North Quay in the Brisbane central business district and Grey Street in South Brisbane, within City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was design ...

built from 1930 to 1932 became his all-time favourite project because of the aesthetic appeal of the bridge and the pioneering use of the sand island method of pier construction. In 1914 Hornibrook joined the Queensland Master Builders' Association and was its president in 1922 and 1923; he was president (1926) and a life member (1959) of the Master Builders Federation of Australia; he was also a foundation fellow (1951), councillor and National President (1952–56) of the Australian Institute of Builders (now Building), and a driving force in the construction of its headquarters at Milson's Point, Sydney. For his contribution to the science and the practice of building, he was awarded the A.I.B.'s first medal of merit (the AIB Medal, 1955). President (1953–59) of the Queensland Civil Engineering Contractors' Association, he was an honorary member (1968) of the Australian Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors and an honorary fellow (1969) of the Chartered Institute of Building (Britain)—the first Australian to be so honoured. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1957 and knighted (as a Knight Bachelor) in 1960. Sir Manuel Hornibrook was the Chief Engineer during construction of the

Hornibrook Bridge Hornibrook Bridge is a heritage-listed mostly-demolished road bridge on the Hornibrook Highway over Hays Inlet at Bramble Bay from Brighton, City of Brisbane to Clontarf, Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Manuel H ...

which was named after him. He was also responsible for building

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Story Bridge The Story Bridge is a heritage-listed steel cantilever bridge spanning the Brisbane River that carries vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the northern and the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the long ...

and

. One of Hornibrook's most challenging projects was building the immensely complex roof shells of the

, turning architect Jorn Utzon's dream into reality. Sir Manuel was posthumously inducted into the

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame In 2009 State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Qu ...

in 2016.

References

Australian Dictionary of Biography

Publications

* ''Queensland 150 Years of Achievement'', 2009,

Kay Saunders Kay Elizabeth Bass Saunders (born 1947) is an Australian historian and Emeritus Professor at the University of Queensland. Earlyl life and education Saunders was born in Brisbane, Queensland in 1947. She graduated with a BA (1970) and PhD (1 ...

External links

Sir Manuel Richard Hornibrook at Australian Dictionary of Biography

BaulderstoneSir Manuel Hornibrook (MR) - Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame 2016 digital story

2015 Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame Fellow: Julie HornibrookHornibrook: building bridges connects Brisbane
- State Library of Queensland
Archives reveal more history of Hornibrook innovation in the building of Sydney Opera House.
2021, Julie Hornibrook, John Oxley Library Blog, State Library of Queensland. 1893 births 1970 deaths Australian civil engineers Bridge engineers Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{Australia-engineer-stub