Henry Coathupe Mais (14 May 1827 – 25 February 1916) was a British-born Australian engineer. He was engineer-in-chief to the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

, and chairman of the Victorian Advisory Committee of the Institution of Civil Engineers for sixteen years. Studio portrait of Henry Coathupe Mais

Early life and education

Mais was born in Westbury on Trym,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, the son of Henry Mais (1805–1888), engineer, and his wife Amelia Jane, ''née'' Coathupe (1803–1868). Mais junior was educated at Bishop's College, Bristol, and was articled for seven years to W. M. Peniston, one of

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

's chief engineers, working on English railways. At

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, Mais made steam engines and superintended the building of locomotives at Swindon, in 1850 he worked on the

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docks.

Emigration to and career in Australia

Mais migrated to Australia, intending to start an engineering business arriving in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in December 1850. However, he found unsettled conditions and became acting engineer for the

Sydney Railway Company The Main Suburban railway line is the technical name for the trunk railway line between Redfern railway station and Parramatta railway station in Sydney, Australia, but now generally refers to the section between Redfern and where the Old Main S ...

. Later he worked as assistant engineer for City Commissioners' Department on the water and sewerage works. In January 1857 a select committee accused him of inexcusable errors and 'gross misconduct'. Mais then went to Victoria and worked for the railway contractors Cornish & Bruce on the Sandhurst-Melbourne line. For three years Mais was engineer and general manager of the

Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company The Melbourne and Suburban Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company opened a line from Princes Bridge railway station in Melbourne, Australia to Punt Road (Richmond) and over the Yarra River to South Yarra (then c ...

, he won praise as a 'first class man in every sense of the word'. The

Colonial Bank of Australasia The Colonial Bank of Australasia was a bank operating primarily in the Australian colony and then state of Victoria from 1856 to 1918. It commenced operation on 14 April 1856, following its incorporation by the Parliament of Victoria through t ...

awarded him £25 in December 1863 for his conduct of the Melbourne railway during the floods. On 27 March 1867 Mais was appointed engineer-in-chief to the South Australian Government on a salary of £750. Mais was president of the Royal Society of South Australia in 1885.List of Presidents
, Royal Society of South Australia Mais resigned as engineer-in-chief in March 1888 after being accused of accepting private work and using government draftsmen on Silverton Tramway Company projects. Mais then became a consulting engineer in

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 ...

, was chairman of the Victorian Advisory Committee of the Institution of Civil Engineers for sixteen years. He was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (London), of the

Society of Engineers UK The Society of Engineers was a British learned society established in 1854. It was the first society to issue the professional title of Incorporated Engineer. It merged with the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) in 2005, and in 2006 the me ...

, and the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Mais died at his home in

South Yarra, Victoria South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Sto ...

on 25 February 1916 and was survived by three sons and two daughters. He was buried in

Kew Cemetery Boroondara General Cemetery, often referred to as Kew cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Victoria, Australia, created in the tradition of the Victorian garden cemetery. The cemetery, located in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, is listed ...

on 28 February 1916.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mais, Henry Coathupe 1827 births 1916 deaths Australian engineers People from Westbury-on-Trym