Sir William Hudson (27 April 1896 – 12 September 1978) was a New Zealand-born engineer who headed construction of the

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

for

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

and irrigation in Australia from 1949 to 1967, when he reluctantly retired at 71. The scheme was completed in 1974, under budget and before time.

Early life and family

Hudson was born in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, New Zealand, the son of James Hudson and Beatrice Jane Andrew. His maternal grandfather was

John Chapman Andrew John Chapman Andrew (9 March 1822 – 7 December 1907) was a 19th-century Church of England priest, Oxford don, educationist, pastoralist and Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Born a Yorkshireman, well-educated, he emigrated with his new wif ...

and his maternal grandmother was Emma Fendall. He was educated at

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 1908 to 1914,''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition (CD-ROM) the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

. During his time studying in London, he visited the site of an early attempt to put a tunnel under the river Severn, an endeavour undertaken by his ancestor William Fendall among others.

Career

Hudson served with the British Army in France (for three years), worked for Armstrong Whitworth & Co, as assistant engineer on the Mangahao hydro-electric scheme, New Zealand (1922–1924), then as engineer-in-charge,

Arapuni power station Arapuni Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Mercury Energy, and is the seventh and penultimate hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River. It i ...

, New Zealand (1924–1927). He worked on further dams in New Zealand (1928–1930), was involved in Galloway hydro-electric scheme, Scotland (1931–1937), was resident engineer on the Woronora Dam, Sydney, Australia, and was chief construction engineer and engineer-in-chief at the Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board, Sydney. In 1948, Hudson applied for the position of chairman of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electricity Authority (SMHEA), which managed the Snowy Mountains Scheme. When the Cabinet met to consider the top three candidates, the minister responsible for the scheme,

Nelson Lemmon Nelson Lemmon (22 March 1908 – 20 March 1989) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served as Minister for Works and Housing (1946–1949) in the Chifley Government. He played a key role i ...

, handed the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Ben Chifley Joseph Benedict Chifley (; 22 September 1885 – 13 June 1951) was an Australian politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Australia from 1945 to 1949. He held office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1945, follow ...

a note that simply read "Hudson, Hudson, Hudson!". He was appointed a

Knight 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 ...

(KBE) in the 1955 Queen's Birthday Honours, in recognition of his service as chairman of SMHEA. He was elected in March 1964 a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

, and was awarded the

James Cook Medal The James Cook Medal is awarded on an occasional basis by the Royal Society of New South Wales for "outstanding contributions to science and human welfare in and for the Southern Hemisphere". It was established in 1947 from funds donated by Henry F ...

of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

in 1966. Hudson retired in 1967 and was appointed president of the National Safety Council of Australia, and chairman of the Road Safety Council, New South Wales.

References

External links

''Bill Hudson'', from Edge website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hudson, William 1896 births 1978 deaths Australian civil engineers New Zealand civil engineers Alumni of the University of London People from Nelson, New Zealand Australian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Nelson College New Zealand Fellows of the Royal Society 20th-century Australian engineers 20th-century New Zealand engineers