de BURGH, Ernest Macartney (1863-1929)

engineer

youngest son of the Rev. William de Burgh, D.D., was born at Sandymount, county Dublin, Ireland, in 1863. He was educated at Rathmines school and the Royal College of Science, Ireland, and was for some time employed on railway construction in Ireland. Coming to Sydney in 1885 de Burgh immediately obtained a position in the New South Wales public works department, two years later was sent to the country in charge of the construction of steel bridges, and eventually became engineer of bridges. He was in this capacity responsible for several bridges over the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, Hunter and other rivers. In 1903 he became acting principal assistant engineer of water supply and sewerage, a year later visited Europe to study dam construction and water supply, and after his return did important work in connexion with the Burrinjuck dam and Murrumbidgee irrigation scheme. He was appointed chief-engineer for harbours and water supply in 1909, and in 1913 chief-engineer for water supply and sewerage. He designed and supervised the construction of the great reservoirs for the Sydney water supply at Cataract, Cordeaux, Avon, and Nepean, for the Chichester scheme for Newcastle district, and the Umberumberka scheme at Broken Hill. He retired in 1927 and died at Sydney on 3 April 1929. He married and left a widow, two sons and a daughter.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 5 and 6 April 1929.