Name William Hudson Role Engineer | Education University of London Notable awards Royal Society | |
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Born William Hudson
27 April 1896
Nelson, New Zealand ( 1896-04-27 ) Died September 12, 1978, Red Hill, Australia | ||
Sir William (Bill) Hudson, KBE FRS (27 April 1896 – 12 September 1978), was a New Zealand-born engineer who headed construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme for hydroelectricity 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.
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Early life and family
Hudson was born in Nelson, New Zealand, the son of James Hudson and Beatrice Jane Andrew. His maternal grandfather was John Chapman Andrew. He was educated at Nelson College from 1908 to 1914, the University of London and the University of Grenoble.
Career
He 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, 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, Chief Construction Engineer and Engineer-in-chief, Metropolitan Water, Sewerage and Drainage Board, Sydney.
In 1948 he 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, handed the Prime Minister Ben Chifley a note that simply read "Hudson, Hudson, Hudson!". He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1955, in recognition of his service as Chairman of SMHEA. He was elected in March 1964 a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was awarded the James Cook Medal of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1966.
He retired in 1967 and was appointed President, National Safety Council of Australia; Chairman, Road Safety Council, New South Wales.