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Three Australian artefacts receive prestigious Engineering Heritage Awards
December 20, 2011
Engine built by £50 note pioneers, Australia’s first locomotive, and a pump called Humphrey are first winners outside the UK and Ireland
20 December 2011
The Boulton & Watt Engine, built by the men featured in the new British £50 note, the Humphrey Pump and Locomotive No. 1 will on Tuesday 20 December become the first recipients outside of the UK and Ireland of a prestigious Engineering Heritage Award by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
The artefacts will be presented with their awards by Deputy President Professor Isobel Pollock at a ceremony at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney which houses the Boulton & Watt Engine and Locomotive No.1.
Professor Pollock said:
“These awards are testament to the great skill of the original British engineers who built the Boulton & Watt Engine, the Humphrey Pump and Locomotive No.1, but also to the fantastic preservation work of the current owners.
“I’d like to congratulate Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum and the Cobdogla Steam Friends Society for the hugely impressive work they do to preserve these great examples of engineering. These objects link us to our past, inform us of the journey we’ve taken to reach the advances of today and will hopefully play a role in inspiring a new generation of engineers.”
The Boulton & Watt Engine, built in 1785, is being honoured for being the oldest rotative steam engine in the world. Built by the world renowned partnership of Matthew Boulton and James Watt at their Soho Manufactory in England, this engine was brought to Australia by Archibald Liversidge who persuaded the Whitbread Brewery to save the engine instead of scrapping it. This engine design innovation was key to the Industrial Revolution. In November, Boulton and Watt were honoured by having their pictures featured on the back of the British £50 note.
Locomotive No.1 was the first locomotive to haul passengers on the Sydney to Parramatta line on 24 May 1855, Queen Victoria’s birthday. One of four locomotives to arrive from the famous Robert Stephenson workshops in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, it has the added honour of being the only James McConnell designed locomotive remaining in the world.
The Humphrey Pump, installed in 1927 in Cobdogla for irrigation purposes, was the invention of Herbert Humphrey, an engineer who became so famous in the early part of the 20th century that he featured in Vanity Fair. The main advantage of the Humphrey Pump other than fuel efficiency is its great mechanical simplicity. It therefore can readily handle muddy or sandy water and has the potential for extreme reliability, yet requires very little maintenance. It is the last remaining example of a working Humphrey Pump in the world.