Ernest Alfred Evans
Ernest Alfred Evans (1865-1941), CME of the Western Australian Government Railways
1943 Obituary [1]
ERNEST ALFRED EVANS had a distinguished career in Australia as chief mechanical engineer of the Western Australian Government Railways. He was also well known to a wide circle of Australian members of the Institution, to which he rendered valuable services over a number of years as a representative for Western Australia on the Australian Advisory Committee.
He was born at Worcester in 1865 and served his time there with Messrs. McKenzie and Holland, railway mechanical engineers, with whom he remained until 1890. In that year he went to Australia and entered the service of the New South Wales Government Railways. In 1896 he resigned his position, and rejoined Messrs. McKenzie and Holland as their representative on railway signalling contracts to the Government of Western Australia. In the same year he was appointed interlocking engineer to the State Railways and seven years later, at a period when the system was undergoing considerable expansion, he was promoted to workshops manager.
His wide engineering experience and intimate knowledge of the department's requirements led to his appointment as chief mechanical engineer in 1920. In addition he represented the Government in all cases before the Arbitration Court and acted as relief for the Commissioner of Railways. On his appointment to the latter position in 1929 it was stated by the Minister of Railways that during his thirty-two years of service, Mr. Evans had proved himself a strong and capable administrator. He retired in December 1933.
Other positions which he held included those of a director of Swan Portland Cement, Ltd., and of Plaimar, Ltd.; and he was a member of the State Business Administration Committee for war supply services. He also took a keen interest in municipal affairs and was Mayor of Guildford (W.A.) from 1922 to 1926 and from 1938 until the time of his death, which occurred on 4th September 1941.
Mr. Evans was elected an Associate Member of the Institution in 1906 and was transferred to Membership in 1914.