Charles Townshend Hargrave
Charles Townshend Hargrave (1825-1905)
First cousin to Henry James Bennett Hargrave
1906 Obituary [1]
CHARLES TOWNSHEND HARGRAVE, late Inspector-General of Roads and Bridges, South Australia, died at Adelaide on the 16th May, 1905, in his eightieth year.
Born at Queenstown, Ireland, on the 24th December, 1825, he was educated at Liege, Belgium, and at Cork, and after serving his pupilage under the late Mr. A. Deane, Engineer to the Cork Harbour Board, he passed the examinations for County Surveyors, Ireland, and engaged for a short period in county work and private practice.
In 1853 he went to South Australia and obtained an appointment under the Survey Department, and subsequently became Engineer to the Jetty Commission.
In 1855 he was appointed Chief Surveyor and Engineer for Railways, in which capacity he superintended the surveys for many of the principal railways, and reported upon canal and river improvement schemes. In 1861 he became superintending engineer of main roads under the Central Road Board, continuing to act in that capacity until the abolition of the Board, when he was appointed Inspector of Main Roads.
In 1889 he was promoted to the position of Inspector-General of Roads and Bridges for the colony, and retained that position until his retirement in June, 1904. Many of the most important main roads and a large number of bridges in South Australia were constructed under his supervision. His services were also frequently requisitioned by Government to advise on other important public works.
Mr. Hargrave was well known in Adelaide, and for many years occupied a seat on the Board of Governors of the Public Library, Art Gallery and Museum, to which institution as chairman of the Fine Arts committee, and in 1887 as chairman of the Board, he rendered valuable service. He also served as a Governor of St. Peter's College, Adelaide, where his eight sons were educated.
He was a Member of the Society of Engineers, London. Mr. Hargrave married in 1854, Jessie, daughter of the late Mr. John Morton, of Shooter's Hill, Kent.
He was elected an Associate of this Institution on the 14th April, 1863, and was transferred to the class of Members on the 4th February, 1879.