Henry Alan Currie
CURRIE, Henry Alan (Alan), BCE MC MLC KB (1868-1942)
Alan Currie was born at Osborne House, in Geelong, Victoria, on June 6, 1868. He was the eighth child and sixth son of wealthy pastoralist, John Lang Currie and his wife Louise Currie nee Johnston. Alan was educated at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and successfully sat for the Civil Service Examination in 1885. Enrolling at the Melbourne University, he completed a four year Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree in October 1891. His formal graduation was in March 1893.
Currie worked as a civil engineer on the construction of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works sewerage scheme at Werribee Farm. In 1896 he travelled to Western Australia and in April was working on a survey of the Fremantle Reservoir (under the prison) and on an extension of the Fremantle water supply reticulation. He then worked under T C Hodgson on the design and planning of water supplies including the Coolgardie Water Supply Scheme.
Work on the design of the Coolgardie Water Supply Scheme had commenced in early October 1895 when Horace Robertson undertook preliminary design of a scheme based on a reservoir near Guildford, to pump water through six pump stations to Coolgardie. At this time Horace was working with John Pidgeon and it very quickly became apparent that a steel pipeline with six to nine pump stations would be a viable project.
The Northam to Southern Cross railway line had been completed in 1894. By 1895 only one quarter of the land in the Meckering Agricultural District had been taken up and there was no town of any size between Meckering and Southern Cross. Hodgson and Currie specifically sought out land adjoining the Cunderdin Railway Dam and land near the Cunderdin Railway Station. Both Hodgson and Currie would have known the engineering advantages of using the existing Cunderdin Railway Dam as a receiving and suction tank for the Coolgardie Scheme Pipeline and the economic impact of a major pump station being located there. Even if the pump station was instead located at Tammin, there would still be advantages to their land holdings.
On July 16, 1896, the Coolgardie Water Supply Loan Bill was introduced into the Western Australian Parliament and passed into legislation in September 1896.
In 1896 Currie started to acquire land with T C Hodgson at Greenhills and Cunderdin. As public servants, their land dealings required Executive Council approval. They made many applications which did not meet the statutory requirements or concessional requirements for allocation of the land. T C Hodgson, in partnership with others (including Alan Currie) and with his wife, eventually held 40,000 acres of freehold, conditional purchase and leasehold land.
Alan Currie’s life was to take a significant change in direction. He had returned to Victoria on the “RMS Himalaya” in December 1897 and was still there in early February 1898 when his father had a paralytic stroke. His father died on March 11, 1898 and his funeral was held on the following day. Alan made a quick trip back to Western Australia to finalise his affairs, leaving Melbourne on the “RMS Victoria” on March 15, 1898. His work colleagues led by T C Hodgson gave him a farewell at the Criterion Hotel on April 5, 1898 and three days later he left from Albany to return to Melbourne on the “RMS Oratava”.
John Lang Curry left a huge estate for that time, of over £400,000 and Alan and his brother Edwin were bequeathed the 20,000 acre property “Lara” at Lismore. Alan and Edwin were also able to buy the 14,500 acre property of “Mount Elephant” in March 1899.
Alan went on to have a distinguished career in the military, earning a Military Cross, sitting in the Victorian Legislative Council, being successful in farming, business and in horse racing. He was well known though his membership of the Victoria Racing Club, ultimately being elected Chairman in 1935. He was knighted in 1937. A full biography for Alan is at the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Alan married Muriel Miller, at Toorak, on June 11, 1902 and they did not have children.
In 1920, Alan and Muriel purchased the 8,000 acre property “Ercildoune”, near Ballarat. Alan installed a hydroelectric scheme on the property to provide power to the homestead.
Alan died on October 10, 1942, leaving an estate worth £123,000. He was survived by his wife Muriel who continued to live at “Ercildoune" until her death in 1962.
Alan’s father’s death in March 1898 had a huge impact on T C Hodgson, as he then lost a well resourced, capable business partner in Currie, whose focus changed to property investment in Victoria. If Alan Currie had remained in partnership with T C Hodgson, Hodgson may not have had to resort to borrowing money from the Coolgardie Scheme subcontractor, James Couston, or having to be involved in land dealings with James Finlayson and James Couston.
References:
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/currie-sir-henry-alan-5853 - accessed 1.11.20;
Leader, 14.11.1891, p31;
The Argus, 20.3.1893, p6;
State Records Office of WA, Item 05669, Fremantle Water Supply, 1896;
Joseph Placid Stokes, Cunderdin Meckering A Wheatlands History, Hyland House Publishing, South Yarra, 1986;
R G Hartley, River of Steel, Access Press, Bassendean, 2007;
Clare’s Weekly, 9.4.1898, p4.
