WA Engineering Technology Timeline
From Engineering Heritage Western Australia
Western Australian Engineering Technology Timeline
In addition to economic, social and political changes, Western Australia's development also reflects changes in technology. With the wide circulation of technical journals and handbooks beginning in the mid 1800s, Western Australia, while remote, was not 'backward'.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1850s | Royal Engineers provided expertise for roads, bridges, stone and brick buildings. |
| 1867 | Invention of dynamite. |
| 1869 | Opening of the Suez Canal. |
| 1870s | Expertise with timber bridges extended to ports and jetties. |
| 1872 | Telegraph from Perth to Albany. |
| 1877 | East West Telegraph from Albany to Adelaide. |
| 1889 | International telegraph from Perth via Broome to Java. |
| 1879 | First railway from Geraldton to Northampton. |
| 1885 | Railway from Fremantle to York. |
| 1885 | Gas lighting of streets in Perth. |
| 1886 | Commencement of Western Australian Electric Light and Power Company. |
| 1889 | Railway from York to Albany. |
| 1890 | Perth's first public water supply. |
| 1890s | Construction of Fremantle harbour (completed 1897). |
| 1890s | Corrugated galvanised iron sheets replaced shingles for building roofs. |
| 1899 | Introduction of trams and electricity. |
| 1902 | Availability of carrier air conditioning. |
| 1912 | Commencement of Perth's first public sewerage system based on treatment at Claisebrook and Heirisson Island. |
