James Fulton (engineer)

He was born in Outram, South Otago, New Zealand on 11 December 1854,[1] and was the son of James and Catherine Valpy Fulton.

He became Resident Engineer of the Longburn-Waikanae section of the Wellington-Manawatu Railway from 1882 under Harry Higginson (with his brother Arthur Fulton), and the WMR manager and locomotive superintendent from 1889.

[6] In 1897 he re-entered private practice[7] and worked on the Wellington Cable Car, the original Kelburn Viaduct at Tinakori Gully, Ballance Bridge in the Manawatū Gorge, Ōtaki, Ōhau, Rangitīkei and Lower Shotover (on the Queenstown Trail) bridges.

In 1906 he visited the US and Europe to study new engineering techniques, then built Cambridge High Level Bridge,[4] Victoria Bridge, Hamilton and Taupo-Totara Timber Co tramway.

[4][9] James retired in 1926, and died in Wellington in 1928 aged 73 years, leaving a widow and daughter.