In the early days the majority of waste from homes and industries flowed into street channels and on to local rivers and creeks which became open sewers.
[1] By the late 1880s Melbourne's population had grown immensely to nearly 1/2 million, and the city's waste disposal habits made the rivers, creeks and bays unhygienic and unsightly, and epidemics of typhoid became frequent (one in four children did not survive past their second year).
This led to a Royal Commission into Melbourne's public health in 1888, which recommended a sewerage system, and supported the establishment of a Board of Works to build it.
The act made the board responsible for the construction and operation of a sewerage system, as well as the existing water supply from the Yan Yean Reservoir.
[5] Huge brick-lined sewers were built under the city, draining towards the west running under the Yarra to a pumping station at Spotswood (which still exists as part of the Scienceworks Museum).
He had previously campaigned for a London Style Board of Works to provide Melbourne with essential public utilities including water supply and sewerage.
He was, however, criticised by the press for the high capital expenditure, having raised large loans from London Banks, when it was believed the works could be financed more cheaply in Melbourne.
During FitzGibbon's fourteen years as chairman of the MMBW, the sewerage system was completed and water catchments were consolidated and protected.
[16] A Bronze statue was erected in 1908 at the corner of St Kilda Road and Linlithgow Avenue, Melbourne, to commemorate his achievement.
Thwaites commenced his engineering career on railway construction in the 1870s and then moved to the Victorian Public Works Department in 1879 surveying the Portland Harbour, Gippsland Lakes entrance and Sale navigation canal, as part of preparatory plans for their development under Sir John Coode's designs.
However, a major failure in this period was the cracking of the new water main over Merri Creek on the Yan Yean supply, which was shown by W. C. Kernot to have been caused by errors in Thwaites' and Davidson's design.
[1][2] Thwaites was made engineer in charge of the water supply branch in 1890, and engineer-in-chief of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works in 1891.
[26] Ritchie was also engineer in charge of sewerage from 1891 and one particularly tragic incident he had to deal with involved investigations into the death of three men during sewer works when they were overcome by gas.
[27] From 1908 he was engineer in charge of water supply and was responsible for construction of the Maroondah, O'Shannassy and Silvan reservoir and their associated aqueducts.
Riddell had a long-standing interest in sanitation having undertaken extensive travels in Europe in 1888 where he had inspected sewage farms in Germany and Britain.
During twenty years tenure Melbourne's sewerage system did not present major problems, with the 'metropolitan farm' working adequately and being extended as necessary.
[35] He was instrumental in undertaking preliminary investigations for the Melbourne 1954 Strategy Plan, co-ordinated a team comprising an architect, economist, surveyor and sociologist, surveying, mapping and predicting future needs for the city, and then spent many evenings at public talks promoting the plan, which was published in 1954 and led to rationalising development and introducing land=-use zoning.
The plan sought to rationalize the development of Melbourne through land-use zoning and by reserving land for such future public purposes as roads, parks and schools.
He presided over the preparation of the 1954 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme, which saw many American innovations such as the freeway and open space networks.
His appointment was challenged by Prahran Council who wished to extend the term of retiring chairman, Jessop, and open the position to other than existing commissioners.
[40] Albert Francis Ronalds (23 April 1913 – 10 May 1999) was awarded the degrees of bachelor and master of civil engineering at the University of Melbourne.
At the Board of Works he developed early trenchless technology to reduce the time, cost and disruption of sewer installation, and oversaw the construction of the Brooklyn Sewerage Pumping Station and the Upper Yarra Reservoir.
[42] Alan Humphrey Croxford (1922–1985) was chairman of the MMBW from 1966 to his retirement on 31 July 1982, when he left his position as the new Cain Labor Government came to power.
Among his achievements were the 1971–1974 Masterplan that set the future growth of Melbourne separated by green wedges, and the creation of the metropolitan park system.
He was president of the Council of Museum Victoria in the late 1980s, and along with his wife Betty has played an important philanthropic role for many Victorian Cultural Institutions.