For many years engineers and builders were obliged to rely on the use of available natural resources, or to accept the delays and costs of imported materials. Fortunately many of the Australian hardwoods have good strength and durability and are eminently suitable for piling and other engineering use; thus a large number of early bridges and wharves were founded on timber piles. In the early development of the Melbourne docks, for example, the Harbour Trust's engineer, J. Brady, proposed the substitution of timber piles for the masonry and concrete foundations recommended by the eminent British engineer Sir John Coode. Brady's proposals were finally accepted, with a resulting cost saving of some £340,000. Many of today's Australian engineers would sympathize with Brady's search for economical alternatives and his readiness to question the conclusions of overseas experts.

After the exciting years of the gold rushes in the middle of the nineteenth century, a period of major development occurred, with heavy expenditure on public works. Expansion of the railways along the Eastern seaboard required major bridges over the numerous wide and flood-prone rivers. Many required large cylinder and caisson foundations, a number of them involving work of daunting magnitude.

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering