John Monash: Engineering enterprise prior to WW1.
Reinforced Concrete Wharf, Port Adelaide, South Australia.
The drawing above shows the wharf situated on the steep bank of the estuary. In front is a row of vertical reinforced concrete piles. Behind is a second row driven at a slight angle into the bank. The tops of the two rows are joined by horizontal and diagonal braces. The top and back of the resulting structure is covered with sheeting to retain earth fill and provide a horizontal surface for the wharf. Rods buried in the earth tie the top of the structure back to anchor plates. The enlarged head of the rear piles was a suggestion by others, intended to increase the resistance to tension (pull-out). It was later abandoned.
We know of three projects for wharves in the Port Adelaide area:
- 'Ocean Steamers Wharf' for A. B. Moncrieff, Chief Engineer of South Australia. Design and negotiations: Nov. 1906 to March 1907. Not built.
- 'Glanville Wharf' for Colonial Sugar Refineries. Design and negotiations: June to Nov. 1907 Construction: Feb 1908 to late 1909.
- 'Birkenhead Wharf'. An unsuccessful tender for John Darling & Sons, designed in February and March 1911.
The structural arrangement and date of the drawing below suggest it shows the Glanville Wharf. The inscription in the top right-hand corner reads: "Designed JM Oct. 8/07".
The above projects were under the auspices of the South Australian Reinforced Concrete Co., but most of the design work was carried out by Monash and his assistants in Melbourne. In January 1907 the SARC became involved in a proposal to build a reinforced concrete breakwater at the suburb of Glenelg, facing the Gulf of St Vincent. A previous attempt by another firm had failed due to severe storms. Investigation and design continued until July 1908. Construction commenced in June 1909, but the weather again played havoc and work was suspended in June 1909. Discussions and negotiations at high level resulted in a decision to abandon the project. The work that had been done was dismantled by March 1911.
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