This presentation, by Ken McInnes, will bring to the fore the research by George Weickhardt (1906-2000), and in particular his research on the pioneer engineers of Victoria and their contributions to the early developments in the colony.

George was an active member of Engineering Heritage Victoria (EHV) in the 1980s, and presented and published many papers on engineering history. He also produced a well-received series of articles about pioneer engineers published in The Victorian Historical Journal and his unpublished research papers and manuscripts are held in the archives at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV).

George, together with his more well-known brother Len, regularly attended and participated in EHV and RHSV meetings, and both contributed biographies to the Australian Biographical Dictionary.

This overview of the life, the works and contributions of the pioneer engineers, as researched and described in George’s published papers and recently catalogued archives, is relevant to all who are interested in the history of Victoria.