Edward Giles Stone

Edward Giles Stone (17 February 1873 (1876?) – 16 October 1947) was an Australian engineer prominent in many innovative, often daringly and spectacular, aspects of early reinforced concrete constructions in Australia. He was also involved in cement manufacture.

Stone was born on in Sydney, the son of John Jasper Stone, Civil Engineer, and Caroline Smith. He served a 'cadetship' with his father, then worked for the Roads and Bridges Branch of the Public Works Department for about seven years, after which he joined the Sewerage Construction Department. Three years later, in 1900, he joined the newly formed Sydney Harbour Trust as Chief Design Engineer. In 1907 he entered private practice as 'Consulting Engineer and Structural Architect, specialising in Reinforced Concrete'. It is of interest that Stone was working for the Road and Bridges Branch at the same time that former members of the branch were building the first reinforced concrete structures in Australia.

In 1909 Stone applied for a patent for 'improvements relating to storage chambers' such as silos, using precast concrete plates with integral edge beams, these edges being formed with flanges and gussets to assist in their assembly. Stone set up a precasting plant in Emu Plains NSW, for the manufacture of reinforced concrete houses, silos, water troughs, bins and other products. The system he developed was used for the construction of a five-roomed cottage, still standing at 2 Railway Street, Emu Plains and for a large house of two storeys in Iandra (7 Windermere Avenue, Northmead) for George Henry Greene, member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales (listed on the Baulkham Hills LEP). Stone also built other houses and silos. On Greene's property, he also built a stable and a motor garage, a large silo surmounted by a water tank, and single-storey bachelor's quarters, completed in 1910 and known locally as Iandra Castle.

In 1912 Stone entered a partnership with Ernest J. Siddeley, in which Stone was the driving design force while Siddeley was the project manager who executed the works. Edward Giles Stone adopted the Considère system for reinforcing concrete and the partnership produced some remarkable buildings and structures using this system, notably the Dennys Lascelles Austin wool store at Geelong, the Barwon Sewerage Aqueduct, Floating Pontoons at Circular Quay and the Breakwater at Glenelg. Stone and his partner Siddeley designed and constructed the concrete structures on the Mortlake Gas Works in Sydney including the coal and coke bunkers, the tunnel to take the Telpher system under the retorts, as well as the Power House.

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