William Calder (engineer)

William Calder, (31 July 1860 – 18 February 1928), engineer, was born at Lovell's Flat, Milton near Dunedin, New Zealand, only son of Arthur Calder and his wife Margaret Milne, née Strachan. Calder was educated in New Zealand (Milton local school and the Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin 1876-77), and then attended Otago University. He became a cadet in the Government Survey Department in October 1883 and after five years of practical training, he passed the authorized surveyors' examination with credit in July 1888, and was responsible for much road construction and exploration in the North and South islands of the Dominion.

In 1888 he came to Victoria and worked in private engineering and surveying firms. In October 1889 he became assistant town surveyor for the City of Footscray, and in July 1890 town engineer. At night he studied to gain certificates as municipal engineer (1890) and engineer of Water supply (1892). From December 1897 to March 1913, Calder was city engineer and building surveyor to the City of Prahran. Among the works he is credited with are the first asphalted carpet-road surface, the first refuse destructor in Australia, and the completion of a major drainage project. By March 1903 he was an associate member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, and a member of the Institution of Municipal and County Engineers of Great Britain.

Calder made the greatest impact as the first Chairman for the Country Roads Board (CRB) from 1913 to 1928. Among his first tasks was to undertake an exhaustive inspection of the road system, which had been neglected by the responsible municipalities and state government since the building of the railways. Calder was known as a meticulous note-taker and enthusiastic photographer, and his notes recording the board's progress were transcribed and used as a basic reference for many years. Despite, shortages of money and manpower for road-building as a consequence of the Great War, Calder campaigned successfully for more funds, especially for arterial roads, both publicly and privately.

He toured Europe and North America in 1924 examining road-construction practice and road-administration and reported extensively on matters such as the controversy on the American concrete pavement techniques versus British asphalt. His report, published that year, is widely regarded as a classic of road-construction practice and road-administration.

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