Engineers urged to take credit

JOHN EDENS/151085

RAISING PROFILE: Industrial archaeologist and former English Heritage chairman Sir Neil Cossons.

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Engineers needed to take more credit for their work if they were to gain recognition, the former chairman of English Heritage said.

British industrial archaeologist Sir Neil Cossons said the celebrity status that engineers gained during the industrial revolution had been consigned to history.

Sir Neil joined more than 40 of 125 delegates bound for the third Australasian Engineering Heritage Conference – which started on Monday at Otago University – to visit historic engineering achievements in Central Otago on Sunday.

Engineers from New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and Ireland stopped at the Clyde dam lookout before heading to Central Stories Museum, in Alexandra, to explore a goldmining exhibition, then on to Hayes Engineering Works, Oturehua.

Farmers are indebted to Ernest Hayes, who invented a wire strainer, pulley blocks and cattle stops that have stood the test of time.

Sir Neil said engineering was inspirational.

"I think engineers themselves don't make enough out of what they contribute.

"During the 19th century engineers were household names," he said.

The aim of the three-day conference was to close the gap between the heritage movement and historic engineering techniques, Sir Neil said.

Engineering was an international business and had "perhaps more than any other profession, the opportunity to learn from what goes on in other parts of the world," he said.

Conference topics include hydro power development, goldmining, engineering innovators and irrigation.

Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand conference convener John Henderson said it was important to preserve knowledge of engineering for future generations.

The biennial conference, co-hosted by the IPENZ and the history department at the University of Otago, ends today.

john.edens@stl.co.nz

- © Fairfax NZ News

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