Sir Bernard James Callinan, (2 February 1913 – 20 July 1995) was an Australian soldier, civil engineer, businessman, and sport administrator.

Early life

Born in Melbourne on 2 February 1913, after attending St Kevin's College Callinan completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. Upon graduating in 1935, he joined the embryonic consulting practice of Gordon Gutteridge, which became Gutteridge, Haskins and Davey a few years later and is now known as GHD.

Military service

Callinan was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Citizens Military Force in June 1940, being appointed into the

Royal Australian Engineers The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army. The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Corps of Staff Cadets, Staff Cadets, Royal Australian Armoured C ...

. In March 1941, he volunteered for overseas service and joined the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...

, taking up a posting as an instructor at the Demolitions Wing, at the 7th Infantry Training Centre. He was promoted to captain in July 1941, and subsequently posted as the second-in-command to the 2/2nd Independent Company, deploying with them to

Timor Timor (, , ) is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is Indonesia–Timor-Leste border, divided between the sovereign states of Timor-Leste in the eastern part and Indonesia in the ...

as part of

Sparrow Force Sparrow Force was a detachment based on the 2/40th Battalion (Australia), 2/40th Australian Infantry Battalion and other Dutch, British, US and 8th Division (Australia), Australian 8th Division units during World War II. The force was formed to ...

in December 1941. He subsequently led the commandos during their campaign on the island and in July 1942 was temporarily promoted to major. Upon returning to Australia, his promotion to major was confirmed and he served on the headquarters of the First Army as a staff officer before taking up a posting as second-in-command of the 31st/51st Battalion at Merauke in November 1943. In early 1945, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assumed command of the 26th Battalion, leading them through the Bougainville Campaign. In February 1946, he was discharged from the 2nd AIF, but later returned to the Citizen Military Forces and commanded the 58th/32nd Infantry Battalion, commanding it from 1948 to 1951. For his wartime service he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

and

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for outstanding leadership and gallantry. He was also

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

Professional career

Returning to GHD from service in World War 2, Callinan developed the practice in Victoria and Tasmania, creating a vibrant and enthusiastic team with a reputation for efficiency and integrity. Callinan was a great believer in diversifying the scope of work that GHD performed, particularly in urban planning. He studied this subject at Melbourne University part-time and topped his class with honours. This enabled GHD to add another service to its offering and grow its relationships with local government clients. He was appointed chairman and managing director of the company in 1971 and received a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

for his services to engineering. The following year he was presented with the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal from the Institution of Engineers Australia. In 1977 he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

for services to engineering and retired from GHD in 1978, after 44 years of service. Callinan led the company through a period of rapid expansion, as it grew to 500 employees with offices around Australia and began to establish a global footprint. Callinan held many positions in the commercial field, including director of CSR Ltd, director of

British Petroleum BP p.l.c. (formerly The British Petroleum Company p.l.c. and BP Amoco p.l.c.; stylised in all lowercase) is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. It is one of the oil and gas " supermajors" and one of ...

Company of Australia, chairman of the new Federal Parliament House Construction Authority, commissioner of the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

and the

State Electricity Commission of Victoria The State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SEC, SECV or ECV) is a government-owned electricity company in Victoria, Australia. Originally established to generate electricity from the state's reserves of brown coal, the SEC gradually monopoli ...

(SEC), deputy chancellor of

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

and president of the

Institute of Engineers An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

Australia. From 1963 he served as Commissioner of the SEC Victoria.

Sport administration

Callinan joined the

Melbourne Cricket Club The Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) is a sports club based in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1838 and is one of the oldest sports clubs in Australia. The MCC is responsible for management and development of the Melbourne Cricket Groun ...

(MCC) committee in 1966 and served as president from 1980 to 1985. He fought to retain the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...

(VFL) grand final at the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

(MCG), and was a long-serving

Victorian Amateur Football Association The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Founded in 1892, it consists of six senior divisions, ranging from Premier to Division 3 i ...

(VAFA) Patron-in-Chief.

Later life

He died in 1995. His five children and his wife, Naomi, survived him.

Notes

External links

Bernard Callinan's publications.
* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Callinan, Bernard 1913 births 1995 deaths 20th-century Australian businesspeople Australian Army officers Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian chairpersons of corporations Australian civil engineers Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian cricket administrators Australian Knights Bachelor Australian nonprofit businesspeople Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Businesspeople from Melbourne Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of Australia Cricket people awarded knighthoods Engineers from Melbourne Military personnel from Melbourne Non-profit executives Recipients of the Military Cross