Thomas Stewart (30 March 1857 – 23 October 1942) was a

hydraulic engineer Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the move ...

, who was born in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and died at

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. He designed the

Woodhead Dam Woodhead Dam is a dam on Table Mountain, Western Cape, South Africa. It was built in 1897 and supplies water to Cape Town. The dam, which was the first large masonry dam in South Africa, was designated as an International Historic Civil Enginee ...

, which was named an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

in 2008. He was called the "father of consulting engineering in South Africa" and the "first South African

consulting engineer Engineering consulting is the practice of performing engineering as a consulting engineer. It assists individuals, public and private companies with process management, idea organization, product design, fabrication, maintenance, repair and operati ...

Life

Stewart was born at Craigend,

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

, Scotland on 30 March 1857. At age 16, he became a student of D.H. Halkett in

Alyth Alyth () () is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, northeast of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie and about northwest of Dundee. In 2022 the town had an estimated population of 3,046. First mentioned by name in a 12th-century royal char ...

. In 1876, he was named an assistant at the Glasgow Corporation Waterworks. He studied at the University of Glasgow. In 1881, he was an assistant to

John Wolfe-Barry Sir John Wolfe Barry (7 December 1836 – 22 January 1918) was an English civil engineer known for engineering Tower Bridge over the River Thames in London which was constructed between 1886 and 1894. He was the youngest son of architect Sir C ...

. In 1882, he was named by Crown Agents for the Colonies as an assistant to J.G. Gamble for water supply and irrigation in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. He resigned from Government Service in 1886, visited Britain, and returned to South Africa as resident engineer for the Cradock waterworks. He designed the waterworks for Wynberg. In 1892, he began a private practice in Cape Town. His early projects included the design and construction of five reservoirs on Table Mountain. These were Woodhead, Hely-Hutchinson, Alexandra, Victoria, and De Villiers. He went on to build other reservoirs, waterworks, and wastewater treatment plants in South Africa. In the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

, he was a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

without pay in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. He worked in the construction of defence works. In 1902, he married Mary Mackintosh Young. They had three sons. She died in 1921. In 1928, he married Matabele, widow of F.R. Thompson. He was a member of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

, the second president of the Cape Society of Engineers, and a president of the Royal Society of South Africa. Stewart died at

Kenilworth, Cape Town Kenilworth is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa situated in the Southern Suburbs region of the city. Etymology The earliest recorded reference to the Kenilworth area was as "''Weltevreden''" (Dutch for "well-satisfied") in the 1700s. The ...

at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Thomas Scottish civil engineers 1857 births 1942 deaths Cape Colony people Scottish engineers