Page 11 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

s a i c e

PrEfACE

Civil engineering - way ahead - paving the way -

bringing you water, health and prosperity –

moving you places

The year 1994 was one of the major watershed moments under another name. There are great stories about
in the history of southern Africa. Civil engineering, which what could be defined as civil engineering and of these
provides the very essence of what humans need to the Pyramids, the Mayan temples, the Greek temples
live, survive, work and play, entered a new phase. The and the roads and viaducts of the Roman empires bear
world opened up after a long period of isolation – a new witness.
government, a new way of life, a unique opportunity
to start on a new course, big ideas about growing the In southern Africa one could possibly cite the ancient
new South Africa and to serve ALL its people equally Zimbabwe ruins, Mapungubwe and other smaller struc-
and the looming new millennium. All this and many tures as having at least a civil engineering component
other factors prompted the South African Institution of sorts. In 1652 Jan Van Riebeeck landed in the Cape
of Civil Engineering to publish what was called three of Good Hope or Cape of Storms, depending on the
consecutive outreach issues of its monthly magazine season, and brought a new dimension to infrastructure
of which about 20 000 were distributed to politicians, to this part of the world. Simple irrigation furrows for
government officials and the public at large. These watering the gardens, small dams and typical Dutch
magazines contributed to a greater understanding of modelled canals like the Heerengracht, Buitengracht
the role and the contributions of the civil engineering and others in Cape Town along with harbour structures
profession and industry. The titles of the magazines including Robben Island, from where much of the shells
were: came that were to produce the lime for mortar to build
the venerable Castle.
Adding to the quality of life (1996)
Very soon pioneering roads into the hinterland and be-
Civil engineering delivers to the people (1997) yond became a reality and stories about these are re-
corded in wonderful books like Romance of the Cape
Building our country (1998) Mountain Passes by Eng Dr Graham Ross, Ninham
Shand, The Man, The Practice: The story of the great
But long before this momentous period in the history South African civil engineer and the practice he founded
of South Africa, the foundations of the civil engineering by Eng Tony Murray and other books and articles like
profession were laid far from here, mainly in Europe. the SAICE Civil Engineering magazine’s past master se-
ries by Tony Murray as well.
Civil engineering as we know it today did not feature
as a profession nor an industry before the self-taught Soon after the roads and railway lines spread from the
pioneers including Thomas Telford, Isambard Kingdom southern tips of Africa into the interior as well as to-
Brunel and others established the Institution of Civil wards the north and north east. The great expansion
Engineers in the United Kingdom in 1818. But long of this mode of travel and conveyance of goods were
before that civil engineering was of course around and vastly accelerated by the discovery of diamonds near
one could venture to say that since humans started Kimberley and gold around the Witwatersrand. Those
inhabiting this planet civil engineering featured albeit discoveries led to the development of major civil engi-

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