A pocket history of Commonwealth Engineering - Comeng
 I
was recently sent a magnificent book entitled A History of Commonwealth
Engineering written by John Dunn published by Rosenberg for review on
the site. While reading through the book, I jotted a few notes to make
this short pocket history of this interesting and diverse organisation
as covered in Volume 1 of the book - 1921 to 1955. This is just a bit
of an appetite wetter for John's book. You can find out more about the
book by reading its review.
Covering the progression from 1921 to 1955 this first volume
incorporates the early beginnings of as Smith and Waddingtons as luxury
motor car body builders. Smith and Waddingtons were located in
Camperdown Sydney and known to be one of the best with their bodies
often gracing chassis such as Rolls Royce. The arrival of mass produced
comparatively cheap cars such as the Ford Model-T forced a change in
business for this company. The company made a new beginning with body
building for motor buses and an initial foray into railway rolling
stock with a small order for rail buses and dabbled briefly in aircraft.
Surviving the depression, the company became known only as Waddingtons
and moved to Granville where it commenced its first major railway
contracts. During WWII Waddingtons secured war effort works keeping it
afloat during difficult years. Supply problems and a cash crisis led to
serious financial problems in 1940 with the company living a very
tenuous existence. The federal take-over and reorganisation of railways
for the war effort lead to huge contracts for Waddingtons to supply
rolling stock and aircraft hangers. The company started to spiral down
financially until its guarantors threatened to pull out to minimise
their losses. The federal government of the day determined that
Waddingtons must be saved because of its importantance to the war effort.
Special legislation was enacted allowing the Federal Treasurer to buy
into the organisation on behalf of the nation. Waddington was given the
option of buying back his organisation at the end of the war. The
government reorganised the company management and strengthened the
accounting and planning processes resolving the immediate crisis.
Waddingtons diversified into small ship and pontoon building for the
war effort. Waddingtons became a protected industry.
Post war the company supplied RUB car sets and goods waggons to NSWGR,
trams and buses for both government and private concerns. This boom of
orders significantly boosted the company. In 1946 the federal
government bought out Waddingtons' remaining shares as he was unable to
meet the terms of the buy-back option. The company began a new life as
Commonwealth Engineering and was floated on the stock exchange to allow
the staff to buy shares. Post war material and skilled labour shortages
continued to plague the company.
Later years saw the introduction of Australia's first significant
plastics division - an innovation in the production of railway, tramway
and bus bodies. The company built for a wide range of organisations
including QR, NSWGR, TAA, TGR, VR including unusual items such as a
prison bus and the Royal Train.
By the 1950's QR book orders had increased to the point where it became
economic to open the Rocklea plant bear Brisbane in Queensland in 1949.
By the end of 1950 Comeng had so many orders for railway items that
their plants could not meet demand and some contracts had been
outstanding with partial or no delivery since 1944! The Rocklea plant
took on considerable steam engine maintenance work for QR in addition
to its already full order books. The QR effectively financed the
locomotive shops at Rocklea that would later produce diesel locomotives.
Even though life looked rosy with full order books, there were still
financial troubles and notable failures. Comeng drove Melbourne car
manufacturing firm Hartnett out of business by failing to supply car
bodies. Hartnett won a settlement in court, but it did not stop that
company failing.
Comeng built the first locally made diesel locomotives for what was
then AIS in Port Kembla along with other rolling stock for use in their
mill.
During the 1950's there were ups and downs with industrial relations
problems that were not easily resolved, supply problems, lack of orders
at Granville leading to dismissals and a new plant opening in W.A. at
Bassendean to service contracts for railway equipment in that region of
the country. In 1954 the Dandenong plant was opened in Victoria to
service the Harris Blue Trains contract alongside Martin & King in
a consortium. 1954 also saw the first itegral bus design to go to
market successfully with the chassis and body built together. The
Rocklea plant commenced building diesel locomotives to service the
Queensland sugar industry.
Want to know more? Well, you'll just have to buy the book then won't
you. You can find out more about the book by reading its review.
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