The Atkins family was a significant player in public infrastructure in Western Australia during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
It started with my great Grandfather William Atkins coming to Western Australia from Victoria in 1881 to manage the Jarrahdale Timber Mill until 1885. He then started his own building company before establishing Atkins and Law with Robert O Law (~1891). He later established Atkins and Finlayson with South Australian John Finlayson in 1910, branching out to infrastructure projects in that state. William retired in 1914 aged 78 years!
By then his son, my Grandfather Leo Frederick "King" Atkins was in these partnerships starting an apprenticeship with his father about 1896. Around 1928 King Atkins established a partnership Atkins and Gorham with Victorian Edwin Arthur Gorham. There is little recorded for Atkins and Gorham, however two significant projects, which were ground-breaking in Australia, were the construction of the Ashburton and Fortescue rivers road bridges. The former still exists today.
To learn more about building the Ashburton River Road Bridge go to this link:
