David Beavington Crawley FIEAust CPEng will be remembered as a respected Engineer and University Lecturer. On Monday 10th August 2015, David was farewelled at Holy Trinity Church – where he and his wife Kay were members for more than 50 years.
David always wanted to be an engineer from his boyhood. In his final year at Wallington Grammar School, he won a scholarship to study Engineering at Caius College at Cambridge University. David was the top Civil Engineering student in his year and was awarded a First Class Honours Degree from Cambridge University in 1950.
His early career as a professional Engineer included working for John Laing and Sons, extending the runway at Filton, Bristol and supervision of the construction of the foundations for the Coventry Cathedral that had been destroyed in the Blitz during World War II, work with the “Dragon” International Consortium designing safe shielding for a new high temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor at Winfrith and teaching Engineering as an Instructor Lieutenant at the Royal Naval Engineering College at Plymouth.
In 1963, David was invited to take up a teaching position in the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Adelaide by Professor Frank Bull.
David’s expertise was in the field of Structural Engineering with an initial focus on the design of Concrete structures and later included the areas of Professional Practice and Earthquake Engineering.
Over the next 32 years, David taught Engineering to a great number of Engineers and Architects who studied at the University of Adelaide. Many of David’s former students are now working as Engineers and Architects around the world.
During his career David took three sabbaticals from the University of Adelaide, returning to England with his family in 1969 and 1976 to work on the development of computerised structural design systems and to Malaysia in 1983-84 as a visiting Professor at the University of Malaysia.
David very much enjoyed his golf and was a long time member of Grange Golf Club, and latterly Blackwood Golf Club.
Following his retirement from the University of Adelaide in 1994, David and his wife Kay became involved in teaching English as a Second Language in a voluntary capacity. In 2000 (when they were both in their early 70s) they spent 6 months in Pakistan teaching at an ESL Centre for Afghan refugees in Islamabad. On their return to Adelaide, they both continued teaching Afghan refugees in Adelaide.
David was a Chartered Fellow of Engineers Australia and a member for over 50 years. David is survived by his wife Kay, three sons Stephen, Andrew and Phil, three daughters-in-law Karen, Pat and Allison and six grandchildren Emily, Melissa, Simon, Alexandra, Rebecca and Jonathan.
Our thoughts are with his family.
Niki Robinson MIEAust
Acting Division President
Engineers Australia South Australia