Engineer brought environmental thinking to the fore
At a time when engineers were often regarded as the architects of environmental disaster, David Thom was one of the leaders in finding ways to protect the world around us.
Considered one of New Zealand’s greatest engineers, Thom spent his career advocating the importance of the environment and sustainable development within his profession.
He changed the way those in his profession here in New Zealand thought and acted towards the environment, also having a major influence on environmental thinking for engineers worldwide.
It was the proposed 30-metre raising of Lake Manapouri for hydro-electric generation in the 1960s that spurred him to organise a number of conferences highlighting potential hazards to the environment.
At these conferences engineers realised that environmental issues had to be given careful consideration and that there was more to works in the landscape than planting a few trees. When the government in 1969 brought in the requirement that all major projects must have environmental impact reporting, it was in response to Thom’s initiatives.
During the 1990s he became widely regarded and respected within the international engineering community as a leading advocate for engineering and care for the environment
He was the force behind the World Federation of Engineering Organisation’s adoption of its Code of Environmental Ethics.
Beyond engineering he played a crucial role in developing the country’s attitude to the environment through the national bodies he headed such as the Environment Council and the National Parks and Reserves Authority. He guided the development of two new national parks and laid the foundations for a third.
David Thom was born into a Bay of Plenty farming family in 1924. His first three years were spent on a farm in the valley of the Whakatane River, but in 1928 his father was fatally injured in a farming accident and his mother moved with her two sons to live with their grandparents on a small holding at Kamo near Whangarei. Here, David and his brother Ian began primary school. In 1937 they moved to Auckland, where Thom attended Mt Albert Grammar School.
In his final school year, he and others in his form were recruited into the Intelligence Section of the Mt Albert Home Guard as World War II broke out. They would spend weekends in the Waitakeres, mapping Auckland Water supply pipelines and tunnels. At 18, in 1942, Thom joined the air force to train as an air navigator, though he was not called to duties until May 1943. After six weeks of training for the Commonwealth Air Training plan in Canada, he was transferred to England and the RAF, but the war ended before he saw any action.
When Thom returned to New Zealand early in 1946 he trained as an engineer at Seddon Memorial Technical College (now Auckland University of Technology).
After his studies he took up an apprenticeship with Andrew Murray in 1950. Part of his work involved surveying the environmental deterioration of the Maketu Estuary in the Bay of Plenty, sparking his life-long commitment to preserving the environment.
He joined engineering firm Jones, Adams, Kingston in 1952, becoming a partner in 1957 in the consultancy which became Kingston, Reynolds, Thom and Allardice.
His concern about the environmental effects of his profession led to his involvement in conservation administration with the National Parks Authority, of which he was once chairman. He also chaired the engineering and environment committee of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations from 1991-99 and was vice-president from 1995-99.
He was chairman of the Federation of Engineering Institutions of South East Asia and the Pacific Standing Committee on Engineering and Environment from 1987-1991.
His endearment to the cause of sustainable engineering earned him the Royal Society of New Zealand’s Charles Fleming Award for Environmental Achievement and the Gold Medal of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was made a CBE in 1981.
He never married or had children but lived close to his brother’s family. He was a beloved uncle to four nieces, one nephew and eight great nieces and nephews.