Our June 3 Speaker: Jim Happ

Jim Happ will be giving a talk at our meeting on 3 June which explores a chapter in Geelong’s public health and engineering history, the development and operation of the city’s municipal garbage incinerator in the late 1920s. Designed by pioneering sanitation engineers John Boadle and Vasilie Trunoff, the incinerator offered a low-cost, hygienic alternative to open dumping and helped shape waste management practices across Victoria and beyond.

From its innovative reverberatory furnace to its influence on the architecturally significant Burley Griffin suite of incinerators, Geelong’s facility stood at the forefront of a quiet revolution in urban sanitation. Jim’s research draws on primary sources and technical insight to illuminate this forgotten infrastructure and its legacy.

Jim will also be talking about the coming trend towards modern incinerators, such as the proposal for the Lara plant. He will describe their design, operating practices and environmental impacts.

Jim Happ is a committee member of the Walter Burley Griffin Society, and previously worked as a Metallurgical Engineer in the smelting industry”.