Talk:Rangitata Diversion Race

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Moved draft article to main space - but still gaps to fill

I still hope to fill a few gaps and provide some illustrations. Marshelec (talk) 07:56, 23 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Good work! Schwede 66 08:27, 23 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Marshelec, I've had a look at sources for the engineer and changed the infobox entry from "T. (Gordon) Beck" to "Thomas Beck"; as far as I can make out, that was his common name. You will have read up on the scheme, though. Is there anything in the sources that indicates he was known as Gordon Beck? I've seen a bit of in-depth reporting on his career so he is certainly notable; have made a Wikidata entry. Schwede 66 20:41, 7 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Thomas George Gordon Beck

@Schwede66: Thanks for identifying this issue :). The reason I named him as Gordon Beck when first drafting the article was a small section from the source [1]. On page 25 is this passage:

The big slip took off probably over Christmas 1938 and January l939 when most of the job was closed down for holidays. Undaunted, the engineer in charge, T.G. (Gordon) Beck, is said to have rung up Minister of Public Works Bob Semple and told him the race would go on.

However, in hindsight it was probably a mistake to name him as Gordon, because although he may well have been commonly called Gordon, I have no further evidence. I did find these references in a search this morning. They don't indicate whether or not he was commonly called Gordon (or Thomas), but perhaps they might be useful in creating a bio article for him, but I might need to find a few more:

4 December 1928 Assistant Engineer (inspection of Graves-Talbot track)[2]
24 July 1933 (two years study in USA) [3]
14 February 1936 Resident Public Works Engineer [4]
7 October 1936 Resident Engineer, Temuka [5]
17 December 1936 Public Works engineer [6]
19 April 1940 District Engineer [7]
11 June 1940 District Public Works Engineer for Canterbury [8]
28 October 1941 (involvement in building locally made tanks) [9]
24 February 1945 Assistant Chief Engineer [10]
5 April 1945 Assistant Engineer in Chief [11]
31 July 1945 Assistant Engineer-in-Chief (in hospital) [12]
17 February 1946 Assistant Commissioner of Works [13]
1 March 1946 Assistant Commissioner of Works and Engineer-in-Chief [14]
26 July 1946 Deputy Commissioner of Works [15]

Obituary notices

7 January 1948 [16] [17]

I have also found that T.G. Beck is mentioned in the article about the "Bob Semple" tanks made locally in NZ during the war. See: Bob_Semple_tank#Design_and_construction

In looking through various sources, I also came across this report about the major change in RDR plans that was required because of the slip in the Surrey Hills region, leading to the need for the piped section. [18]. Although this is dated 19 July 1939, I think it is probably consistent with the report of the slip occurring over the 1938/39 Christmas period. I will add this citation to the article. Marshelec (talk) 23:52, 7 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Marshelec, in the ENZ bio, he is called Thomas Beck. In his Wikidata entry, everything is referenced (e.g. all schools that he attended). Here's an idea: shall we write a bio for him and then have a double-article nomination at DYK using the Pipe Shed as the other article? If so, do you want to lead the bio? Schwede 66 03:06, 8 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

DYK ... that the pipes designed by New Zealand irrigation engineer Thomas Beck for the Rangitata Diversion Race were so large that one could be converted into a shed for storing explosives? Schwede 66 03:19, 8 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

OK, sounds like a plan. There is wet weather coming, so this will be a nice little project. The "hook" for the bio about Thomas Beck should probably be something about his role in building a long underground syphon from large concrete pipe sections to carry the irrigation race through unstable ground. Marshelec (talk) 03:23, 8 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

How about this one, Marshelec? It has the advantage that it covers both articles. Schwede 66 02:26, 10 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

DYK ... that Thomas Beck designed a syphon for the Rangitata Diversion Race made of 723 concrete pipes weighing 28 tons each, with another pipe section used as an explosives store (pictured)?

@Schwede66:. Looks good to me. I like the idea of a double DYK :). Will you go ahead with the nomination ?? With regards to spelling of siphon/syphon, it looks like Syphon is the British/ New Zealand spelling, so I will I will change all occurrences of "siphon" in the RDR and Thomas Beck articles.Marshelec (talk) 02:55, 10 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, I can do the nominating. We can always add further hooks if something else comes to our mind. Schwede 66 22:49, 10 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]