Hardcastle & Richards Pty Ltd (1952 - ?) (H&R) is a consulting engineering company which was established by Roy T. Hardcastle AO and Harold Charles Richards AM in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia in 1952.Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000
Origin Both Roy Hardcastle (who obtained his BCE at the University of Melbourne in 1948) and Harold Richards were major contributors to the Melbourne School of Engineering, University of Melbourne for over 50 years as educators and donors as visiting alumni and in the case of Richards, Associate Professor.University of Melbourne Annual Giving Update 2010 Their involvement began in 1962 when Richards recalled: ‘Professor Francis at the University invited us in 1962 to participate in his students’ final year projects...I think this was an industry first.’ Engineering a future through friendship and philanthropy: Roy Hardcastle & Harold Richards Posted on January 6, 2011
Philanthropy Harold and Roy have been consistent donors to the School of Engineering. Harold also donated to International House, while Roy was a member of the University of Melbourne Committee of Convocation, and a regular attendee at Heritage Society events. Roy Hardcastle was awarded the Ray Tonkin Award by the Heritage Council of Victoria for volunteer services to heritage in Melbourne during National Heritage Week in April 2012, in recognition of more than 40 years of voluntary service to industrial and engineering heritage. Hardcastle was a member of the Government Building Advisory Council from 1972 and a founding member of the Historic Buildings Preservation Council in 1974, representing Engineers Australia until 1985.
Takeover The company was taken over by Dames & Moore in 1995 at a time it had grown to about 130 staff under Managing Director Russell Smith. At this time it had offices in Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and Broken Hill, Australia, as well as operations in Jakarta, Indonesia and had net revenues of A$8.6 million. The firm was involved in '...multidisciplinary engineering and project management services for the mining, infrastructure and industrial markets plus offshore structural and process engineering for the oil and gas sector', However, the company had ceased by 2006 when it was last listed at 616 St Kilda Road, Melbourne.Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009 However, the Broken Hill division was taken over by the US URS Corporation and continues to operate serving the mining industry.
Patents The company holds patents for a Reciprocating feeder feed ejector and a Haulage system for pit mining.Patents AU1989pj2962 AU1994pm6187
Projects Tharwa Bridge New South Wales, 1978.Tharwa Bridge feasibility study National Capital Development Commission, 1978. Sunbury Community Facilities, 1976.Melton-Sunbury Interim Co-ordinating Committee, 1976. Sunbury : community facilities, Perrott Lyon Timlock Kesa & Associates Pty. Ltd.; associated consultants Hardcastle & Richards Pty. Ltd; Engineering Computer Services. Ore Haulage Facilities at Z.C. Mines, Broken Hill 1988 Noojee trestle bridge, 1989.Hardcastle & Richards, report on the inspection and appraisal of the timber trestle bridge at Noojee, Vic. Victoria. Dept. of Conservation, Forests and Lands. Central Gippsland Region. Melbourne : Hardcastle & Richards, 1989. Deborah Reef project, 1989,Bendigo Mining N.L. environment effects statement : Deborah Reef project, Hardcastle & Richards Proprietary Limited, 1989
References
Hardcastle & Richards Consulting engineers, Company Brochure, Published by Hardcastle & Richards, 1985 (copy held National Library of Australia)