Basic Biographical Details | Name: | William Dudley Kavanagh | | Designation: | | | Born: | 4 August 1936 | | Died: | | | Bio Notes: | William Dudley Kavanagh (known as Dudley) was born in Waterford, Ireland on 4 August 1936. He was educated at Waterford College and studied full-time for the degree of BArch at University College Dublin, graduating in 1959. He moved to London and worked for a year with George Baines & Syborn, mainly involved with commercial retail developments. In 1960-61 he spent a year with the Schools Division of the Public Works Department in Accra, Ghana as project architect but returned to Edinburgh where he worked with the Scottish Special Housing Association. In 1963 he was elected ARIBA, his proposers being E W Parker, J H Handford and J B Hilling. Later that year he returned to Ghana as Acting Superintendent Architect with the Schools Division and the following year was project architect for Ghana Medical School.
In 1965 Kavanagh emigrated to Hobart, Australia on a 5-year contract with the Tasmanian Public Works Department. He became a permanent member of staff in 1969 and was assistant to the Chief Architect. In 1970 he was commissioned in the Royal Australian Engineers (Reserve). In that same year he was elected FRIBA, his proposers being S T Tomlinson (Chief Architect PWD, Tasmania), A I D Bicknell, and J N Thomson.
The years 1980-1982 were spent in Saudi Arabia on the Jubail City project as Senior Construction Engineer in the group responsible for residential and commercial construction. He was promoted to Project Field Engineer after six months, his primary responsibilities within the group being quality and safety. He returned to Tasmania in 1983 to the post of Regional Manager NW with the Tasmanian Department of Construction, being promoted to Assistant Director South in 1984 and Assistant Director, Operations and Maintenance in 1986. In 1987 he was awarded the degree of M.Soc.Sc. in Administration by the University of Tasmania.
From 1988 to 1989 he held the post of General Manager, Development in the Housing Department and the following year became General Manager, Building Construction and Maintenance, in the Department of Construction. The Department was down-sized and eventually disbanded and he resigned in November 1991 to complete law studies for the purpose of expanding his contract management and dispute resolution skills. He graduated LLB from the University of Tasmania in 1994. Thereafter he undertook consultancy work in construction legal trouble-shooting and from 1997 to 2005 sat on the panel of construction mediators for the Queensland Building Tribunal (later the Consumer and Commercial Tribunal). In early 2005 he retired but returned to work for a further four years undertaking project development with the Newmont Mining Corporation at the Granites Mine in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory. He retired from full-time work in January 2010.
| Private and Business Addresses| The following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes |  | 234, Wester Hailes Road, Edinburgh, Scotland | Private | c. 1963 | | | | 6, Edgar Street, Claremont, Hobart, Australia | Private | 1970 * | | |
* earliest date known from documented sources.
Employment and TrainingEmployers| The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details): | | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | Tasmanian Public Works Department | 1965 | 1970 | Assistant Architect | |
ReferencesBibliographic References| The following books contain references to this : | | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | RIBA | 1964 | The RIBA Kalendar 1963-64 | | | | | RIBA | 1970 | RIBA Directory 1970 | | | |
Archive References| The following archives hold material relating to this : | | | Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | | Courtesy of Dudley Kavanagh | Information sent to Dictionary of Scottish Architects | | Sent August 2010 |
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