Coates, John

COATES, John (1844–1914), gas and hydraulic engineer, was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, Northumberland, England, fourth son of George Coates (1806–1873), a mining engineer, and Catherine Reed. He was educated at Newcastle and from 1858 was a pupil for five years on the WB Lead Co’s mines, Northumberland before working as an assistant engineer on the Blackett Level works of the WB Mine under Thomas Sopwith (1803-1879) MICE and Thomas John Berwick (1822-1897) MICE, resident engineer, constructing railways reservoirs and hydraulic machinery. From 1865 he was employed in the design department of the Elswick Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne, of WG Armstrong (1810–1900). From 1868 he was assistant to the gas and water engineers, Thomas & Charles Hawksley, of Westminster and was elected AMICE in 1875. From 1878 he practised privately in London as consultant to the hydraulic engineers, J Abbott & Co at Gateshead until in 1885 he migrated to Melbourne where he practised as a consulting engineer, John Coates & Co. In 1886 he was joined in Melbourne by his partner George Swinburne (1861-1928), businessman, politician and philanthropist, eldest son of his brother-in-law, Mark William Swinburne, patternmaker, who married Coates’ older sister, Jane. During this time, Coates designed gasworks in Queensland at Charters Towers, Warwick, Sandgate and later at Cairns. He was transferred to MICE in 1888. From 1892, he lived at Ottawa from where he consulted in Canada, Europe and South America while retaining his Australian interests which by then also included consultation with State and Federal governments, hydraulic lifts as a director of Johns Hydraulic and General Engineering Co, and trams. He died at London.