Diprose David
| Type of person | Individual |
|---|---|
| Principal occupation | Town of Gawler Infrastructure and Environmental Services Manager 1995 to 2004 |
| Date of death | 29-4-2021 |
[Personal/Family:
Parents - Geoff and Blanche (nee Sweeney) Diprose. Father’s and mother’s occupations were Minister of Religion and Nurse respectively. Spent childhood in country towns in rural SA (born Orroroo, then Kimba, Hallett, Karoonda, Bute and Pt Broughton before moving to Adelaide at the start of year 10). Two older brothers (who graduated in Mechanical and Chemical Engineering respectively at Adelaide Uni) and younger sister (who graduated in Nursing from Uni SA). Married to Cathie with two children (Lauren and Joshua both born whilst at Gawler).
Education:
Karoonda, Pt Broughton & Bute Primary Schools, then Kadina and Marden High Schools (Year 12 in 1984 at Marden). Civil Engineering honours degree at Adelaide Uni (1985-1988) and Graduate Diploma in Municipal Engineering at Uni SA (1992-1995).
Earlier Work History:
Started at the then City of Munno Para (which later combined with the City of Elizabeth to form the City of Playford) in January 1989, being there for six and a half years+ (to August 1995). During time at Munno Para worked in areas including traffic, construction and maintenance, supervising/managing Council workforce and contractors and development/technical services.
Town of Gawler:
Joined Town of Gawler (Gawler) in September 1995 as “Operations Engineer” under Jeff McEachen (Town Engineer) and Roy Blight (Town Manager), being responsible for all the town’s public works and services (including parks, gardens & reserves and the cemetery operations). The “engineering” department at that time also had two technical officers (in the office in the old town hall building), and Works and Park & Gardens sections based at the Paxton Street depot under very experienced managers Marty DeDuonni and Gary Kerr. A mechanic (maintaining Council’s plant and equipment) and purchasing officer were also part of the department, also based at the depot.
Gawler had (and still has) its own very unique set of infrastructure and public space - and corresponding issues. The town has a rich history and is also physically “divided” or sectioned up into areas by two rivers becoming one within the town (The South Para and North Para – Gawler River) and their corresponding deep gullys, a railway corridor, a steep eastern escarpment above the town centre, and large traffic numbers moving through the town’s centre. This traffic moved both N-S and E-W and included a significant percentage of commercial (often large trucks/semi-trailers), due to a lack of alternative routes around the town between Adelaide and the Barossa, lower mid north etc.
The other refreshing aspect in joining Gawler was the fact that the vast majority of the Council employees at the time were “local” and worked hard in their roles wanting to contribute to the town that they lived in and/or shopped, played sport, recreated etc in.
After approx. 2 years as Operations Engineer, after the Town Manager (CEO) left, Jeff McEachen moved into an acting Town Manager role with myself moving up into an acting Town Engineer role. After some time “acting” both of us were appointed formally into these roles after going through external recruitment/interview processes. Following this I was significantly assisted with Murray Bartsch (operations) and John Hudson and then Terry Sloan (technical/design) adding their skills and experience to the engineering team.
In joining Gawler I also quickly became part of routinely working with the Mayor and Elected Members in their roles which was new to me. When I started, Bruce Eastick was the long time Mayor with Tony Piccolo taking over part way through my time. There were times when I was surprised at the “politics behind the scenes” but did my best to stay out of that and treat all the Elected Members with respect as they went about their duties and did their best to serve the local community. There were many difficult infrastructure related discussions/debates during my time, the largest the “town centre traffic routes and road designs”, with the Elected Members often juggling a range of different views (as there always are in traffic related issues) and trying to make wise decisions for the town. I will also mention Cr John Ragless, who was the chairperson of the committee responsible for the “engineering function” during that time, and provided me with wise advice and encouragement in my role.
Rather than go into more details I’ll list some of the key projects (not necessarily in time order) that I was involved in during my time with Gawler. Some of the projects were developed (designed) and built, some were “discussed” and shelved for various reasons, with many re-emerging later, albeit with perhaps new/modified designs/thinking…….
• Willaston Cemetery development and particularly the committee which developed and oversaw the construction of the Stillborn Memorial section within the site
• Dead Mans Pass ford reconstruction with new culverts to minimising the “up to then” regular road closures with water over the road from the South Para River
• The development over time of a series of levees and infrastructure through the town offering greater protection to flood prone areas, then the upgrading of South Para River infrastructure and the building of the North Para River flood control dam – both offering improved flood protection to the town
• Long discussion, debate and investigation into possibilities around the town centre traffic management with the upgrading of Murray Street (undergrounding of power-lines completed and road design and footpath upgrades commencing)
• Long discussion, debate and investigation into possibilities for “town bypassing” of traffic with the State Govt and a range of parties/residents. The “western bypass” was in place but the need for “north east” and “south east” links were, in particular, considered at length. The Gomersal Road upgrade built in that time provided the “north east” link in part (although not providing the significant benefits to the town that were sought due to it being “further out”). Options for the “south east” connection were also discussed at length over MANY years, with a link finally under construction (2019), however there is still much discussion about where the link should start/finish, particularly on the south side of the town – similar discussion to those when I was there 15+ years ago!
• Various traffic management issues, some with committees overseeing the solutions, which included the development of road infrastructure around the huge growth of Trinity College on the town’s south east corner, the Adelaide Road, Gawler South roundabout construction and some local area traffic solutions.
• The town centre development process which saw Woolworths et al join the town centre after much back and forth, the construction of the multi-level carpark, the retention of the “gum tree” behind Gawler Arcade, the building of the new TAFE college (now Council) building and the Pioneer Park rotunda upgrade.
One of my roles at the time was to sit on the Board of NAWMA (Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority). Gawler had combined with the Playford and Salisbury Councils to form NAWMA, to look after the waste management and recycling needs of the town (and the wider northern Adelaide area) NAWMA was dealing with a large change in Adelaide’s waste management landscape with the long time city’s landfill at Wingfield about to close and NAWMA needing to find local, costs effective alternatives for the northern Adelaide region’s waste.
These challenges, together with feeling worn and in need of a change with long work hours (many night meetings) and a young family prompted me to leave Gawler’ in January 2004 seeking new pastures at NAWMA. My key role at NAWMA was to oversee the development of the Uleybury landfill (south of Gawler) and the associated waste processing arrangements (which included the separate processing and baling of the waste). The landfill was developed with a view to it providing for the Gawler’s (and the other NAWMA Councils) waste disposal needs for around the next 20 years, which proved to be the reality.
Very sadly we learnt tonight on Channel 7 news that David was killed when his motorbike got hit by car/s on the freeway while returning from work. I believe they said that David was aged 53. Brian Thom 30/4/2021
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