A “genuine gentleman”, according to his son Chris, Jack Edwards AO died peacefully on February 1 at the age of 93. 

The civil engineer played a huge part in shaping Northern Tasmania as we know it after first migrating to Launceston in 1951. 

Jack moved south from Melbourne to Burnie in 1949, before heading to Launceston in 1951 to take up the position of chief engineer at the Marine Board of Launceston – later renamed the Port of Launceston Authority.

Chris said his work with the Port of Launceston Authority was transformative. 

“When he came to work for the [Port Authority], it was just a small shipping bureaucracy and he turned it into a multi-million dollar port,” he said.

One of Jack’s greatest achievements was the development of Bell Bay into a major shipping port. 

Jack was the mastermind behind works that allowed cargo ships, of up to 90,000 tonnes, into Bell Bay. 

“There’s an island not far from the mouth of the Tamar called Garden Island, just off George Town and Low Head,” Chris explained. 

“They took it out basically … they dug a huge hole in it and then knocked in the sides to make the channel wider to get bigger ships in. 

“That really opened up Bell Bay as a port.”

Jack was also responsible for the design and creation of the Charles Street and Tamar Street bridges.

For his years of hard work making Launceston a better place to live, he was recognised as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1981.

However, his profound influence on the city continued well after his retirement in 1980. 

Many believe his advocacy for a renewed flood levee, completed in 2014, helped save Launceston from catastrophe in 2016.

“Jack championed the levee system for a number of years in all levels of government to try and make sure we changed the ones we had,” City of Launceston Alderman Hugh McKenzie said.

“He’d been to New Orleans, which the old flood levee system had been designed on, and came back determined we were a disaster waiting to happen at some stage in the future.

“The June 2016 flood was a case in point that his wisdom was well received, and really saved us from a consequential loss that would have been quite catastrophic if we had the old levee system in place.”

Chairman of the Launceston Flood Authority Alan Birchmore concurred that Jack was a catalyst for the design and construction of the $58 million flood levee. 

“Jack had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the river – he had a deep and extreme interest in it,” Mr Birchmore said.

“It was very useful for us to draw on his knowledge from time to time and discuss things with him, and he was always very happy to do it.”

Beyond his dazzling list of career achievements, Jack was a well-respected and well-liked family man. 

“Modest Jack” was his nickname, according to his son. 

“I’ll miss most his commonsense and wise counsel,” Chris said.

“He wasn’t religious per se, but he had a strong Christian ethic – a do unto others as you would have them do unto you philosophy.

“He was one of the last nice guys.”

Ald McKenzie knew Jack from a very young age, after befriending his younger son Bruce. 

He described the former engineer as someone he “admired and looked up to”. 

“I always found him a man of sage advice,” Ald McKenzie said.

“We, as a city, have been much better for having him lived here … we’re lucky to have had him as a person in our community.”

Jack Edwards is survived by his two sons, Chris and Bruce, his five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His wife Shirley died 13 years ago.