Evans Deakin and Company

HMAS Ipswich in 1944

Evans Deakin & Company was an Australian engineering company and shipbuilder. Based in Brisbane, the company was formed in 1910 by Daniel Evans and Arthur Deakin.^[1] Jane Deakin in her book" Man of Steel- A.J. Deakin and the story of Evans Deakin Industries" provides more detail on the founders and the history of their successful company.^[2] The company started out as a supplier of engineering equipment.^[1] The first workshop was acquired in 1913.^[1]

The company later became Evans Deakin Industries (EDI). In 1980 EDI purchased Maryborough rolling stock manufacturer Walkers Limited. In July 1996 EDI purchased locomotive manufacturer Clyde Engineering.^[3][4]

In March 2001 EDI was acquired by Downer & Company, with the resulting merger being renamed Downer EDI.^[5][6]

In between World War I and II, Evans Deakin was involved in the fabrication of 300 railway wagons for Queensland Government Railways, the manufacture of steel components for the Story Bridge, and the introduction of oxy-acetylene and electric arc welding to Queensland.^[1]

Kangaroo Point operations

At the start of World War II, a shipyard was established at Kangaroo Point.^[1] The company developed the site so that the construction of military and merchant craft could be completed.^[7]

The Evans Deakin shipyard constructed 81 ships between 1940 and its closure in 1971,^[1] including eleven Bathurst-class corvettes, a Bay class frigate, and several Attack-class patrol boats. They also built trawlers, steamers, bulk carriers, tankers and tugs.^[7] The last major expansion at the Kangaroo Point site occurred in 1967 when the Frank Nicklin Dry Dock was constructed.

The company built the largest ship ever made on the Brisbane River, the oil tanker Robert Miller.^[7] Its construction was nearly complete when it broke free of its mooring during the 1974 Brisbane flood. The final vessel constructed at Kangaroo Point was the oil rig, Southern Cross in 1976.^[7]

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