A GREAT BRIDGE-BUILDER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 80

A GREAT BRIDGE-BUILDER.

Sir William Arrol, whose name has recently been before the public in connection with the Blackfriars Bridge disaster, is one of the mo6t wonderful men that Scotland ha 6 produced. He is, indeed, a modern Telford, being the head of the firm of engineers which, built the Tay, Forth, and Tower bridges. But in addition to his professional distinction, Sir William has the uniq\ie honoui of being a parliamentary hero. When he was member for South Ayrshire during the last administration, the famous bridgebuilder led a bride to the altar, and on his wedding day he took part in a division" in the House of Commons: In recognition of this conspicuous example oi party loyalty, Sir William' Arrol was made the recipient, by some 350 of Mr Balfcnir's supporters, of a massive silver cup, and was warmly complimented by the leader in the House of Commons on his high sense of duty at a time when his presence was required at Westminister. Of Sir William Arvol it may be said that he has climbed the ladder to fame solely by his own efforts and on his own merits. Born of humble parents, 69 years ago,, he was handicapped by a minimum amount of schooling, but it i 6 recorded that as a boy he> did not need teaching. If there was anything to be learned, he had usually absorbed it long before anyone thought of instructing him on the subject. At the age of nine he left school and started life in a cotton mill, but he was afterwards apprenticed as a blacksmith, and found emplojonent as a journeyman 6ometim<>a ir a shipbuilding yard' and sometimes in a mechanic's shop of a large factory. At 22 years of age he was appointed foreman to a large engineerings firm in Glasgow, and it was then he saw the first girders. In 1868 he started business on his own account, on the magnificent sum of £85, which he had saved from his weekly wage. He purchased an engine for £18 and a boiler for £25, and with this equipment the foundation of a great career was laid. The excellence of his work attracted attention, and he was successful in obtaining large contracts, one of his first big jobs being the construction of a viaduct acrosb the Clyde at Glasgow.