After I seen a post last week about this subject prompted me to do a little research and this is what we have,
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STOBIE, JAMES CYRIL , was born on 15 Sept’ 1895 at Parkside,
Adelaide, only son and eldest of four children of South Australian-born parents James Stobie, grocer, and his wife Alice, née Ingleby. Known as Cyril or 'C', he attended
Glenelg Public and Pulteney Street schools. A brilliant student, he won a scholarship to the Preparatory School, South Australian School of Mines and Industries. His education was made difficult by his father's business struggles and his untimely death in 1912. Cyril took over the family grocery
shop at Mile End to support his mother and sisters. In 1915 he enrolled as an evening student at the School of Mines. He gained an associate diploma in mechanical and electrical engineering that year and a fellowship diploma in year 1919
In 1916 Stobie had joined the staff of the
Adelaide Electric Supply Co. Ltd. He continued his engineering studies part time at the University of
Adelaide (B.E., 1921; M.E., 1932). Frederick Wheadon, A.E.S.Co.'s chief executive, became his mentor and the two formed a lifelong friendship. Stobie's career began to prosper. In 1923 he was appointed chief draftsman.
South Australia suffered from a scarcity of timber and an abundance of termites. Poles that were brought, at considerable expense, from other States were often destroyed by white ants. In 1924 Stobie invented the 'Stobie pole' to carry electricity cables and telegraph wires. It was constructed of two steel-I beams, held together by tie bolts; the space between them was filled with concrete. A.E.S.Co. paid him £500/$1000 for the patent rights. Although hopes of selling the design interstate and worldwide remained unfulfilled, the poles were used extensively in South Australia. In 1936 a Sterling coal truck was converted into a heavy pole-erector, designed by Stobie: it could install 70-ft (21 m) long, concrete-steel poles that weighed 8½ tons.
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