A Tribute to Dan Moye from Doug Price

I very much appreciate this opportunity to contribute to the Web-Site for Dan Moye. I first met Dan Moye in the Sydney office of the Snowy Mountains Authority (SMA) in 1950. I acted as his Sydney representative, ordering diamond drilling and geological equipment and greeting the early geological and drilling staff such as Ken Sharp and George Henderson. I had heard of Dan’s reputation with the Sydney Water Board and my respect for him grew during this association.

Subsequently I spent 20 years with the SMA and had frequent contact with Dan during my contract supervision periods at Tumut Pond Dam and associated works, at Tooma Dam with its difficult foundations, and the Tooma-Tumut Tunnel where rock bolt tunnel support was extensively used. Later, I became Engineer for Planning at the SMA, and during this period Dan and I produced the paper “Geology and Tunnelling in the Snowy Mountains Scheme”.

I joined the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC) in 1970 and was its Chief Executive Officer from 1975 to 1988. SMEC became a well-respected private company in 1993 and has participated in many notable projects involving complex and challenging geological and geotechnical problems. Dan Moye’s engineering geological team transferred to SMEC and carried on his work and high standards at such difficult sites as Khao Laem in Thailand and the Champagne Project in Mauritius.

There is no doubt about the major part Dan Moye played in the development of engineering geology in Australia, and I was very pleased to unveil the plaque dedicated to him and his team at Tumut Pond Dam, in April 1993.