Newcastle based firm Monteath & Powys is celebrating 75 years in business. Founded by John Monteath and Bob Powys in 1950, the two Surveyors shared an office in Bolton Street with the local hairdresser. They quickly established themselves as a leading cadastral firm, completing many of the major subdivisions throughout the region in the 50s and 60s.
The 1960s saw significant growth in the region with M&P completing initial surveys for the University of Newcastle’s Callaghan campus and Orica’s Kooragang Island facility. M&P continue to provide these same clients a range of surveying, spatial, planning and project management services to this day.
Throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s residential development was at the forefront of Monteath & Powys offerings, becoming a one stop shop from initial planning to design, survey and construction supervision. Many of the subdivisions throughout these decades were designed by Monteath & Powys' design legend, Svetamir Mrdakovic, who worked at Monteath & Powys for over 50 years, and now has a conference room named in his honour.
The 80s and 90s also saw a boom in the mining and industrial sectors throughout Newcastle and Hunter. Monteath & Powys played an important role in the development of Kooragang Island, and particularly the coal loader construction. Rail infrastructure was also a major contributor to the local economy during this period bringing the coal from the Hunter Valley to the Port.
Robert Monteath joined the company in the 1980s after becoming registered in 1979. Rob’s progressive approach to business saw the company branch into Strata Management and eventually create a separate business named ‘Monteath & Powys Strata Management’ which later became part of BCS Strata. Rob is still one of the most sought after Strata experts in NSW specialising in complex mixed-use developments.
The Newcastle Earthquake in 1989 was significant to the region leading to a period of rebuilding. Monteath & Powys were called upon for many monitoring and redevelopment projects including involvement in the Christ Church Cathedral and Workers Club rectification after they suffered significant damage.
As John Monteath and Bob Powys moved into retirement, Rob took the reins along with Greg Burnitt and Peter Sherlock. Greg’s financial management skills combined with Peter’s business development saw significant growth through a wider client base and a progressive approach to technology which is still evident today.
The first computer was purchased in 1983 at a cost of $25,000 with a storage capacity of 20Mb which at the time thought would never be filled.
The late 1990s & 2000s saw an industrial boom following the closure of the Newcastle BHP site. The Kooragang Coal Loaders underwent significant expansions, Tomago Aluminium built new pot lines, and the local mining and associated infrastructure meant M&P went through a significant growth phase with numbers increasing from 20 to 60 within a decade.
Significant projects throughout this time included subdivisions at Fletcher, Maryland, and Thornton, University of Newcastle expansions, major upgrades to the Pacific Highway and heavy industry throughout the Port.
Monteath & Powys were one of the first firms in the State to embrace GPS in the 1990s at a cost of $80,000.
From 2010 onwards, technology forged the path forward at M&P embracing scanning, modelling, GIS, UAV and data management, and leading to the formation of our Spatial department. This has led to the employment of Spatial data experts and GIS analysts providing clients with a wider range of solutions for data capture and management. This department is led by Director Matt Richardson who is widely recognised as industry leader in Spatial data management.
The project management side of the business has also undergone a significant transformation growing the traditional greenfield subdivision style supervision overseen by Geoff Rock, to full Built Environment development solutions. Project Managers from Monteath & Powys are now supplying the same traditional client base with client side project management solutions led by Director Jamie Graham.
Andrew Baker and his team have also been an integral part of the Inland Rail infrastructure project being the largest in Australia’s recent history.
The client base and major projects have undergone a transformation recently, with current projects consisting of large-scale renewables including some of the largest wind and solar projects in the state, along with the transmission infrastructure to service the energy transition.
The latest offering by Monteath & Powys is Utility Location, provided by our in house team of specialist locators. Monteath & Powys joined forces with Sydney based firm ‘Utility Scan’ to expand both the Utility location space and the reach throughout the Sydney region.
With an 80 strong team of professionals, including some of the industry’s brightest stars spanning the Surveying, Spatial, Development and Built Environment sectors, Monteath & Powys are looking forward to the next 75 years!