John T. Short


John Tregerthen Short was the commissioner of the Western Australian Government Railways from 1908 until 1919.

Biography

Short was born in St Ives, Cornwall, which he left for a life at sea at an early age. In 1878 he left his ship at Port Adelaide and joined the South Australian Railways, and after a rapid series of promotions was in 1881 appointed stationmaster at Petersburg, between Adelaide and Broken Hill — a major terminal in the age of steam and when the South Australian railway network was more extensive than today.
In 1889 he left for Western Australia to take charge of the Great Southern Railway whose line ran from Beverley to Albany. In 1896 the line was taken over by the Western Australian Government Railways and the following year Short was appointed Chief Traffic Manager for the WAGR.
In 1906 a royal commission was held to investigate allegations raised in parliament by Harry Bolton that Short and George Julius had engaged railway tradesmen to do work for them on government time, and that the Commissioner, William George, had colluded by suppressing the information.
The commission found the allegations baseless.
In 1907 Short succeeded George, first as acting Commissioner, and in July 1908 to the substantive position, and made permanent in 1913. He retired on 30 June 1919.
He died at his home in Altona Street, West Perth and his remains were interred at the Guildford Cemetery.

Retrospect

His tenure of eleven years was notable as a period of great expansion, but he created considerable resentment in the goldfields area of Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie when some passenger services were cancelled. His successor, Colonel Pope, was more diplomatic, and able to implement changes without arousing unnecessary resistance.

Family

Short was married to Lorie Caroline Short. Among their children were:
one of these daughters was born in Petersburg, SA on 4 November 1882.