Happy retirement!

Andrew's Tonkin career has spanned 22 years, has seen him lead a number of award-winning projects across New South Wales, from our Sydney office. Among these, Parramatta Aquatic Centre stands out, having earned a number of awards for its innovative design solutions, both nationally and internationally. 

One of Andrew's favourite projects, the Parramatta Escarpment Boardwalk was designed to provide a link to Parramatta Valley Cycleway, connecting to Parramatta Park through to Melrose Park. 

"This project sticks in my mind as it's such an elegant concrete structure which appears to flow down the river, but also hides the complexity of detailing that went into making it work," Andrew shared.

In retirement, Andrew looks forward to new challenges, and will continue to cycle, ski and hang-glide, as well travelling and spending time with his five grandchildren. 

Gene, based in Tonkin's Mount Gambier office, retires after 22 years with the company. As Principanl Engineer, Gene has contributed to a number of diverese and interesting projects across rural South Australia and Victoria, working on wind farm towers, churches, sawmills, Naracoorte and Engelbrect caves and even a haunted house in Port MacDonnell. 

A memorable project was his work within a sawmill, where he appreciated the hands-on experience and practical knowledges gained from collaborating with machines engineers in America, Canada, Denmark and Swenden.

"I enjoyed working with knowledgeable and caring technical people and tradesmen on site," Gene said.

In retirement, Gene will continue his volunteer work at a local soup kitchen and wildlife reserve, finding fellowship and a sense of accomplishment that comes with the role. In addition to volunteering, Gene will also be taking on projects within his rural property, travel and get serious with fishing and woodworking. 

Ken, based in Adelaide, retires after an impressive 40-year career at Tonkin, spanning from his position as Graduate Engineer after University, to his final role as Principal - Hydrology and Hydraulics. 

Ken's career has involved him in a number of leadership positions at Tonkin, including Managing Director, and he's played a key role in shaping Tonkin into the successful engineering consultancy it is today. 

Over the years, Ken has been involved in a slew of significant projects, including critical floodplain mapping across Adelaide and South Australia, however his favourite has been the Warriparinga Wetland project. Ken led the design of the project from cpncept through to detailed design, and supervised construction. 

"It was great to see the site completely transformed from vacant paddock, into a beautiful community asset that is regularly visited by local schools, is used by the local community for Walking and is an environmental asset to the area," he said.

In retirement, Ken has initial plans to embark on home renovations and extensions, as well as travel with his partner in the years ahead.