South Australia
8 July 2024
It is with a heavy heart that I share this tribute for Kim Read after his passing on 2 July 2024. Kim was a former Managing Director of Tonkin and colleague to many of us.
Kim’s legacy at Tonkin is evident to all who had the pleasure to work with him. He was an amazing engineer, a talented leader, a trail blazer, a guide and a kind, loving man.
Kim’s family shared with us that he passed away on 2 July, following a decline in his health over the last six months.
Not only was Kim a pivotal figure in Tonkin’s history, he was also a dear friend to me and many staff in Tonkin’s Adelaide office. One of the meeting rooms in our Adelaide office is named in Kim’s honour and he was able to share in the unveiling of the room names when we moved into our current office in Frome Street in 2019.
Kim, a long-term member of staff at Tonkin from 1968 – 2004, was the first professional engineer to join founding business partners Skip Tonkin and John Moss. He subsequently went on to become a Partner, Managing Director for more than ten years, and later, Chair of the Board.
Kim’s technical expertise across a wide range of engineering disciplines, along with his leadership and management skills were pivotal in the strong growth of Tonkin in the 1990s. His strategic leadership and business acumen was integral in Tonkin’s transition from being a business with a handful of staff, growing to around 50 staff in the late 90s/early 2000s. Kim was one of the key people who helped set the course for Tonkin to become the thriving national consultancy we are today.
Kim’s professional accolades were extensive; notably he received the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to engineering, particularly in the fields of hydraulics and hydrology. He also won the South Australian Professional Engineer of the Year and the SA Water Chairman’s Award for outstanding services to the water industry in South Australia.
Those who knew Kim will remember him as a man whose personality lit up the room. Personally, Kim was a valued mentor and a close friend. He is a large part of the reason I am now the CEO of Tonkin and he continued to be a guide to me right up to the last few months. Kim has always been there for me, sharing in some of the darkest times in the business and the many successes we have had. He leaves a big hole for all who knew him.
For those of you who had the pleasure of knowing Kim, I hope you find some comfort in remembering the happy times we shared with him
