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ABOUT US

COMMUNITY. ACCOUNTABILITY. RESPECT. EXCELLENCE. SUSTAINABILITY.

GBA Consulting Engineers is an engineering consultancy based in Barcaldine, Western Queensland. The firm was established in 1945 by Mr Clem and Nick Wilson under the name of CH Wilson and Partners. In 1968, the Wilson family left Barcaldine and sold their shares in the firm to George Bourne. George later changed the business name to George Bourne & Associates (GBA). Today, GBA Consulting Engineers remains proudly based in Barcaldine and provides services including Engineering, Survey, Building Consultancy, Cultural Heritage & Environmental, Design and Project Management to central and western Queensland. In 2015, GBA Consulting Engineers opened a second office in Emerald to provide services to the Central Highlands region. In 2017, a newly constructed office for the GBA staff was opened in Barcaldine. In 2020, a third office was opened in Rockhampton to provide services to the Capricornia region. Today, GBA Consulting Engineers services 29% of the land mass of Queensland. Some of our employees also hold light aircraft pilot licences to fly between different projects.  

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1945

COMPANY ESTABLISHED

535,963km²

OF QUEENSLAND SERVICED BY GBA

70+

EMPLOYEES

31%

FEMALE STAFF

9

COUNTRIES OF BIRTH ACROSS OUR STAFF

OUR SERVICES

We provide Consulting Civil Engineering, Civil Design, Building Certification, Cultural Heritage, Environmental and Secretarial Services to our regions. 

Consulting Civil Engineers

We currently have Civil and Environmental Engineers with our firm. We service 11 Local Government Areas in Queensland, as well as private clients.


Designers

Our Designers cover work from the Local Government Councils as well as private works for Local Councils, other government agencies and private clients in the region.


Building Certification

We currently have two Building Certifiers. Our Building Certification team covers all the Local Government Councils in the area. 

Environmental and Cultural Heritage Services

 A qualified archaeologist and an environmental scientist are employed by the firm to provide support for construction projects.


​Secretarial Services

 Our administration staff provide the following services – photocopying, laminating, copying of plans, typing of documents, letters and resumes etc, all at competitive rates. 

OUR LEADERS

GBA Consulting Engineers' success is based on teams of diverse, dedicated people whose expertise and experience ensure quality and flexibility. This allows us to provide optimum client satisfaction through innovation and excellence. Since 1945, our firm has amassed a vast array of experience in providing and managing civil infrastructure throughout central and western Queensland. Our engineers use a fleet of light aircraft and motor vehicles to travel to and from our job sites spread across 29% of the land mass of Queensland. Given the vast area that we cover in our practice, the team is very attuned to being resourceful and creative to ensure planning and delivery of projects under difficult circumstances of extremes in remoteness and temperature variations.

We are lead by six partners with various engineering backgrounds, many years experience from different parts of the world and skill sets that will ensure the quality of our service is of a standard that is unquestionable.    

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Michael Donald (RPEQ 12086)

Civil Engineer

Engineering the outback since 2005.

 

Mike qualified with a BSc (Civ Eng) in 1985 from University of Natal, Durban before working as a construction engineer on large civil engineering projects in South Africa for seven years. In 1993, Mike joined Civil Engineering Consultants in Harare for two years. In 1995, Mike was self-employed mainly as a commercial farmer in Zimbabwe for nine years before immigrating to outback Queensland to commence as a Consulting Engineer for GBA, becoming a partner in 2009. Mike is also one of our pilots. One of the GBA projects Mike enjoyed most was the undergrounding of the power in the main street of Barcaldine.

Place of birth: Zimbabwe

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Stuart Bourne (RPEQ 8416)

Civil Engineer

Engineering the outback since 2007.
 

Stuart graduated as a Civil Engineers from CQU in Rockhampton in 2001 with a B.Eng Co-op (Civil). Stuart initially worked as a site engineer in England, followed by civil contracting on roadworks, bridges, dams and railways throughout Queensland until 2006. With his extensive experience in public work infrastructure, Stuart joined GBA in 2007, becoming a partner in 2016.  Stuart is also one of our pilots. 

Place of birth: Emerald, Queensland

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Jason Ricks (RPEQ 8499)

Civil Engineer

Engineering the outback since 1986.

Jason Ricks brings a breadth of engineering experience after decades of working across outback Queensland in towns like Cloncurry, Cape York Peninsula and Barcaldine. Jason has experience in construction, estimating, programming, remote area work, supply chain management and contract administration of civil infrastructure projects. Since joining GBA Consulting Engineers, Jason has been proud to deliver various projects however the modification of a Barcaldine carpark to accommodate the 'Heart Bus' has been a personal favourite. Despite being a smaller project size, it had a significant impact for the driver and community to improve access. 

Place of birth: Rockhampton, Australia

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PJ Cullivan (RPEQ 15325)

Civil Engineer

Engineering the outback since 2011.

 

PJ Cullivan is a Civil Engineer with a history of delivering public infrastructure projects from concept through to completion. In 2011, GBA Consulting Engineers sponsored PJ's permanent move to Australia to provide engineering services to remote and regional Councils where he assisted in the formation of Queensland’s first water alliance. PJ is heavily involved in the capital works delivery for regional Councils inclusive of airports, roads, utilities, and property.  In particular, PJ's strengths are in project management and contract administration of complex projects, like our award-winning ungrooved Stone Mastic Asphalt runway in Emerald - an Australian first.  

Place of birth: Ireland

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Rick Rolfe (RPEQ 15834)

Civil Engineer

Engineering the outback since 1990

Rick Rolfe is a Civil Engineer with extensive experience in government and the private sector. Since studying at USQ in Toowoomba and CQU in Rockhampton, Rick has experience in all stages of civil engineering including planning, design, construction, maintenance and traffic management. Rick is a very experienced engineering manager with experience in project supervision, project management, program management, resource management and change management. Since joining GBA Consulting Engineers in 2017, Rick has worked extensively with Barcaldine Regional Council and became partner in 2019.

Place of birth: Emerald, Queensland 

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Darren Richardson (RPEQ 11297)

Civil Engineer

Engineering the outback since 2020.

Darren graduated as a Civil Engineer from CQU in Rockhampton in 1996 with a B.Eng (Civil). Subsequent to graduation Darren spent 25 years with DTMR and RoadTek in various project management roles. His DTMR career culminated as the Manager (Delivery & Operations) for Fitzroy District which was a role carried out from August 2017. Darren possesses extensive road construction and maintenance experience as well as significant Contract Administration knowledge, carrying out various Superintendent and Administration roles over a significant period of time. Since 2015 he has performed in senior management roles and was an integral member of DTMR’s Fitzroy District Leadership Team. Darren joined GBA in October 2020, becoming a partner in July 2021.

Place of birth: Clermont, Queensland

OUR SENIOR ASSOCIATES

Our teams are made up of a great mix of staff with a diverse background of experiences, enabling us to provide expert advice and first-class engineering. With over sixty employees, GBA Consulting Engineers are proud to share our Associates and Senior Associates profiles below. Our Associates are awarded to staff who achieve consistent high performance and work ethic, as well as demonstrate our core values of Community, Accountability, Respect, Excellence and Sustainability. Our Associate appointments are reserved for staff who consistently display initiative, motivation, and continual positive performance. These staff are the emerging leaders of the business, and we are proud of their high performance, positive feedback from clients, and leadership qualities. We consistently receive positive feedback regarding our Associates and Senior Associates’ performance and professionalism from our clients.

To find out more about working with us, visit Projects. To find out more about life in the outback, head to Our Communities.

OUR ASSOCIATES

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