MEMBERS of a Flintshire club were fascinated to hear about the history of engineering.

The Rotary Club of Mold met recently to receive a talk about “Civil Engineering through the Ages.”

A spokesman for the club explained: "The speaker - Rotarian Patrick Austin - himself a Civil Engineer, started by relating the story of Yu the Great (c 2123 - 2025 BC) a legendary King of China famed for development of flood control.

"Yu used irrigation channels rather than dams to control flood waters - a case of working with nature rather than against it.

"All this was around the time when Stonehenge was under construction.

"Patrick then spoke of the engineering feats of the Romans with their roads, aquaducts, heating systems and waste water control before reminding members of some of the cutting edge engineering technology that had been pioneered in Wales.

"Telford’s Aquaduct at Pontcysyllte, now a World Heritage Site was a wonder of its time.

"The bridges by Telford and Stephenson over the Conwy and Menai were the first of their design - and three of the four are still in operation today.

"It was at Conwy that the designer of the Mulberry Harbours in Normandy - Hugh Iorys Hughes, was born and where many of the cassions were constructed.

"The Conwy Immersed Tube Tunnel opened in 1991 is another remarkable piece of pioneering engineering, sited under an estuary with a tidal range of 6.5 metres at Spring Tides.

"Another engineering triumph was the Cardiff Bay Barrage where the tidal range is 14.5 metres at Spring Tides; when constructed, this was the largest engineering project in Europe at the time. "Spectacular as these projects were however, the engineering involved in more mundane projects of waste water management and water supplies - notable the Elan Valley Reservoirs in Powys, have produced a cleaner, healthier environment with regular, reliable supplies of clean water for us all.

"The talk was very well illustrated and a lively discussion followed.

"President Mark thanked Patrick for his fascinating resumee of the history of engineering."