Christopher John Edwin Newman
1946 -
Return to Home Page
Outline his Life: a quick summary
-
Born 1946 in Surrey when my father was still soldiering
and based at Chessington. Family moved to Bason Bridge, Somerset after he
retired in 1949, and there I grew up in splendid rural isolation at Churchland
Farm at the remote end of "Newman's Lane" (a coincidence as the
lane was not named after us!).
1954-1959: Attended Hill Brow preparatory school at Brent Knoll (three or four miles from home); boarded
there from 1957.
1960-1963: Attended Wellington College following my father's,
grand-father's and great uncle's footsteps, but being totally inept at anything
to do with the Cadet Corps, I chose not to pursue an army career.
1962: Began a lifetime of travel by cycling through France
with a school friend attempting to win a school prize for the most enterprising
school holiday activity; 1963 - tried again by cycling alone through Germany
and East Germany to Berlin.
1963: Gained acceptance to Aberdeen University with mediocre
A-level results. Sent back to Wellington to repeat VI form to gain better A-levels,
but left after one term (couldn't stand the place any longer!)
1964: Attended local technical college in Weston-Super-Mare,
Somerset, to improve A-levels but discovered girls, cafes and pubs instead!
1964-1967: Attended Aberdeen University, graduating with
a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering. (I chose Aberdeen because
it was close to Corgarff in the Highlands, a place that I loved ever since
first setting eyes on it at the age of 11.)
1967: Began working on a construction site at Livingston
near Edinburgh, living in my own caravan which I parked on the construction
site. Became engaged to Pat Findlay who had been a fellow resident at Crombie
Hall, Aberdeen Uni's first "hall of residence".
1968: Moved to Dumfries (with my caravan) to begin a new
job with Shanks & McEwan Contractors Ltd. Married (at far too young
an age) and lived for two years at a caravan park outside the town.
1970: Moved to Melbourne, Australia, on a £10 "assisted
passage" intending to stay for a two year working and travelling holiday.
Quit first job with the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works after
3 months and moved to the State Wheat Board of Queensland in Toowoomba,
which became home for the next 21 years.
1980: Promoted to Deputy Chief Engineer for Bulk Grains
Queensland and State Wheat Board, then to Chief Engineer in 1984;
1986: Travelled to China as a member of Australian Wheat
Board technical advisory team - first "overseas" working experience.
1987: Present a paper on grain storage and handling at an international
conference in Kuala Lumpur. This opened a new world of opportunities beginning
immediately with a consulting job in India, and followed by other overseas consulting
trips to Pakistan, Dubai and China.
1991: Quit career in Australia to participate in Australian
funded grain storage project in Jilin (northern China); marriage breakup
initiated;
1992 - 1995: Engaged on World Bank funded Grain Distribution
and Marketing Project in China; marriage break up completed; lived and worked
in Zhengzhou during 1993/4; began working in Beijing mid-1994. Began long-term
partnership with Zhang Yi Qian 1995.
1995 - 2000: Engaged by Chinese government as technical
adviser on Grain Distribution and Marketing Project.
1996 - 2003: Ran contracting business through Grain Tech
Systems Pty Ltd, operating from Beijing.
2004 - largely retired from active employment.
Interests: Railways (especially steam locomotives); writing
(anything); reading (non-fiction); music; family tree and history in general
... lots of other things that I can't think of at the moment, but I have
generally allowed work-aholism to take precedence over my interests. Going
to have to do something about that soon!
Return to Home Page
Contact Details:
Address: 66 Dragon
Villas, 8 Shun An Road South, Shunyi District, Beijing 101300, China. Phone:
+86-10-6940-1003; Mobile: +86-1350-122-9247
Email: chris.newman@eastnet.com.cn
