Nick Johns-Wickberg
AIRAH sends its condolences to the family of Simon Hill, L.AIRAH, who passed away on April 3.
Throughout his career, Simon was a major contributor to the Australian HVAC&R industry. His many achievements include developing and presenting training seminars on ventilation, fire and smoke control and fire damper installation on behalf of AIRAH, CIBSE and the AMCA, as well as private corporations. He acted as an expert witness in relation to the legal resolution of HVAC disputes, and provided professional opinions on interpretation of HVAC standards and regulations.
In recognition of his stellar industry contribution over four decades, Simon earned AIRAH’s highest individual honour, the James Harrison Medal, in 2011. He was admitted to the ARBS Hall of Fame in 2022.
A generational educator
Gary Knox, F.AIRAH, worked with Simon on the Institute’s NSW division committee. He remembers the impact Simon had on several generations of emerging engineers.
“Simon Hill’s legacy in the HVAC&R industry is akin to a lighthouse, guiding countless professionals through the complexities of their field,” Gary says.
“Simon contributed to AIRAH’s NSW division as president and his favourite topic, an annual event, was the Mistakes Seminar. He introduced the topic with a quote from Ove Arup: ‘Mistakes are valuable guides: they should not be forgotten or concealed. Rocks and reefs are charted on maps as a warning to sailors – shouldn’t we do the same with our mistakes and failures?’ It was a very popular meeting and well attended by members.”
Clive Broadbent, L.AIRAH, remembers Simon as a brilliant engineer whose “technical excellence was apparent with every word he said”.
“I can’t believe he has passed away,” Clive says. “What an engineer – I thought he was on the ball with his technical knowledge, and that I admired.”
A legendary legacy
Brett Fairweather, M.AIRAH, worked with Simon over the last decade of his career. He highlights the legacy Simon left behind through his work with Standards Australia, where he was instrumental in establishing standards for designing and building mechanical fire and smoke control systems in buildings.
“It’s a rare thing to leave a legacy that ripples so far and wide, but that’s exactly what Simon has done,” Brett says.
“Simon’s work has made a deep and lasting impact — not only on the people around him, but on an entire industry and the community that continues to benefit every day from air quality and fire safety features of buildings influenced by his work. He was always an advocate for the safety of a building’s occupants and the reliability of a building’s often invisible systems.”
Others who worked with Simon have described him as “a kind friend, colleague and gentlemen who epitomises all that is good in our engineering community”, “a terrific bloke and a sharp engineer”, “a scholar of our industry”, and “one of the best designers I have ever met”.
Simon will be dearly missed by his wife Jill, his children Pip, Tim, Andrew and Edwina, his grandchildren Zara, Finn, Lachlan, Neelix, Llywelyn, Rafferty, Penelope, Ariadne and Oliver, as well as the many people who he worked with and mentored over the years.
Donations to Dementia Australia would be greatly appreciated.
Leave a Reply