As a very young boy, Cyril Carter would try to catch the light that was flashed around the room by his brother using a mirror. Years later creating light became a major part of his career - he was involved in the development of five major power stations: East Perth, South Fremantle, Bunbury, Muja and Kwinana. By the time he retired, he was head of the Generation Branch, in charge of design, construction and operations of power stations in Western Australia.
Cyril had his first taste of Mechanical Drawing in his final school years at the Midland Junction Technical School building in the mid 1920s with lecturer, Mayo Wishart. Then one day his sister’s boyfriend said to him, "You ought to do a Diploma". He didn’t know what a Diploma was but he decided he would get one. He was working as an office boy at the time and hated the work. When he applied to do a Diploma at Perth Technical School he was told he was too young but that he could start with some preliminary subjects. In his second year of study he managed to secure an apprenticeship in the Railway Workshops as a turner.
It was through his apprenticeship that he returned to Midland Junction Technical School. He also began studying advanced engineering subjects at Perth Technical Education School and his future career looked secure. But then the effects of the Depression hit and the Railway Workshops were unable to keep their apprentices on. Having lost his father as a young boy, Cyril already knew about hard times, but a lucky break was to come his way. He was given extra training in the Workshop’s Drawing Office and was the first apprentice to be kept on for some years. Shortly after he was transferred to the government department responsible for electricity, which at that time came under the Commissioner for Railways. Having gained an Associateship in Mechanical Drawing, he started work on East Perth Power Station, then under construction.
By 1943 he had completed a Diploma in Structural Engineering at Perth
Technical School. He remained with what was then known as the State Electricity Commission as the Senior Draftsman to complete all the original drawings for the South Fremantle Power Station. He even packed up the drawings in galvanised boxes, then soldered them up for their journey to England where tenders for construction were being called. After that he worked on the Bunbury Power Station, followed by Muja then Kwinana. By the time he retired in the early 70s he had been made a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, having gained further qualifications by correspondence. And even now at 91 he is still taking on new challenges, exploring technology via his computer.
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