IF YOUR home sits on a concrete slab, chances are it was designed by David Jones.
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Mr Jones, 78, was Inverell's first consulting engineer and he is celebrating 50 years in business, as David C Jones.
"I saw there was an opportunity for an engineer when I first came to Inverell as a 23-year-old," Mr Jones said.
"In those days, the town relied on a consulting engineer to travel from Armidale, there was a shortage of good engineers."
He initially came to Inverell to work on Copeton Dam, then still under construction.
Work finished on the dam in 1973.
With a storage capacity of 863,000 megalitres (enough to fill three Sydney harbours), the dam was an engineering wonder and these days, as well as supplying irrigation, stock and households needs, has become a popular tourist destination.
For Mr Jones, the dam's completion freed him up to branch out in a town with which he had fallen in love.
"I was 28 and I really liked Inverell," Mr Jones said.
"We have beautiful summer days and clear, frosty mornings in winter. It is a fantastic climate."
He also met and married his late wife, Christine and the couple settled down to raise their daughter, Elissa.
So Mr Jones set up shop in Otho Street, from where he established himself as a sole operator, David C Jones.
"Over the years and when it was busy, I would sub-let out work," he said.
"It was great being my own master, working for myself."
In 1987, Mr Jones decided to move his business to the rumpus room in his home.
"I have completed a lot of domestic and housing assignments and designed 1200 house slabs," Mr Jones said.
For the past 48 years he has also carried out voluntary duties as local controller of flood intelligence for the State Emergency Service, advising of potential floods and storms and peak conditions along the Macintyre River.
Mr Jones has also been involved in the Jindalee Operational Radar Network, an over-the-horizon radar network operated by Royal Australian Air Force that can monitor air and sea movements across 37,000 square kilometres.
These days, Mr Jones works for his own pleasure and also because there remains a shortage of good engineers in Inverell.
"My advice to any younger person wanting to become a consulting engineer is, it's a fantastic career and you will always find work in rural towns such as Inverell."
