Sir John Henry Butters was an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n electrical engineer notable for his role in the Tasmanian Hydro-electric Department

Hydro Tasmania

Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as The HEC, is the government owned enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia...

 from 1914 to 1924 and as the head of the Federal Capital Commission

Federal Capital Commission

The Federal Capital Commission was an agency of the Australian government formed to construct and administer Canberra from 1 January 1925. The Chief Commissioner of the body was Sir John Butters....

 which developed Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

 between 1925 and 1930.

Butters was born in Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 and trained as an electrical engineer at Hartley College, Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

. He moved to Australia in 1909.

He is best known for his role as Chief Commissioner of the Federal Capital Commission. The FCC was active during the early expansion of Canberra, and was successful in planning and building many significant buildings. For his role in the city's development he is sometimes referred to as the 'Founder of Canberra'.

Butters left Canberra in 1929 for Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, where he made a career as a consulting engineer, which continued until his retirement in 1954.

Butters Drive in the Canberra suburb of Phillip

Phillip, Australian Capital Territory

Phillip is a suburb of Canberra, Australia in the district of Woden Valley. It is located in the centre of the district and contains the district's main commercial centre, Woden Town Centre. The suburb is named after Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales. The suburb name was...

 is named in his honour. He was an inaugural inductee into the Canberra Engineering Hall of Fame.

John Butters Power Station in Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

is named after him.