The structural engineer has designed buildings around the world and particularly likes doing designs for structures that “no one else had been able to solve”.

Thinking of new ways of designing things gets his creative powers going.

The list of buildings and other structures that Mr McGrath, 73, has designed is impressive and ranges from the Bunnings stores seen throughout Australia to a military school in Beirut and telecommunications infrastructure in Dubai.

Countless buildings in Warrnambool, including those for Maddens law firm and WestVic Staffing Solutions in Koroit Street, were also designed by Mr McGrath.

In the region, the Union Dairy Company’s milk processing plant at Penola and an underground shaft that gives tourists access to an old gold mine at Ballarat’s Soverign Hill were also his projects.

Raised in Warrnambool, Mr McGrath went on to set up TGM Consulting Engineers in Ballarat that grew to employ 120 staff.

In 2010 at the age of 65, he returned to Warrnambool where he helped establish a new branch for the PM Design group.

Mr McGrath has a simple explanation for the role of a structural engineer.

“An architect makes a decision he wants a roof.

“I will tell him how big he has to make it so it does not fall down,” Mr McGrath said.

His work as a top flight structural engineer won him an award from the Australian Cement and Concrete Association for the pre-cast concrete pits he designed for telecommunications nodes in Dubai and he has been honoured with elite membership of Australian and American engineering societies.

He has written the Australian standards for testing concrete aggregates and the Australian design standards for light gauge steel.

He gained lots of experience working with light gauge steel doing design work for J.G. King homes and for McDonalds, Hungry Jacks and KFC outlets throughout Australia.  

While he is a great problem solver, one project of particular interest to Warrnambool that has stumped him was a job for the Victorian Racing Club to design a jumps hurdle that could collapse quickly when hit by a horse and also not be a hindrance to the horses following behind. 

Mr McGrath’s work has included projects for the rich and powerful such as a holiday house for transport magnate Lindsay Fox and a home for a Melbourne man with dubious connections who wanted a helipad on the roof. 

Projects in the Middle East have had him dealing with sheikhs and generals.

Large scale projects have included the Box Hill tax office in Melbourne, the crusher and conveyor structure for the Mount Isa zinc mines and the conveyor for the Roy Hill iron ore mine in Western Australia.

Mr McGrath started his distinguished career in Warrnambool after doing a Civil Engineering Diploma at Warrnambool Technical College.

His first job in 1964 was with the then Mortlake Shire Council, a job he reckons he got because he also agreed to play football for Mortlake.

Among his projects for the shire was the design for the current bridge over the Hopkins River at Ellerslie.

He moved on from there to work for the NSW Water Resources Commission where he designed dams, bridges and sections of large-scale projects.

In Sydney, he upped his qualifications with a Masters in Engineering Science at the University of NSW before returning to Warrnambool to lecture in engineering at the Warrnambool Institute of Advanced Education and Ballarat University.

After about 11 years in academia, he set up TGM Consulting Engineers at Ballarat with other partners where he revelled in the difficult designs.

“When a design posed a problem, it came to me,” Mr McGrath said.

He also helped set up with a partner the ENG Soft company that developed engineering software.

But he did not let his work consume his life and was keen to find a work/life balance.

“You cannot do just the one thing all your life,” Mr McGrath said.

He enjoyed fitness activities such as surf lifesaving and kayaking and took that to a new level by entering triathlons.

“Being fit helps you with the rest of your life,” he said.

So far he has completed 18 full ironman triathlons and 19 half ironman events.

His triathlons have included two gruelling Hawaii ironman events.

One of those had him running a marathon across old lava fields in temperatures of 42 degrees.

He did a triathlon at Chatanogga in the United States last year at the age of 72 and hopes to do another next year.

Another activity that helps give his life balance is his community involvement.

He has been a member of Rotary for 20 years, first in Ballarat and currently in Warrnambool.

He is married to Annette and they have three children, three grandchildren and a great grandchild.

Mr McGrath said Warrnambool had always been “home” to him. 

“I never had a vision of being old in another city,” he said.

While Mr McGrath has retired, he still enjoys mentoring other engineers who come to him seeking advice on their projects.

He said his career had taught him the benefits of having a balanced life, and that life changes still presented opportunities to develop and contribute.