Background
Duncan was born on 11 July 1852 in the city of Dunedin New Zealand, the third son of George and Elspet Duncan, recent Scottish immigrants.
Duncan was born on 11 July 1852 in the city of Dunedin New Zealand, the third son of George and Elspet Duncan, recent Scottish immigrants.
He was educated at Clifton College near Bristol in England, and at both the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the University of Otago in New Zealand.
He was subsequently appointed engineer for the District of Otago. Between 1879 and 1883, Duncan was responsible for the development of the Dunedin cable tramway system. He was then appointed consulting engineer (and subsequently engineer) for the development of the Melbourne cable tramway system in Australia, a post he held until 1892, being largely responsible for the development of over 44 miles of cable tram route.
Shortly after leaving his post in Melbourne, Duncan travelled to both America and Europe.
However what he saw on his travels lead him to question the future of cable tramways, and on his return to Australia he advised Brisbane against adopting such a system in favour of electric traction. He continued to experiment until shortly before his death, but failed in his aim of making the process economically viable.
He died at "Sunnyside", Black Rock, Victoria, Australia on 4 September 1930.
Whilst in London he was elected a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers for his efforts on the Melbourne cable tramway system.