Person
Harper, Herbert Reah (1871 - 1956)
- Born
- 23 June 1871
London, England - Died
- 27 July 1956
Toorak, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Electrical engineer
Summary
Herbert Harper worked for the Victorian State Electricity Commission from its inception in 1919 until 1936. Prior to this he was employed by the Department of Mines, the Melbourne City Council and the Brush Electrical Engineering Co. (England). While working for the latter, he was sent to Malta to oversee the installation of a power supply system and was then sent to Brush's subsidiary company, the Electric Light and Traction Co. in Melbourne (1899).
During an overseas trip for the Department of Mines, Harper discovered the usefulness of brown coal as an energy source. When he returned to Australia, he was appointed to the government's brown coal advisory commission whose report instigated brown coal-mining and a power plant at Yallourn, in Victoria's La Trobe Valley. Herbert Harper's efforts saw the industrialisation of Victoria based on cheap power supply.
He was awarded the Kernot (The Melbourne University Engineering Foundation) and Peter Nicol Russell (Institution of Engineers, Australia) Medals in recognition of his achievements.
Details
Chronology
- c. 1891 - 1893
- Career position - Apprentice at Rennoldson Electrical Engineering Company in England
- 1893 - 1901
- Career position - Electrical Engineer, Brush Electrical Engineering Co., UK
- 1895 - 1896
- Career position - Supervisor, then Chief Engineer, Malta electrical supply system
- 1899 - 1901
- Career position - Assistant at the Electrical Light and Traction Co.in Melbourne
- 1901 - c. 1911
- Career position - Electrical Engineer, Melbourne City Council
- 1905
- Career event - Member, Victorian Institute of Electrical Engineers
- 1909
- Career position - President, Victorian Institute of Electrical Engineers
- 1911 - 1919
- Career position - Electrical Engineer, Department of Mines
- 1916 - 1917
- Career event - President, Victorian Institute of Engineers
- 1918
- Career position - Inaugural President, Electrical Supply Association of Australia
- 1919 - 1921
- Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1919 - 1936
- Career position - Inaugural Chief Engineer, State Electricity Commission (SEC) of Victoria
- 1921 -
- Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1933
- Career position - President, Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1934
- Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne
- 1935
- Career position - World tour of electrical works for the SEC
- 1936
- Life event - Retired
- 1937 - 1938
- Career position - Consultant to the New South Wales Government
- 1938
- Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering. Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1941 - 1945
- Career position - Member of the Army Mechanization Board
- 1956
- Life event - Buried, Boroondara Cemetery, Victoria
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Spaull, Andrew, 'Harper, Herbert Reah (1871 - 1956)' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 9 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1983), pp. 203-204. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090200b.htm. Details
Journal Articles
- East, L. R. (editor), 'One hundred years of engineering in Victoria.', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 6 (10) (1934), 353-420. 'Foreword' p.353. Details
- Harper, H. R., 'Victorian Brown Coal for the Production of Power (Chairman's Address)', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (1931), 309-. Details
- Harper, H. R., 'Presidential Address', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 6 (1934), 79-. Details
- Harper, Herbert Reah, 'Notes descriptive of the electric supply station of the Melbourne City Council (Paper & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. VII (1907), 18-26. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24365. Details
- Institution of Engineers Australia, '19th Annual General Meeting - Minutes [Melbourne, 21st March 1939]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 11 (1939), 146-147. 1938 Peter Nicol Russell award, to be made to Mr H R Harper, MIEAust, Melbourne Division. Details
- Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Twentieth Annual Report [1939]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 12 (1940), 47-64. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal (1938 award), to Mr H R Harper, MIEAust, Melbourne Division', p.53. Details
- Lorimer, G.; and Harper, Herbert Reah, 'Fuel Calorimetry (Demonstrations & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. X (1910), 81-88, 95-104. http://hdl.handle.net/11343/24447. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q18165678. Details
- 'Harper, Herbert Reah (1871-1956)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1464097. Details
See also
- Smith, James, ed., The Cyclopedia of Victoria: an historical and commercial review: descriptive and biographical, facts, figures and illustrations: an epitome of progress (Melbourne: Cyclopedia Co, 1903-1905), vol.1: 618 pp, vol.2: 563 pp, vol.3: 643 pp. 'Herbert Reah Harper' Vol.1 p.321. Details
Annette Alafaci
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 8 February 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education