Person

Alcock, Alfred Upton (1865 - 1962)

Born
22 September 1865
Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia
Died
1 February 1962
Exmouth, England
Occupation
Electrical engineer and Inventor

Summary

Alfred Alcock, MIEE MIEAust, was a self taught electrical engineer who, in 1889, formed the A. U. Alcock Electric Light and Motive Power Company in Melbourne. This company later formed the basis of the retail distribution system of the State Electricity Commission. Alcock, in conjunction with Herbert del Cott and Foundation Co. (London), converted Melbourne's cable trams to electricity powered. Alcock was also a keen inventor who produced numerous contraptions, including one which became the prototype for the development of the hovercraft.

Details

Alfred Alcock's first job was in his father's billiard table factory in Melbourne. By 1901 Alcock & Co. had factories in Perth and Brisbane. But Alfred Alcock's fascination with electricity and engineering soon developed and lead him to a life of experiments and inventions. His first patent was lodged at age 18 and he continued to produce ingenious, technically sound and well crafted prototypes until his death in 1962. The London based Institute of Electrical Engineers was so impressed with his work that they granted him membership.

Some of Alfred Alcock's inventions include:
* A dynamo for electricity generation (mid -1880s)
* Electric rock drills, coal diggers and earth cutters - with W B Brain (1889)
* A device for electrically co-ordinating the range-setter and fire-control for artillery (ca 1897)
* An electrically operated ship's telegraph (ca 1899)
* A model which was the basis of the modern hovercraft (ca 1910)
* An electrical meat defrosting process (ca 1922)
* A cabinet to disinfect library books (mid-1930s)
Although most of his inventions showed brilliant problem solving skills and impressive engineering adaptations, few reached commercial production.

In 1889 Alcock and his father established a generating station in Melbourne to supply electricity. A year later he formed A. U. Alcock Electric Light and Motive Power Company and developed a larger power station in Richmond. Within 5 years the company was supplying electricity for over 15000 lights throughout the inner suburbs. In 1899 the Bush Electrical Engineering Co. of England bought out the company. Alfred Alcock almost immediately set about establishing another company, Electric Light and Traction Company, to supply electricity to Melbourne and surrounds. In 1897 he moved to England, where he spent 4 years trying to perfect his artillery coordinating device. The War Office supplied him with facilities to carry out the research but would not commit to purchasing the finished product. He returned to Australia and in 1910 moved to Perth to manage the family business. Seven years later he returned to Melbourne and went into partnership with Herbert del Cott. He retired to England in 1927 but kept on inventing.

Chronology

c. 1882 - c. 1888
Career position - Billiard table manufacturing with Alcock & Co. in Melbourne
1883
Career position - Applied for his first patent (for "improvements in electrical apparatus for registering numbers such as for billiard marking")
1888
Career position - Co-developer of the Electricity generating-station in Corr's Lane, Melbourne
1889
Career position - A.U. Alcock Electric Light and Motive Power Company founded in Burnley St, Richmond, Victoria
1889
Career event - Member (MIEE), Institution of Electrical Engineers, London
1896
Award - Company awarded an Order in Council (under the Electric Light and Power Act) to continue energy supply, but not to extend into new areas
1897 - c. 1900
Career position - War Office backed development of his invention of a device which electrically co-ordinated the range-setter and fire-control for artillery in Tilbury and Shoeburyness, UK
August 1897
Life event - Married Jessie McFarlane in Melbourne
1899
Life event - Takeover of A. U. Alcock Electric by Brush Electrical Engineering Company, UK
1899 - 1910
Career position - Founding Director of the Electric Light and Traction Company
1906 - 1907
Career position - President, Victorian Institute of Electrical Engineers
1910 - 1917
Career position - Manager of Alcock & Co in Perth
1917 - 1927
Career position - Returned to Melbourne and formed partnership with Herbert del Cott
1919 - 1922
Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1922 -
Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1927
Life event - Retired to England

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Lincolne, G. B., 'Alcock, Alfred Upton (1865-1962), elecrical engineer and inventor' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 7: 1891 - 1939 A-Ch, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1979), pp. 30-31. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A070033b.htm. Details

Resources

Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Annette Alafaci

EOAS ID: biogs/P000994b.htm

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