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 entries
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
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q21535445. Details
- 'Alcock, Alfred Upton (1865-1962)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1469738. Details
Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Annette Alafaci
Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 6 October 2023
- Foundation Supporter - Committee to Review Australian Studies in Tertiary Education