Person

Gepp, Herbert William (1877 - 1954)

Born
28 September 1877
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Died
14 April 1954
Kangaroo Ground, South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Metallurgist and Industrialist

Summary

Sir Herbert Gepp helped solve the great metallurgical problems of the mining industry in the 1900s and was an apostle of the role of science in industry, government and the economy. He helped establish the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) through active engagement with its predecessor bodies and advisory councils. He was involved in the foundation of the Australian Chemical Institute (later RACI) and promoted enlightened labour policies in industry.

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Details

Chronology

Award - Gold Medal, London parent institution of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
1893 - 1905
Career position - Junior Chemist, Australian Explosives and Chemical Company
1905 - 1906
Career position - Chemist, Zinc Corporation Limited, Broken Hill
1907 - 1914
Career position - Manager, de Bavay's Treatment Company Limited
1915 - 1917
Career position - Australian Government, Zinc sales and munitions manufacture investigations in the United States of America
1917 - 1926
Career position - General Manager, Electrolytic Zinc Company
1924 -
Career Position - President, Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
1926 - 1930
Career position - Chairman, Commonwealth Development and Migration Commission
1930 - 1936
Career position - Part-time Consultant, Commonwealth Government of Australia
1931 - 1936
Career position - Technical Consultant, Australian Paper Manufacturers Limited
1936 - 1950
Career position - General Manager, Australian Paper Manufacturers Limited
1937
Career position - Member, Australian National Reseach Council [by being a Fellow of ANZAAS resident in Australia]
1937
Career event - Fellow, Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS)
1949 - 1950
Career position - President, Australian Chemical Institute
1950 -
Career Position - President, Society of Chemical Industry of Victoria

Related Awards

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • Charles Denton Kemp - Records, 1963 - 1964, MS 1548; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details
  • Herbert William Gepp - Records, 1904 - 1949, MS 390; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Currie, George; Graham, John, The Origins of CSIRO: Science and the Commonwealth Government, 1901-1926 (Melbourne: CSIRO, 1966), 203 pp, https://doi.org/10.1071/9780643105553. pages 37, 59, 96, 100-101, 104, 131, 132, 134, 140, 142-143, 145-146, 148 (photograph). Details

Book Sections

  • Kennedy, B. E., 'Gepp, Sir Herbert William (1877-1954), mining metallurgist and manager, public servant, industrialist and publicist' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1981), pp. 640-642. https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gepp-sir-herbert-william-bert-6298. Details

Journal Articles

Reports

  • Advisory Council of Science and Industry, Report of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Advisory Council of Science and Industry: for the year ended 30th June 1918 (Melbourne: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia, 1918), 64 pp. http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2004795988. Details

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

Gavan McCarthy; Ken McInnes

Created: 20 October 1993, Last modified: 18 February 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P001572b.htm

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