Person

Clapp, Francis Boardman (1833 - 1920)

Born
27 June 1833
Holden, Massachusetts, United States of America
Died
6 September 1920
South Yarra, Victoria, Australia
Occupation
Business executive and Tramway engineer

Summary

Francis Clapp was a businessman who laid the foundation for Melbourne's tram network. His early ventures in the 1850s included running horse-drawn coaches between Melbourne and regional centres. In 1869, with William McCulloch and Henry Hoyt, Clapp established the Melbourne Omnibus Company (later the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company) which operated inner city horse-drawn omnibus services. His ambition, however, was to build a tram service which ran on rails. With the passing by the Victorian Parliament of the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Act in 1883, and the consequent establishment of the Melbourne Tramways Trust as the responsible authority, Clapp's Company was contracted by the Trust to operate and maintain the network. George Duncan was appointed as the Company's Engineer. The first route to Richmond opened in 1885: by 1891, sixteen routes (73 km of double track) had been constructed. Clapp remained Chairman of the Company until 1916.

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Details

Chronology

1853
Life event - Migrated to Victoria
1869
Career event - Established Melbourne Omnibus Company with William McCulloch and Henry Hoyt
1877 - 1916
Career position - Chairman, Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company

Subordinate

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Books

  • Cranston, Jack, The Melbourne cable trams 1885-1940 (Melbourne, Vic.: Craftsman Publishing, 1988), 132 pp. Details
  • Keating, J. D., Mind the Curve! A History of the Cable Trams (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1970), 155 pp. Details

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Hutson, Jack, 'The Melbourne Cable Trams, 1885-1940: Men of Perception, F. B. Clapp and W.C. [i.e. George William] Duncan', Recorder (Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Melbourne Branch), 165 (December) (1990), 2-9. Details
  • Pierce, Miles, 'Melbourne's cable trams - a major nineteenth century engineering achievement', International journal of the history of engineering and technology, 89 (1/2) (2020), 188-215. https://doi.org/10.1080/17581206.2019.16. Details

Resources

See also

  • Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_c.html. Details
  • Engineers Australia ed., Wonders never cease: 100 Australian engineering achievements (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 2019), 236 pp. p.50. Details
  • McCann, Joy; Churchward, Matthew, Victorian steampower : an illustrated social history (Melbourne, Vic.: Victoria Press, 1994), 179 pp. pp.59-61. Details

Rosanne Walker and Helen Cohn

Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 31 March 2022

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