Person
Clements, Francis William (1864 - 1939)
- Born
- 20 May 1864
Essex, United Kingdom - Died
- 12 December 1939
'Myoora', Toorak, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Civil engineer and Electrical engineer
Summary
Francis Clements, MIEE MVIE MInstCE MIEAust, was a leading pioneer in the introduction of electricity services into Australia. He came to Australia in 1898 to complete negotiations for the acquisition by the "Brush Co" of supply undertakings in Victorian and South Australia. The Electric Lighting and Traction Co. of Australia was established by him, and the company established power stations at Adelaide and Geelong. The Melbourne company remained under his control until the undertaking was acquired by the State Electricity Commission. He took a leading part in standardising electrical equipment and practice, and the standard regulations that he laid down were adopted by the authorities of Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales. He also established the scheme for the supply of electricity for the Federal capital.
His distinguished contributions to engineering were recognised when he was awarded the Kernot Memorial Medal in 1926 and the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal in 1934.
Details
Chronology
- 1880 - 1882
- Career position - Pupilage, Great Eastern Railway Works
- 1883 - 1885
- Career position - Pupilage, Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation (Brush Co) works, Lambeth, London [under W M Mordey]
- 1885 - 1886
- Career position - Assistant engineer, Brush Co works, Lambeth, London
- 1887 - 1893
- Career position - Engineer-in-charge, Brush Co Temesvár lighting station, Hungary [the first European city to have electric street lights in 1884]
- 1893 - 1895
- Career position - Electrical engineer and representative of the Brush Co, Vienna works, and member of the official "Representary".
- 1896
- Career event - Member (MIEE), Institution of Electrical Engineers
- 1898
- Life event - Migrated to Victoria, Australia
- 1899 -
- Career position - Chief engineer and Local Managing Director, Electric Lighting and Traction Co. of Australia
- 1903
- Career event - Member (MVIE), Victorian Institute of Engineers
- 1913 - 1916
- Career position - Vice-President, Victorian Institute of Engineers
- 13 Jan 1914
- Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers
- 1919
- Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1920
- Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1925
- Career position - Chairman, Electric Supply Association of Australia
- 1926
- Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne
- 1926 - 1931
- Career position - Part-time Commissioner, State Electricity Commission of Victoria
- 1931 - 1937
- Career position - Chairman, State Electricity Commission of Victoria
- 1934
- Award - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal - Career Achievement Award in Engineering, Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1937
- Life event - Retired
Related entries
Published resources
Edited Books
- Gibbney, H. J.; and Smith, Ann G. eds, A Biographical register 1788-1939 : notes from the name index of the Australian Dictionary of biography. Volume 1: A-K (Canberra: Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1987), 403 pp, https://history.cass.anu.edu.au/files/ncb/documents/A%20Biographical%20Register%201788-1939%20Vol%201%20A-K.pdf. vol.1, p.130. Details
Journal Articles
- 'Kernot Memorial Medal [1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (8) (1931), 302. "1926. Mr. F. W. Clements, previously Chief Engineer and General Manager of the Melbourne Electric Supply Co. Ltd., for his work in establishing and extending the Metropolitan electricity supply in Melbourne.". Details
- 'Prizes of the Institution [Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal; Warren Memorial Medal; Edward Noyes Prize; Electrical Association Premium; Institution of Engineers Prize]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 7 (1) (1935), 29. Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal. [1934] Awarded to Mr F W Clements, MIEAust, Chairman, State Electricity Commission of Victoria. Details
- 'Memoirs: Francis William Clements, MIEAust', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 12 (4) (1940), 122. Details
- Institution of Engineers Australia, 'Fifteenth Annual Report [1934]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 7 (4) (1935), 133-138. 'Prizes - Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal [1934] to Mr F W Clements, MIEAust, Melbourne Division', p.134. Details
Resources
- Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 'Application: 14259, 1914', Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/3585/. Details
- Institution of Electrical Engineers, London, 'Application: 367, 1896', Electrical Engineer Membership Forms, 1871-1901, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/9058/. Details
See also
- 'South Yarra Station of the Electric Lighting and Transaction Co. of Australia (Visit-1908, June 17th)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. IX (1909), 89-91. https://hdl.handle.net/11343/24415. Details
- 'Electrical light station (Visit)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers vol. XII (1912), 170. https://hdl.handle.net/11343/24526. Details
- Baker, Keith, A Century of Canberra Engineering (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Engineers Australia, Canberra Division, 2013), 292 pp. 'Engineers who influenced the site, Expert advice', p.6. Details
Ken McInnes
Created: 4 December 2018, Last modified: 27 July 2023