Reeson, Joseph Newell (1868 - 1953)

Summary

Joseph Newell Reeson MInstCE MInstGasEng MVIE was the Engineer-in-chief and Technical Adviser to the Metropolitan Gas Company, Melbourne, 1914 to 1926. Before taking up this appointment, he was the engineer-in-chief, of the Beckton works of the Gas Light and Coke Company, the largest manufacturing gasworks in the world, and was an inventor and patentee of many British gas works appliances, including gas manufacturing plant, coke conveyors, and gas governors.

In Victoria he led the introduction of electric arc welding in the construction of gas manufacturing plant, championing its use in large engineering construction works, including gasometers at the Fitzroy gasworks that, at that time, were the largest all-welded structures in the world.

His distinguished contribution to engineering was recognised when he was awarded the Kernot Memorial Medal in 1929.

Details

Chronology

22 May 1894

Career event - Associate Member (AssocMInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1895

Life event - Married Louisa May Owston, Kensington, London

1903 - 1906

Career position - Engineer, St. Pancras and Shoreditch works, Gaslight and Coke Co., London

c. 1905

Career event - Member, Institution of Gas Engineers, London

1906 - 1913

Career position - Engineer, Beckton works, Gaslight and Coke Co., London

1913 -

Career position - Engineer-in-chief, Metropolitan Gas Company, Melbourne

1914

Career event - Member (MVIE), Victorian Institute of Engineers

1914

Life event - Arrived in Melbourne

21 Apr 1914

Career event - Member (MInstCE), Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1916

Career position - Arbitrator, Government of New South Wales [Resumption of Kent Street works of the Australian Gas Light Co. (Sydney)]

1921 - 1926

Career position - Technical Advisor, Metropolitan Gas Company, Melbourne

1923 - 1924

Career position - President, Victorian Institute of Engineers

1926

Award - Telford Premium, Institution of Civil Engineers, London - for paper: "The influence of electric welding in the design and fabrication of plant and structures"

1929

Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne

1931

Career position - Chairman, Victorian Advisory Committee, The Institution of Civil Engineers, London

1939 - 1942

Career position - Member of Council, Institution of Civil Engineers, London [Representing Australia]

1948

Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia

Related entries

Published resources

Journal Articles

• 'Kernot Memorial Medal [1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (8) (1931), 302. "1929. Mr. J. N. Reeson, formerly Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Gas Co., Melbourne, for the introduction of electric arc welding into large engineering constructions.". Details
• Reeson, Joseph Newell, 'The engineer in his relation to the community and to the progress of civilisation (Presidential Address)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1923-1924 (1924), 163-170. https://hdl.handle.net/11343/24633. Details
• Reeson, Joseph Newell, 'Observations during a visit to England (Lecture & Discussion)', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1925-1926 (1927), 70-72, 73-74. https://hdl.handle.net/11343/24661. Details
• Reeson, Joseph Newell, 'Presidential address 1925', Proceedings of the Victorian Institute of Engineers 1925-1926 (1927), 4-10. https://hdl.handle.net/11343/24651. Details

Resources

• 'Obituary. Joseph Newell Reeson, 1868 - 1953', Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/iicep.1953.11146. Details
• 'Correspondence on the strength of arc-welded joints', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1931.15376. Details
• 'Correspondence. Applications of power on gasworks', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1927.14188. Details
• 'Discussion. Applications of power on gasworks', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1927.14183. Details
• 'The influence of electric welding in the design and fabrication of plant and structures', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1926.14167. Details
• 'Correspondence. The commercial metering of air, gas and steam', Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, https://doi.org/10.1680/imotp.1917.15752. Details
• Institution of Civil Engineers, London, 'Application: 8902, 1894', Civil Engineer Membership Forms, 1818-1930, ancestry.com, https://www.ancestry.com.au/search/collections/3585/. Details

See also

• Burnell, J. G., 'Industrial development', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 6 (10) (1934), 407-412, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dHaCC-dqXgBZ_dx9uJ3rtkouzrnZ6UWt/view?usp=drive_link. Details
• Chapman, W. D., 'Strengthening of Echuca Bridge by electric welding', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1 (1) (1929), 9-18. Details
• Chapman, W. D.; Allen, P. S.; Laing, J. A., 'Strengthening of Echuca Bridge by electric welding (Discussion)', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1 (2) (1929), 57-60. Details