Person
Bainton, John Richard (1867 - 1924)
- Born
- 10 September 1867
Geneva, Switzerland - Died
- 13 June 1924
Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia - Occupation
- Electrical engineer
Summary
John Richard Bainton was a electrical engineer who pioneered the introduction of electric elevators into Australia, and the establishment of automatic telephone exchange systems within the New South Wales Railways and later Federally across Australia. He secured contracts to manufacture in Australia, large turbo-generators for the New South Wales Railways, and with J. B. Nicholson, established what later became the English Electric Co. of Australia, one of the largest engineering concerns in the country.
As Australia had treated him well, he felt an obligation to do something for young electrical engineers, and gifted £500 to The Institution of Engineers, Australia, for books and prizes. The J. R. Bainton Prize was one of the legacies of this gift.
Details
Chronology
- 1889
- Life event - Came to Australia, as agent for Woodhouse & Rawson Ltd., Engineers, London
- 1889
- Career event - Associate, Society of Telegraph-Engineers and Electricians, London / Institution of Electrical Engineers, London
- 1891
- Career event - Member, Electrical Association of New South Wales
- 1898
- Lecture - "Electric elevators", Electrical Association of New South Wales
- 1899
- Lecture - "Electrical Mining Machinery", New South Wales Chamber of Mines
- 1899
- Career event - Member, Institution of Electrical Engineers, London
- 1900
- Lecture - The electrical industry in America and Great Britain", Electrical Association of New South Wales
- 1900 - 1902
- Career position - President, Electrical Association of New South Wales
- 1903
- Career event - Founded the Standard Electric Elevator Coy. Ltd., with J. B. Nicholson
- 1919
- Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1921
- Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1924
- Buried - Wentworth Falls Cemetery, New South Wales
Related entries
Published resources
Book Sections
- Lincoln, Merrilyn, 'John Richard Bainton (1867 - 1924), electrical engineer' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 7: 1891 - 1939 A-Ch, Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle, eds (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1979), pp. 147-148, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bainton-john-richard-5102. Details
Journal Articles
- 'Memoirs', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 5 (1924), 395-408, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.862459635586528. 'John Richard Bainton', pp.395-396. Details
Newspaper Articles
- 'Electrical Association. Paper by Mr. J. R. Bainton', The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) (1900), 2, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article237323093. Details
- 'Obituary: Mr. J. R. Bainton', Sydney Morning Herald (1924), 19, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16135548. Details
Ken McInnes
Created: 10 June 2026