Biographical entry Harper, Herbert Reah (1871 - 1956)

Summary

Herbert Reah Harper worked for the Victorian State Electricity Commission from its inception in 1919 until 1936. Prior to this he was employed by the Department of Mines, the Melbourne City Council and the Brush Electrical Engineering Co. (England). While working for the latter, he was sent to Malta to oversee the installation of a power supply system and was then sent to Brush's subsidiary company, the Electric Light and Traction Co. in Melbourne (1899). During an overseas trip for the Department of Mines, Harper discovered the usefulness of brown coal as an energy source. When he returned to Australia, he was appointed to the government's brown coal advisory commission whose report instigated brown coal-mining and a power plant at Yallourn, in Victoria's La Trobe Valley. Herbert Harper's efforts saw the industrialisation of Victoria based on cheap power supply. He was awarded the Kernot (The Melbourne University Engineering Foundation) and Peter Nicol Russell (Institution of Engineers, Australia) Medals in recognition of his achievements.

Details

Events

c. 1891 - 1893

Career position - Apprentice at Rennoldson Electrical Engineering Company in England

1893 - 1901

Career position - Electrical Engineer at Brush Electrical Engineering Co., UK

1895 - 1896

Career position - Supervisor, then Chief Engineer of the Malta electrical supply system

1899 - 1901

Career position - Assistant at the Electrical Light and Traction Co.in Melbourne

1901 - c. 1911

Career position - Electrical Engineer at the Melbourne City Council

1911 - 1919

Career position - Electrical Engineer at the Department of Mines

1918

Career position - Inaugural President of the Electrical Supply Association of Australia

1919 - 1936

Career position - Inaugural Chief Engineer at State Electricity Commission (SEC) of Victoria

1933

Career position - President of the Institution of Engineers, Australia

1935

Career position - World tour of electrical works for the SEC

1936

Life event - Retired

1937 - 1938

Career position - Consultant to the New South Wales Government

1941 - 1945

Career position - Member of the Army Mechanization Board

Published resources

Online Resources

• National Library of Australia, 'Harper, Herbert Reah', Trove, National Library of Australia and the Australian National Maritime Museum Darling Harbour, 2009, http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1464097. Details
• Spaull, Andrew, Harper, Herbert Reah (1871 - 1956), Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 9, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1983, 203-204 pp, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090200b.htm. Details