Person

Wheadon, Frederick William Herbert (1872 - 1947)

Born
15 December 1872
Ilminster, Somerset, England
Died
26 April 1947
South Australia, Australia
Occupation
Electrical engineer

Summary

Frederick Wheadon BSc MIEE MIEAust MAmIEEE, was the first Chief Engineer and Manager of the Electricity Trust of South Australia when it was formed in 1946, and before that was Managing Director and Chief Engineer of its predecessor, the Adelaide Electric Supply Company Limited.

He was active within the profession, becoming a foundation member, vice chairman and later chairman of the South Australian Institute of Engineers; a foundation member and later Chairman, Adelaide Division, Institution of Engineers Australia; and local Honorary Secretary and Treasurer for South Australia, of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London.

He was awarded the Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia, by the Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne in 1937.

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Details

Associated major works:
* Osborne 'A' Power Station which, when opened in 1924, contained one 15 MW unit and two 10 MW units.

Chronology

1889 - 1891
Education - Crystal Palace School of Practical Engineering
1891 - 1893
Career position - Assistant, Bath Electric Light Works
1892
Award - Medallist, Electric Lighting and Power Transmission, City and Guilds of London Institute
1893 - c. 1896
Career position - Assistant engineer, City of London Electric Light Co., Bankside
1895
Career event - Associate (AssocIEE), Institution of Electrical Engineers, London
1897 - 1899
Career position - Engineer, Babcock and Wilcox Limited [Supervised the erection of boilers, in London and in Spain]
1899
Life event - Moved to South Australia
1899 - 1914
Career position - Resident Engineer, South Australian Electric Light and Power Company / Adelaide Electric Supply Company Limited
1904
Career event - Associate Member (AMIEE), Institution of Electrical Engineers, London
1910
Career position - Member (MIEE), Institution of Electrical Engineers, London
1913
Career event - Foundation Member, inaugural Vice-Chairman, South Australian Institute of Engineers
1913 - 1919
Career position - Committee Member, South Australian Institute of Engineers
1914 - 1927
Career position - Engineer and Manager, Adelaide Electric Supply Company Limited
1916 - 1917
Career position - Chairman, South Australian Institute of Engineers
1919
Career event - Foundation Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1919 - 1923
Career position - Local Hon.Sec. and Treasurer for South Australia, Institution of Electrical Engineers, London
1927 - 1946
Career position - Managing Director and Chief Engineer, Adelaide Electric Supply Company Limited
1930 - 1931
Career position - Chairman, Adelaide Division, Institution of Engineers Australia
1937
Award - Kernot Memorial Medal, for distinguished engineering achievement in Australia. Faculty of Engineering, University of Melbourne
1942
Career position - Member of Council, University of Adelaide
1946
Career position - Chief Engineer and Manager, Electricity Trust of South Australia
1946
Life event - Retired
1947
Buried - North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth, South Australia

Related Awards

Published resources

Edited Books

  • Cumming, D. A.; Moxham, G. C. ed., They built South Australia : engineers, technicians, manufacturers, contractors and their work (Adelaide: D.A. Cumming and G.C Moxham, 1986), 241 pp. "Wheadon, Frederick William Herbert BSc(C&G), MIEE, MIEAust, MAmIEEE (1872-1947)" pp.196-7 (incl. portrait). Details

Journal Articles

  • 'Kernot Memorial Medal [1937 Wheadon, F.W.H.]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 9 (6) (1937), 246. Details
  • 'Obituary. [F. W. H. Wheadon, V. A. G. Desgrand, W. R. Pulver]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 19 (5) (1947), 117. Details
  • Wheadon, F. W., 'A progressive electric supply undertaking', Commonwealth Engineer, 2 (1) (1914), 48-54. Details
  • Wheadon, F. W. H., 'The Osborne Power Station and transmission system of the Adelaide Electric Supply Co. Ltd.', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 5 (1925), 160-190, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.862310571816463. Details
  • Wheadon, F. W. H., 'The generation and distribution of electricity - Review of some of the more important developments in the decade, 1920-1930. Chairman's Address [Adelaide Division]', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (6) (1931), 224-227. Details
  • Wheadon, F. W. H., 'The Adelaide Electric Supply Company's system', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 9 (1) (1937), 24-32. Details
  • Wheadon, F. W. H.; Clark, E. V.; Watkins, A. A.; Hursthouse, C. F.; Forbes Mackay, H. R.; Forster, A. D. J.; Sinclair, W.; Carter, H. G., 'The Osborne Power Station and transmission system of the Adelaide Electric Supply Co. Ltd. (Discussions and communications)', Transactions of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 5 (1925), 372-380, https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.862795029069176. Details
  • Wheadon, F. W. H.; Just, J. S.; Harvey, R. M.; Crawford, J. M.; Carter, H. G.; Goodman, C. W.; Fremlin, K., 'The Adelaide Electric Supply Company's system (Discussions and communications)', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 9 (9) (1937), 355-357. Details

See also

  • Lea, R. H. M.; Brookman, J. R.; Watkins, A. A.; Wheadon, F. W. H.; Clark, E. V.; Gleed, S. W.; Hursthouse, C. F.; Stobie, J. C.; Chapman, R. W.; Wigan, L. J. C., 'Rural transmission line practice on the system of the Adelaide Electric Supply Company, Limited. (Discussions and communications)', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 8 (10), 400-402. Details
  • Stobie, J. C.; Wigan, L. J. C.; Brookman, J. R.; Wheadon, F. W.; Farrant, T. A.; Jenkinson, H. G.; Hurtshouse, C. F.; Melbourne, H. E. S., 'Batch heating with a varying performance heat pump (Discussions and communications)', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 3 (11) (1931), 394. Details

Ken McInnes

Created: 26 August 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P007828b.htm

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