P000406 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

All key entry types: Awards; Concepts; Corporate Bodies (Organisations); Cultural Artefacts; People; etc

These key entries are listed separately below with other indexes and lists.

 English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Person created 1993-10-20 human Gavan McCarthy [P004098] and Helen Cohn updated 2026-03-04 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P000406b.htm person Fisk Ernest Thomas Kt AACR2 8 August 1886 8 July 1965 Place of Birth Sunbury, Middlesex, England Place of Death Roseville, New South Wales, Australia Radio engineer Entrepreneur Businessman Sir Ernest Fisk was a pioneer radio engineer in Australia. He earned his qualifications while working for the Marconi Company in the United Kingdom. His work included conducting apparently impossible experiments to demonstrate the capabilities of wireless transmission. Fisk visited Australia in 1910 to demonstrate Marconi's apparatus for the Orient Steam Navigation Co., successfully sending radio signals over 2000 miles. In 1911 he returned, as Marconi's Resident Engineer. When the Australian Government founded the Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd (AWA) in 1913, he was appointed General Manager, ultimately becoming Chairman and Managing Director. One of Fisk's greatest achievements was the establishment of a Beam Wireless Service, providing the longest and fastest telegraphic communications in the world. The first such communication between Australia and England was in January 1927. Fisk was an early advocate of solar, hydro and nuclear power. He resigned from AWA to become managing director and chief executive of the Electrical and Musical Industries group in London, but returned to Australia in 1956. Between 1927 and 1969 Fiskville, Victoria, was the location of the AWA's shortwave wireless transmission complex, part of the Imperial Wireless Chain. 1906 1913 Career position - Radio engineer, Marconi Company 1913 1916 Career position - General Manager, Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd (AWA) 1914 1922 Career position - President, New South Wales Division, Wireless Institute of Australia 1915 1926 Career position - Member, Institute of Radio Engineers, U.S.A. 1916 1944 Career position - Managing Director, Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd (AWA) 1926 1951 Award - Fellow, Institute of Radio Engineers, U.S.A. 1932 1944 Career position - Chairman, Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd (AWA) 1933 1933 Award - Member, Order of the Crown of Italy 1933 1933 Award - Fellow, Institution of Radio Engineers, Australia. (First Fellow) 1934 Career position - Member, Royal Empire Society 1934 1936 Career position - Vice-President, New South Wales Chamber of Manufacturers 1935 1935 Award - King George V's Silver Jubilee Medal 11 May 1937 11 May 1937 Award - Knight Bachelor (Kt) [King George VI Coronation] 11 May 1937 11 May 1937 Award - King George VI Coronation Medal 1938 1940 Career position - Vice-President, New South Wales Chamber of Manufacturers 1939 1939 Career position - President, Electrical and Radio Development Association 1939 1942 Career position - Member, Road Safety Council of New South Wales 1941 1941 Career position - President, Royal Empire Society 1944 1944 Career position - President, Royal Empire Society 1944 1952 Career position - Managing Director, Electrical and Musical Industries group (EMI) 1951 1965 Award - Life Fellow, Institute of Radio Engineers, U.S.A. Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd (AWA) (1913 - 1988)

Managing Director 1916 - 1944; Chairman 1932 - 1944

Wikidata

VIAF - Virtual International Authority File

 Fisk, Ernest (1886-1965)

Trove

 'Fisk, Ernest Thomas', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology Fisk, Ernest Thomas Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Edited Book: Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders Engineers Australia Anything is possible: 100 Australian engineering leaders Barton, A.C.T. Institution of Engineers, Australia 2019 Book Section: Fisk, Sir Ernest Thomas (1886-1965), radio pioneer and businessman Goot, Murray Fisk, Sir Ernest Thomas (1886-1965), radio pioneer and businessman Melbourne Melbourne University Press 1981 Australian dictionary of biography, volume 8: 1891 - 1939 Cl-Gib Bede Nairn and Geoffrey Serle 508-510 Resource Section: Fisk, Ernest Thomas Fisk, Ernest Thomas Australian Science Archives Project 1995 Physics in Australia to 1945 R.W. Home, with the assistance of Paula J. Needham Journal Article: Sir Ernest Fisk, Kt, 1886-1965 Sir Ernest Fisk, Kt, 1886-1965 1965 Proceedings of the Institution of Radio and Electronics Engineers, Australia 26 7 A16 Journal Article: Ernest T. Fisk: Pioneer, Visionary and Entrepreneur - 1 Williams, N. Ernest T. Fisk: Pioneer, Visionary and Entrepreneur - 1 1989 Electronics Australia June 40-43 Journal Article: Radio engineering development in Australia Fisk, Ernest Radio engineering development in Australia 1938 Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia 10 4 161-162 Newspaper Article: Honours List [Coronation Awards - News South Wales] Honours List [Coronation Awards - News South Wales] 1937 Sydney Morning Herald 12 Journal Article: Uniting the Empire: the Australian Beam Wireless Service at Rockbank and Fiskville Moloney, David Uniting the Empire: the Australian Beam Wireless Service at Rockbank and Fiskville 2008 Australian Journal of Multi-disciplinary Engineering 6 1 97-109 Journal Article: Sir Ernest Thomas Fisk (1885 - 1965): Australia's pioneer real radio man Johnson, Frank Sir Ernest Thomas Fisk (1885 - 1965): Australia's pioneer real radio man 2020 Engineering heritage Australia magazine 3 6 9-17 Journal Article: Not being Ernest: Uncovering Competitors in the Foundation of Australian Wireless Given, Jock Not being Ernest: Uncovering Competitors in the Foundation of Australian Wireless 2007 Historical Records of Australian Science 18 2 159-176 Ernest Thomas Fisk - Records Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales Ernest Thomas Fisk - Records ML MSS 2768 1906 - 1952 Records relating to the establishment of the first wireless link between Australia and the United Kingdom, typescript and news cuttings with annotations [2 volumes, ML MSS 3768]. A large collection of personal records dealing with his career with Marconi Co. c1906-13, AWA Ltd c1913-44 and EMI Ltd 1944-52 [transferred 1987]. 2 volumes