Biographical entry
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Bright Sparcs
Biographical entry
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Harper, Herbert Reah (1871 - 1956) |
| Electrical engineer |
| Born: 23 June 1871 London, England. Died: 27 July 1956 Toorak, Victoria, Australia. |
| 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 oversea 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 for his overall achievement for his contributions. |
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Published by The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre on ASAPWeb, 1994 - 2007 Originally published 1994-1999 by Australian Science Archives Project, 1999-2006 by the Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre Disclaimer, Copyright and Privacy Policy Submit any comments, questions, corrections and additions Prepared by: Acknowledgements Updated: 26 February 2007 http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P001121b.htm |