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Thomson, Herbert (1870 - 1947)

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Manufacturer and Engineer
Born: 13 July 1870  Prahran, Victoria, Australia.  Died: 26 October 1947  Richmond, Vaud, Australia.
Herbert Thomson trained as an engineer and as a boy, worked for his father helping to install coal-producing bores at Yallourn and Altona. In 1889 he made a steam-engine which was used in a launch on the Yarra River. Thomson set up his own business as a manufacturer of steam-engines and boilers in Melbourne in 1897 and in 1899 built a steam car, one of the first self-propelled road vehicles in Australia. This car is now in the Museum of Victoria and an early Thomson engine is in the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Thomson’s company was incorporated in 1900 as the Thomson Motor Car Co. Ltd. He also built steam-engines for merry-go-rounds; the best-known, at St Kilda beach, was later purchased by the Commonwealth government and moved to Canberra. Once the company folded in 1912, Thomson worked as a consulting engineer.

Career Highlights

Chronology
1897 - 1900Established a steam-engine and boiler manufacturing business
1899One of Australia's first steam cars built
1900 - 1912Thomson Motor Car Co. Ltd established
1912 - Consulting Engineer

 
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Structure based on ISAAR(CPF) - click here for an explanation of the fields.Prepared by: Rosanne Walker
Created: 30 June 1997
Modified: 29 January 2007

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
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Updated: 26 February 2007
http://www.asap.unimelb.edu.au/bsparcs/biogs/P002671b.htm

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