Dr William Hancock
HANCOCK, William John DSc(Hon) MICE MIEE MIEAust (1864-1931)
Electrical Engineer and Radiological Pioneer
In a 1931 tribute, Professor Poul Fraenkel stated that ‘the history of electrical development is bound up in the life of Dr Hancock and that he was the true pioneer of radiology in this state”.
Hancock was born on May 2, 1864, in Dublin, the son of William John Hancock and Annette Hancock (nee Bowdler).
Hancock received his early training at the University of Glasgow under his uncle, James Thompson, Professor of Engineering and his uncle’s brother, Sir William Thompson, (later Lord Kelvin) Professor of Natural Philosophy. His first engineering work was on electric lighting and telephony in Dublin. He was both a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Electrical Engineers.
His first appointment was in WA was in November 1885 as Superintendent of Telephones working on the Perth to Fremantle telephone exchange completing it in 1887 with 17 subscribers. In 1888 he was responsible for the first electrical supply plant for Perth, a 15 kilowatt dynamo. He also supervised works on telegraphs and undersea cables in his role as Superintendent of Telegraphs.
In 1894 William Hancock was appointed Government Electrical Engineer, a position he held until his retirement through ill health in 1922. Many of the projects were in difficult terrain and though unsettled areas requiring unique solutions such as iron hooded insulators.
He constructed the telegraph line from Roebourne to Broome and Derby which was later extended to Hall’s Creek and Wyndham. He also constructed telegraph lines to Kalgoorlie and Marble Bar.
Hancock is best known for his pioneering voluntary work in radiation having acquired a Roentgen tube in 1896 and demonstrated its use less than a year after Roentgen published his research. He experimented with the tube in a small room in the back of his office. He was unaware of the need for precautions and through his work as honorary radiologist at both Perth Hospital and the Base Hospital at Fremantle he received an estimated 40,000 exposures that manifested itself as ulcerations to his hands in 1903 and eventually the loss of use of the fingers on one hand. Despite these disabilities, he continued to provide voluntary services to Perth Hospital until 1930.
In December 1, 1910 Hancock married Ida Helen Lovegrove the second daughter of Dr Thomas Henry Lovegrove and his wife Elinor Lovegrove (nee Eliot). Dr Lovegrove was the WA Principal Medical Officer.
Despite his busy life and health issues Hancock actively supported professional associations and the University of Western Australia. He was a member of the Senate of UWA from 1915 to 1927. He was a WAIE Council member from 1912 to 1916, WAIE vice president in 1916-17 and WAIE president 1917-18. Hancock was a prominent member of the Royal Society of Western Australia, the WA British Medical Association and the Weld Club. In 1924 he was made a life member of the Weld Club having been a member for over 40 years. In July 1924 the Royal Society of Western Australia awarded him its first Kelvin Gold Medal. Also, in 1924 he was made an honorary Doctor of Science by UWA. He was a foundation member of the Roentgen Society of London and an honorary member of the WA British Medical Association.
From 1922 Hancock was an invalid and resided for considerable periods in the South of France. Hancock died in Kensington, London on August 26, 1931.
A memorial stained glass window was installed in Winthrop Hall as recognition of his pioneering electrical engineering and radiography. Funds were provided by the University Engineers Club, IE Aust, the Engineering Faculty and the WA Branch of the British Medical Association. A memorial plaque was also created for Hancock at the Institute of Anatomy in Canberra.
Hancock's published papers and books include:
What to do in case of Electric Shock, 1909
Notes on Radium, presented to the Natural History and Science Society of Western Australia in September 1910
X-Ray Localising Chart, 1919
Select Bibliography:
Moynihan, J.F., W.J. Hancock, Engineer and Pioneer Radiographer, Fourth National Conference on Engineering Heritage, 1988.
Joske, P., 'Hancock, William John (1864–1931)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hancock-william-john-6548/text11253, published first in hardcopy 1983, accessed online 10 January 2022.
Western Mail, 24 Dec 1931, P5;
The West Australian, 5 February 1934, p. 16.
The West Australian, 10 February 1934, p. 16.
Prepared by Chris Fitzhardinge for the centenary book 'Anything is possible' in March 2019.
