Henry Rowley
Rowley, Henry, MRSI MIEE MVIE MSPA FCS (1849-1919)
Henry Rowley was born in Lyndoch, South Australia on September 6, 1849, the son of George Tattle Rowley and his wife Elizabeth Rowley née Rowe. The family moved to Victoria during the gold rush in the 1850’s and settled at Campbells Creek, just south of Castlemaine. Henry undertook secondary education at the Castlemaine Grammar School to the age of 14 when he took up an apprenticeship at Vivian and Company’s Castlemaine Foundry, remaining there for seven years. He then worked for a further ten years as a mechanical fitter.
On April 20, 1878 Henry married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Neilson at Sandhurst, Melbourne. Their only child, Ruby, was born in Victoria in 1879.
Henry undertook evening classes at the University of Melbourne and was involved in research projects which developed his chemical and electrical skills. In 1884 he was elected a Member of the Victorian Institution of Engineers. He then led the Electric Light Department of the Victorian Railways.
Henry set up a private laboratory and undertook numerous experiments on materials handling, minerals treatment and disinfection resulting in applications for over 20 patents.
In February 1895, Henry was living with his family in Launceston, Tasmania, and was appointed as Superintendent of the £70,000 lighting contract for the City of Launceston. In August 1895 he was appointed as City Electrical Engineer only to resign on November 4, 1895.
In 1896, Henry and his family travelled to Perth where he set up as a consulting electrical and chemical engineer as well as operating as an assayer. In 1897, Henry was retained by the City of Perth to provide advice on tramways and electric lighting. In 1900 he was appointed as City Assayer for the City of Perth.
Henry explored the extraction of commercial products from Grass Trees and Zamia Palm and occupied the workshops in Maylands previously used by Mephan Ferguson for the production of locking bar pipes. In 1915 the Blackboy and Zamia Palm Licensing Act was enacted allowing Henry to be licensed to harvest these items on crown land. He was the owner of Rowley Forest Products Co Ltd.
Henry died on July 25, 1919, aged 69, and was survived by his wife Elizabeth. Their daughter and only child, Ruby, had died in 1913.
Henry was a member of the Royal Sanitary Institute, the London Society of Public Analysts and Fellow of the Chemical Society.
References
D A Cumming and R G Hartley, Westralian Founders of Twentieth Century Mining, Rossmoyne, Western Australia, 2014
J S Battye, Cyclopedia of Western Australia, Volume 1, Adelaide, 1913
Western Mail, 14.8.1919, p. 39
West Australian, 29.1.1915, p11
