Alfred Onslow Glasse (4 December 1889 – 13 December 1977) was a New Zealand electrical engineer and local-body politician. He was chief engineer of the Auckland Electric Power Board for 29 years, and served as president of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers in 1942–43. Glasse was later elected as an

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

lor, and was deputy mayor from 1962 to 1970.

Biography

Early life

Glasse was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1889 and was educated at

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

, Dunedin Technical College and then the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

. He trained as an engineer and travelled to Britain to gain further experience at the

Thomson-Houston Electric Company The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was a manufacturing company which was one of the precursors of the General Electric company. History The Thomson-Houston Electric Company was formed in 1882 in the United States when a group of Lynn, Massa ...

, a large firm of electrical engineers. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1914 and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

and mentioned in dispatches. Following the war he returned to work with the same firm.

Career

In 1922 the Thomson-Houston Company secured a contract for the supply of machinery and equipment to the

. Glasse was assigned back to New Zealand as the company's supervising engineer where he led the installation work of the new machinery. He subsequently joined the Auckland Electric Power Board as assistant engineer and after a few months was appointed chief engineer, holding the position until he retired 29 years later in 1954. He served as vice-president of the Institution from 1940 to 1942 and was president from 1942 to 1943. He also served as president of the Electric Supply Authority Engineers' Institute (1947–48). In the 1952 Queen's Birthday Honours, Glasse was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services in the field of engineering.

Political involvement

Following his retirement from engineering, Glasse became involved in civic affairs in Auckland. In the 1956 local elections, he was elected as a member of the

on a Citizens & Ratepayers ticket. Between 1962 and 1970 he served as Deputy Mayor of Auckland City. Glasse supported mayor

Dove-Myer Robinson Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office. He was a colourful character and became affectionately known across New ...

's local government reforms to establish the Auckland Regional Authority. He was also a member of the Auckland Metropolitan Drainage Board and the Harbour Bridge Authority, finally retiring from public office in 1976. In the 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours, Glasse was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for services to the community and particularly to local government in Auckland.

Death and legacy

He died on 13 December 1977, aged 88. The Alfred O. Glasse Award, an annual award by the New Zealand Planning Institute to recognize services to planning by non-planners, is named in Glasse's honour.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glasse, Alfred Onslow 1889 births 1977 deaths University of Otago alumni New Zealand electrical engineers New Zealand military personnel of World War I Local politicians in New Zealand Auckland City Councillors Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand New Zealand justices of the peace New Zealand recipients of the Military Cross New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George