Joseph Newell Reeson (1868–1953) was an Australian

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

who pioneered the use of welding for large steel structures.Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Volume 2 Issue 6, NOVEMBER 1953 PART 1 OBITUARY. JOSEPH NEWELL REESON. 1868-1953 E-ISSN 1753-7789
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Early life and education

Reeson was born in England on 2 June 1868 and attended Kensington Grammar School. He worked for the

Gas Light and Coke Company The Gas Light and Coke Company (also known as the Westminster Gas Light and Coke Company, and the Chartered Gas Light and Coke Company), was a company that made and supplied coal gas and coke. The headquarters of the company were located on H ...

at their Beckton works and at the same time continued his education at the

City of London College London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form Londo ...

. He was appointed to the roles of Engineer to the St Pancras works in 1903, and the Shoreditch works in 1905, and in 1906 he was appointed Resident Engineer of the Beckton works of the Gas Light and Coke Co.

Major works

In 1913, he migrated to Australia and took up a position as Engineer-in-Chief and Technical Adviser with the

Metropolitan Gas Company The Australian state of Victoria has a number of defunct energy supply and distribution utility companies. The North Melbourne Electric Tramways and Lighting Company The North Melbourne Electric Tramways and Lighting Company operated an electri ...

in Melbourne. and continued there until 1926. During this time he developed electric

arc welding Arc welding is a welding process that is used to join metal to metal by using electricity to create enough heat to melt metal, and the melted metals, when cool, result in a binding of the metals. It is a type of welding that uses a welding powe ...

for the construction and maintenance of gas-works plant. This included the construction of the first large electric arc welded steel structure in the world, when the No 3 gasholder at the Fitzroy Gasworks was completed in 1923. This was dismantled in 1978, and the site covered over, but buried remains may still be present. Reeson was also responsible for erecting constructional workshops, which made the company self-contained in manufacture and maintenance.

Affiliations and awards

Reeson was elected an Associate Member of the

Institute of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, wh ...

in 1894, and full Member in 1914 and was a Member of Council from 1939 to 1942, representing Australia. He other affiliations included: Member of the

Institution of Engineers, Australia Engineers Australia (EA) is an Australian professional body and not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineering for the benefit of the community. Engineers Australia is Australia's recognized org ...

and president 1923 and 1924, Member of the Institution of Gas Engineers, and one of the founders and chairman of the directors of the Allied Societies Trust, a role he held until a year or two before his death. In 1926, he was awarded a Telford Premium medal for his Paper on “ The Influence of Electric Welding in the Design and Fabrication of Plant and Structures.” He was also one of the first recipients of the Kernot Memorial Medal awarded in 1929 by the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

for his research into electric welding. He died at

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

on 15 July 1953 leaving an estate valued at £33,103 to a daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeson, Joseph Newell Australian civil engineers 1868 births 1953 deaths Institution of Civil Engineers British emigrants to Australia