Percival Evert Russell "Van" Vanthoff (12 January 189430 July 1967) was a senior Australian public servant. He was

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

of the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

from May until December 1958.

Life and career

Van Vanthoff was born in

Cobram Cobram is a town in the Australian state of Victoria. It is on the Murray River which forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales. Cobram along with the nearby towns of Numurkah and Yarrawonga is part of Shire of Moira and is the a ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

on 12 January 1894 to parents Isaac and Mary Jane Vanthoff. In World War I, Vanthoff served in the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force. He was appointed Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs, heading the Postmaster-General's Department, in May 1958. In the role, he oversaw development of an automatic teleprinter switching system for telegraphs, and worked to provide a six-tube coaxial cable between Sydney and Melbourne. Vanthoff retired in December 1958. Vanthoff died on 30 July 1967 in Richmond, Melbourne.

Awards

In January 1955 Vanthoff was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

References

1894 births 1967 deaths Australian public servants Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire {{Australia-gov-bio-stub