Jack Wilson (1905–1972) was an Australian engineer. The company he founded, Wilson Transformers, continues to manufacture electrical

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

s in Australia.

Early life

Wilson was born on 16 May 1905 at

Batley, Yorkshire Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of th ...

in England. After school at Purlwell Council and Batley Grammar Schools, he was apprenticed to Ward & Co, a local electrical and mechanical engineering firm. He went on to be a draftsman and designer with Yorkshire Electric Transformer Company. In 1929, Wilson emigrated to

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 ...

, Australia and joined the Australian branch of the British Electric Transformer Co. in

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

. Four years later, he launched his own business in 1933. It had several homes before settling at

Port Melbourne Port Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip local government areas. Port Melbourne recorded a populatio ...

in 1938 as the Wilson Electric Transformer Co. Pty Ltd.

Wilson Transformer Company

Following World War II, in 1950 Wilson moved to a larger site at

Glen Waverley Glen Waverley is a list of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government ...

in what was then an outer suburb surrounded by market gardens. He travelled frequently to England, New Zealand and Canada to keep abreast of new technology and forge relationships with international partners such as

Ferranti Ferranti or Ferranti International plc was a UK electrical engineering and equipment firm that operated for over a century from 1885 until it went bankrupt in 1993. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The firm was known ...

. A second factory opened at

Clovelly Park Clovelly Park is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide in the local government area of the City of Marion. Before becoming an 'advanced' suburb, it was a farm and vineyard. The suburb is bordered by Daws Road to the north, South Road to the eas ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1963 to build distribution transformers. A factory opened at

Wodonga Wodonga (Pallanganmiddang language, Waywurru: ''Wordonga'') is a city on the Victoria (Australia), Victorian side of the border with New South Wales, north-east of Melbourne, Australia. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of ...

in 1981. Wilson Transformer Company is the largest Australian manufacturer of large transformers. The executive chairman is Jack Wilson's eldest son, Robert.

Personal life

Wilson's first marriage was on 17 June 1939 at All Saints Church of England in Saint Kilda, to Dulcie Dorothy Ann Howard. They divorced in 1946. He remarried on 3 September 1946 to Betty Evelyn Webster at Collins Street Independent Church in Melbourne. They had two sons and a daughter. During his first marriage, Wilson was commissioned as a lieutenant in the

Australian Militia The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen ...

in December 1940, then transferred to the Australian Imperial Force on 7 August 1942 and promoted major in the Australian Army Ordnance Corps and transferred to the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. He served in the Middle East from May to December 1943 with the (British) 1st Armoured Division. He then performed staff and training duties in Australia before transferring to the Reserve of Officers on 20 June 1945. Wilson served as a councillor (1954–1957) and president (1956–1957) of Mulgrave Shire. He also had leading roles in many industrial and educational schools. He supplied equipment and prizes to the Department of Electrical Engineering at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, and is honoured by having the high voltage laboratory named after him. Wilson's health declined from 1966, and he died of a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack. In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignored ...

on 30 March 1972 at Glen Waverley.

Early life

Wilson Transformer Company

Personal life

References

Further reading