Alexander Kennedy Smith
Encyclopedia
Alexander Kennedy Smith (7 July 1824 – 16 January 1881) was a Scottish
/Australian engineer
and former Mayor of Melbourne.
, Roxburghshire
, Scotland. He was involved in the development of many of Victoria's gas and water works during the 1850s and 1860s.
Smith was sent from Scotland to Melbourne
in 1854 to manage and build the Melbourne Gas and Coke Co. works. Once that project was complete, Smith remained in Victoria and set up his own practice. He built gas works in Victoria's Ballarat
, Castlemaine
and Bendigo
regions as well as one at Newcastle, New South Wales
. Smith also drew up plans and specifications for many other works in Australia and overseas and worked as an engineer on the South Yarra Waterworks and was a consulting and locomotive engineer for the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Co.
Smith was also a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
from 1877 to 1881, member for the La Trobe Ward in the Melbourne City Council for fifteen years and Mayor of Melbourne from 1875 to 1876.
Smith died of heart disease at his home in Studley Park, Victoria, Australia.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
/Australian engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and former Mayor of Melbourne.
Early life
Smith was born in Cauldmill near HawickHawick
Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders of south east Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick's architecture is...
, Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire
Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Dumfries to the west, Selkirk to the north-west, and Berwick to the north. To the south-east it borders Cumbria and Northumberland in England.It was named after the Royal Burgh of Roxburgh...
, Scotland. He was involved in the development of many of Victoria's gas and water works during the 1850s and 1860s.
Smith was sent from Scotland to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in 1854 to manage and build the Melbourne Gas and Coke Co. works. Once that project was complete, Smith remained in Victoria and set up his own practice. He built gas works in Victoria's Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
, Castlemaine
Castlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...
and Bendigo
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
regions as well as one at Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
. Smith also drew up plans and specifications for many other works in Australia and overseas and worked as an engineer on the South Yarra Waterworks and was a consulting and locomotive engineer for the Melbourne and Suburban Railway Co.
Smith was also a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
from 1877 to 1881, member for the La Trobe Ward in the Melbourne City Council for fifteen years and Mayor of Melbourne from 1875 to 1876.
Smith died of heart disease at his home in Studley Park, Victoria, Australia.
Career highlights
- 1846 - 1854 Engineer with the Great Western Railway CompanyGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
. - 1853 - c.1857 Seconded to build and manage the Melbourne Gas and Coke Co. works - a five year contract
- 1854 Arrived in Australia (Melbourne)
- c.1857 - Civil and Consulting Engineer private practice established in Carlton, VictoriaCarlton, VictoriaCarlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
- 1860 - ? Major in the Victorian Volunteer Artillery Regiment
- 1875 - 1876 Mayor of the City of Melbourne
- 1877 - 1881 Member for East Melbourne in the Legislative Assembly