EnergySafe Magazine Spring 2014, issue 37 | Page 15

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Spring 2014
energysafe issue 37

Electrical
history of
Melbourne
»» 1879: football match played at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground under primitive
electric lighting
»» 1881: Australian Electric Co. erects arc
lamps outside its Swanston St premises
»» 1889: lamps erected outside Parliament
House
»» 1893: power station built in Spencer St
»» 1894: arc lights installed across the city
»» 1896: Victorian Parliament enacted the
Electric Light and Power Act
»» 1912: electrification of Melbourne’s
suburban railway network
»» 1913: construction began on the Newport
railway power station
»» 1921: State Electricity Commission of
Victoria (SECV) established.
(Source: Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online,
Cambridge University Press)

Sig n of the times: Greenwood Electrical’s workshop contains a treasure trove of items that span the
company’s 100 years, including these colourful cases that definitely didn’t come from Ikea.

independent companies, and eventually
incorporated Spencer Street and Newport power
stations into the state system.
Going up!
Abel Francis, electrical engineer,
successfully ran the Greenwood Electrical
Engineering Company, specialising in lift
maintenance, in central Melbourne from 1914
until 1931.
The bill of sale of the company boasts
an impressive list of plant and equipment: “a
Colchester lathe, a leg vyce, anvil and tongs,

a swage block, a German jack and shafting,
hangars and belting”.
Abel Francis also had an impressive list of
ongoing maintenance commitments for 13 new
buildings in the city. At the top of the list was
the new AMP building in Collins St, Melbourne.
The decorative “commercial palazzo” 10-storey
building was built to the maximum allowable
height limit of 132 feet—an impressive sight at the
time—featuring a wire cage lift.
Abel Francis must have been a forwardthinking electrical engineer; electric lifts were a
relatively recent innovation and Melbourne was
one of the first cities in the world to introduce them
into “high rise” city buildings.
The first early hydraulic lifts in the 1880s were
powered by water (and when the town water
pressure was low, the lifts wouldn’t run, according
to Stephen Downes in Going up: How Yarrapowered lifts raised Melbourne into the modern
age). Electric lifts were installed in the early
1900s when the Melbourne City Council began
connecting electric power to buildings.
New partnerships, new chapters
Abel Francis Greenwood sold his successful
company in 1931 for 100 pounds. Thomas Mills
and Stanley Warren bought the business and
eventually Thomas’ son, Kevin, took over.
Paul Hobden and Simon Choate were both
apprentices to Kevin in Greenwood Electrical
in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, and ended up
becoming partners in the business.
“Kevin came to see me at home, which was
very unusual. I thought I was about to get the
sack!”, Simon says, laughing. “It turns out he
offered me a share in the company.”
Paul and Simon took over the company
from Kevin in 2001. “We offered Kevin a

lifeline for Greenwoods. We couldn’t bear
to see it close its doors,” says Paul. “Not after
all that time.”
Into the future
Now Greenwoods has a large customer
base ranging from minor domestic electrical work
through to commercial/industrial works.
Simon is particularly proud of its commercial
work at the Abbotsford Convent. They have been
working closely with the Abbotsford Convent
Foundation since it first began transforming
the convent into an arts precinct 12 years ago.
The Greenwoods team completely rewired
the infrastructure in the difficult heritage-listed
buildings to bring them up to standard.
Paul’s favourite job? Their 25 years of
electrical work at the University of Melbourne.
Powering offices, libraries, lecture theatres and
science labs is hugely satisfying, says Paul.
They have significant and complicated power
demands and strong, green power-saving
requirements. This kind of hi-tech work calls
upon a wide range of skills, says Paul: lighting
control systems, security and CCTV, fire and
thermal detection, data works and audio/visual
installations.
The Greenwoods team has certainly
inherited the Abel Francis work ethic along
with the company. They switch from installing
a new industrial plant with safety module relays
and E stop circuits to the smallest domestic
electrical job without missing a beat. And they
work safely. “It’s always safety first. That’s
important,” says Paul.
So is loving the job: “I wake up every morning
looking forward to going to work. I love my job.
I’ve been doing this for 28 years, and we take
high pride in our work. We set ourselves high
standards. We put our heart and soul into the
business every day.”
Happy centenary Greenwood Electrical!