Fred Glasse

Alfred Onslow Glasse CMG OBE MC JP (4 December 1889 – 13 December 1977) was a New Zealand electrical engineer and local-body politician. He was chief engineer of the Auckland Electric Power Board for 29 years, and served as president of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers in 1942–43. Glasse was later elected as an Auckland City Councillor, and was deputy mayor from 1962 to 1970.

Fred Glasse CMG OBE MC JP
Glasse circa 1943
14th Deputy Mayor of Auckland City
In office 1962–1970
Mayor	Dove-Myer Robinson Roy McElroy
Preceded by	Fred Ambler
Succeeded by	Max Tounge
Personal details
Born	(1889-12-04)4 December 1889 Dunedin, New Zealand
Died	13 December 1977(1977-12-13) (aged 88) Auckland, New Zealand
Alma mater	University of Otago
Profession	Engineer

Biography

Early life

Glasse was born in Dunedin in 1889 and was educated at Otago Boys' High School, Dunedin Technical College and then the University of Otago.[1]

He trained as an engineer and travelled to Britain to gain further experience at the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, a large firm of electrical engineers. During World War I he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1914 and was awarded the Military Cross and mentioned in dispatches. Following the war he returned to work with the same firm.[2]

Career

In 1922 the Thomson-Houston Company secured a contract for the supply of machinery and equipment to the Auckland City Council. Glasse was assigned back to New Zealand as the company's supervising engineer where he led the installation work of the new machinery.[2] He subsequently joined the Auckland Electric Power Board as assistant engineer and after a few months was appointed chief engineer, holding the position until he retired 29 years later in 1954. He served as vice-president of the Institution from 1940 to 1942 and was president from 1942 to 1943. He also served as president of the Electric Supply Authority Engineers' Institute (1947–48).[1]

In the 1952 Queen's Birthday Honours, Glasse was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services in the field of engineering.[3]

Political involvement

Following his retirement from engineering, Glasse became involved in civic affairs in Auckland. In the 1956 local elections, he was elected as a member of the Auckland City Council on a Citizens & Ratepayers ticket.[4] Between 1962 and 1970 he served as Deputy Mayor of Auckland City.[5] Glasse supported mayor Dove-Myer Robinson's local government reforms to establish the Auckland Regional Authority. He was also a member of the Auckland Metropolitan Drainage Board and the Harbour Bridge Authority, finally retiring from public office in 1976.[1]

In the 1969 Queen's Birthday Honours, Glasse was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for services to the community and particularly to local government in Auckland.[6]

Death and legacy

He died on 13 December 1977, aged 88.[1][7]

The Alfred O. Glasse Award, an annual award by the New Zealand Planning Institute to recognize services to planning by non-planners, is named in Glasse's honour.[8]

Notes

1. "GLASSE, Alfred Onslow". New Zealand Engineering: 72. March 1978.
2. "New Chief Engineer". The New Zealand Herald. LXII (19141). 6 October 1925. p. 10.
3. "No. 39557". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1952. pp. 3049–3051.
4. "Declaration of Poll". The New Zealand Herald. 28 November 1956. p. 5.
5. Bush 1971, pp. 585.
6. "No. 44865". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 14 June 1969. p. 6001.
7. "Death search: registration number 1977/47334". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
8. "Award Categories". New Zealand Planning Institute. Retrieved 11 October 2018.

References

• Bush, Graham W. A. (1971). Decently and in Order: The Government of the City of Auckland 1840-1971. Auckland: Collins.

Political offices
Preceded by Fred Ambler	Deputy Mayor of Auckland 1962–1970	Succeeded by Max Tounge