Inspirational Leadership

The project has been named “Monash Energy” in honour of General Sir John Monash, a highly acclaimed Australian, who championed the development of the Latrobe Valley brown coal reserves as an energy source for Victoria.

Monash was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1865 to Prussian-Jewish immigrants. At school he applied himself and excelled in his studies, and his University career was no less exceptional. In August 1891, Monash completed the municipal surveyors course, and in November 1891 enrolled as a student of the Supreme Court.

In 1892 he began studying the water supply engineers course and also completed his Bachelor of Arts. He took out his master's degree in engineering early in 1893, and formally graduated in Arts and Law in 1895. In later life he held the offices of Vice-Chancellor and lecturer at The University of Melbourne, and practiced a lifetime pursuit of knowledge and excellence.

Monash established his career in the engineering and construction industry, and became a founding partner of “Monash & Anderson” and later the “Reinforced Concrete & Monier Pipe Construction Co. Pty Ltd”. Throughout Victoria and neighbouring States there still stands much of his legacy from this period, in the form of bridges, post offices, silos, tanks and banks, each a testament to his skill in the deployment of reinforced concrete construction.

He was known as an outstanding leader, who demonstrated application and determination in all that he did. Monash joined the militia whilst at University and continued his involvement in his working years. Taking up a commission in the army on the outbreak of World War I, he led a brigade at Gallipoli and ultimately took command of all the Australian divisions on the Western front as Lieutenant-General. After success at the Battle of Hamel in 1918, General Monash received a knighthood from King George V on the battlefield.

Following the armistice and a period as Director-General of Repatriation and Demobilisation responsible for arranging the return of Australian troops from Europe, he retired from active service with great popularity, and with many distinguished military awards for his successful commands and innovative tactics.

Returning to Australia, General Sir John Monash accepted the Victorian Government’s offer to become the General Manager (and later Chairman) of the new “State Electricity Commission” (SEC). At that time much of Victoria’ power needs were supplied by black coal imported from New South Wales since the high moisture content of Victoria’s brown coal had previously prevented its commercial exploitation. An in-depth analysis of the massive coal reserves of Latrobe Valley revealed the untapped potential in brown coal. Monash drove a program of rapid development in the technological, mining and infrastructure aspects of the SEC, while forcefully managing the tumultuous relationship with the Victorian political system during a period of frequent turnover of Ministers and Governments.

His wider civic responsibilities during this period were many and varied, including a prolonged effort to secure the construction of the Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance. As well as coordinating fund-raising and construction, he is credited with the text of the inscription which appears on the west wall.

As SEC Chairman Monash sought advice from German experts experienced in the Ruhr Valley brown coal technologies, and familiarised himself with their technical papers in the original German. Armed with this knowledge, Monash oversaw the establishment of open cut mines in the Latrobe Valley, had Yallourn A power station operating by 1924, and established a state wide power grid. Later in life he was awarded the prestigious Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal and the University of Melbourne’s Kernot Memorial medal for distinguished achievement in Australian engineering.

Monash’s death in 1931 resulted in a state funeral attended by an estimated 300,000 people, the largest such gathering in Australia to that time. He left a legacy of inspirational leadership, applied knowledge, civic service, and significant industrial progress in Victoria.

Further Reading: Serle, Geoffrey (1982) John Monash, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne.