Francis Stanley (Frank) Daley
(By Neil Pogson)
Francis Stanley (Frank) Daley was a great Australian.
While names such as L.J. Hartnett and Essington-Lewis got the headlines, men such as Frank Daley were actually doing the work, and in many cases, telling the ‘top men’ what to say and do.
Frank Daley was a giant of his times, acknowledged by his peers and Prime Ministers alike. But he is largely forgotten today.
Frank was born on 1 November 1891 at Bendigo, Victoria, the third son of Victorian-born parents Charles Daley, schoolteacher, and his wife Caroline Rose, née Bromfield. Frank had three brothers, all of whom had outstanding careers,
Having attended Stawell State Primary School and Geelong College, Frank was apprenticed in Fitting and Machining, and Toolmaking, on 2 February 1909. He worked at the Vulcan Foundry of Humble & Sons, Geelong, and studied at the Gordon Technical College. He completed his apprenticeship and left Humble & Sons on 21 June 1913 to enrol in a Mechanical Engineering degree course at Melbourne University where in 1916, he was the inaugural winner of the newly created Robert Bage Scholarship.
Taking a break from his university studies, Frank applied for, and on 19 September 1916 was appointed Head of the Engineering Department and Superintendent of Trade Workshops at the Castlemaine Technical School No 20.
Frank had several times attempted to join the armed forces but was declared permanently unfit for service due to Asthma. He decided instead to return to University and complete his Engineering degree, with such success that he was also granted the Dixson Scholarship.
He completed his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering studies in October 1918. While studying, he also had a job in research into weapons, as “Assistant to Professor Thomas Lyle (Professor of Physics)”.
He responded to an advertisement placed by the Department of Defence on 5 July 1918 and was successful; his salary commenced on 1 October 1918.
He was selected to go to England on special studies for the Australian Government into Gun Manufacture and to gain experience in the great armaments factories over there. He sailed for England in late October 1918 on the S.S. Medic, a troop transport bound for England via the Panama Canal. While en-route, the Armistice was declared as the ship arrived in New Zealand and so was returned to Australia.
In February 1919, Frank again set out for England on the S. S. Marathon, where he gained military and non-military technical, productive and managerial expertise at a number of large manufacturers including Woolwich Arsenal, Vickers Ltd and Armstrong Whitworth.
Returning to Australia in 1921, he was employed by the Commonwealth Government on the planning, development, construction and operation of a large Munitions factory at Maribyrnong, Victoria. It provided for the self-contained manufacture of light and medium field and naval guns, shells, instruments and tooling. During this time, Frank held the positions of Assistant Engineer, Assistant Manager, and Chairman of The Tool Standardisation Committee.
The recession saw the collapse of munitions making and in 1929, Frank was responsible for the introduction of large-scale repetitive production of Motor car components to American drawings and specifications.
In 1930, he resigned from the Ordinance factory and transferred to the staff at General Motors Australia as Senior Staff Engineer to the Regional Director for South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
With the formation of General Motors Holden’s he transferred to the new company and over the next ten years progressively held the following positions:
- Senior Staff engineer
- Engineer-in-charge of technical developments and new projects
- Master Mechanic
- Production Engineer
- Superintendent, Fabrication Plants, Woodville.
He also carried out special assignments for GMH, including:
- studying overseas production and organisation at various GM plants in USA, Canada, Germany and England.
-When Fishermens Bend was under construction, Frank was responsible for the Electrical and mechanical phases of the project.
- In conjunction with (Sir) John Storey, the investigation into and compilation of the first complete economic study into the manufacture of the Motor car in Australia. This was taken by Hartnett to GM when seeking approval for the New Car project and is said to have been a major selling point in Holden’s favour.
Frank was also sought out by State and Federal Governments to act on other committees, including:
- Member of the South Australian State Substitute Fuels Committee.
- Member of the Commonwealth Committee for the training of artisans for war production
During the Second World War, Frank was appointed to the Ordnance Production Directorate in the Ministry of Munitions. He progressively held the following positions:
- Controller – Ordnance Production Directorate
- Deputy Director – Ordnance Directorate and simultaneously Controller of Machinery for Agricultural and Civil needs
- Director - Ordnance Directorate (On the resignation of L J Hartnett)
He also acted in the following roles:
- Deputy Chairman, Combined Services War Materials Allocation Committee
- Member, Optical Munitions Panel
- Chairman, Optical Industries Advisory Panel, Department of Post-War Reconstruction
- At the end of the War, he was retained by request of the Commonwealth Government to dissolve the Ordnance Production Directorate post-war and redirect appropriate industrial developments of the war to stable post-war enterprises.
The work of the Ordnance production directorate concerned the creation, organisation, development, operation and control of one of the largest war production ventures undertaken within the scope of the Ministry of Munitions.
The production covered War materials for all Australian services and for the US Army and was to the value of £A98,500,000. It was also directed to control production for Agricultural and Civilian needs, involving the expenditure of a further several million Pounds. The conclusion to the work of the directorate was made in mid-1945 when Frank returned to GMH to resume normal duties.
He returned as Technical Advisor to GMH, and later, as Chief Inspector. He had overall responsibility for:
- Control of Quality,
- Inspection Dept and its organisation throughout the Australian activities
- Special planning and development in anticipation of the new Holden car.
In this latter role, Frank was sent to GM overseas plants to study latest techniques and equipment for inspection. He was almost 12 months away, spending the bulk of the time at USA Cadillac, Pontiac and Chevrolet divisions and related specialist supplier plants. Also visited St Catharines in Canada, plus the plants at Windsor and Oshawa. Returning via England, he also spent time at Vauxhall Plants at Luton and Dunstable, plus some suppliers.
On his return, he was responsible for integrating his learning into the Holden production and inspection systems throughout Holden.
Frank remained at GMH until he was granted voluntary retirement in 1950, and some months later in September, he was asked to join the staff of Kelvinator Australia as General Technical Manager, based in Adelaide. Also acted as Managing Director in the absence of the MD, Mr W Queale, and was a member of the Executive Committee and Planning Committees.
His duties covered:
- Complete reorganisation of the establishment and administration and creation of a functional organisation covering the whole company and the separate departments of Sales, Production, Personnel, Supply and Treasury.
- Re-layout of Plant and equipment, creation of a master mechanics department, the introduction of production controls relative to fabrication and assembly, and establishment of standard times and budgetary controls.
- Creation of two new and modern divisions, in the form of Service Division and Spare Parts; these previously being embryonic in nature.
- Complete overhaul and development of the Company’s interstate branches by modernising, construction of new buildings; up-to-date administration and operation and continuous measurement of these.
Products produced during this period included household Refrigerators, absorption Refrigerators, commercial Refrigeration, Washing Machines, Wayne kerbside Petrol Pumps and room Air Conditioners.
In 1952, Frank was sent for eight months to USA and Canada, mainly to negotiate agreements with leading Corporations there for the rights to manufacture various products in Australia.
In 1955, Frank suggested that he would like to retire, but was opposed by Management until he could train a replacement, which he eventually did and again retired.
He returned to Melbourne to live in May 1956 but in June was approached by the MD of Holden to rejoin the company, in the Frigidaire division, which he did; and was appointed as a Consultant in the Technical and Administrative spheres. Attached to the General Manager, Frigidaire Division, in the newly built Dandenong Plant, his contract was for six months but was extended to two years when it was finally terminated at Frank’s request on 31 October 1958.
Along the way, Frank found time to give numerous talks and presentations to students and learned bodies alike. On his retirement, he was again retained by GMH to report on and setup, an industrial archives section which ultimately evolved a new and original approach to the problem. This was installed and operated for some years.
Also on his retirement, Frank had also been offered a partnership in an Engineering consultancy by Larry Hartnett, but he declined. However, he set up a private consultancy practice directed to guidance and training in the administrative, procedural and technical aspects of productive work. He was associated with Messrs Gladwell and Barlow at 34 Queens Road Melbourne but in an independent capacity.
In 1960 Frank was further retained by GMH to write the History of Holden’s Motor Body Builders, General Motors (Australia) Pty Ltd, and General Motors – Holdens. This extensive task was completed [c1961], however, the book was never published, except for a small number of Roneo copies which still exist.
At this time, Holden was preparing for the very significant milestone of the manufacture of the One Millionth Holden car, and wanted to make a large festive occasion of it. A committee was set up, comprised mostly of company senior staff and under the control of Jack Horn, but Frank was retained to act as a co-ordinator and to assist in the preparation of some of the required data.
A Responsibilities chart drawn up by Frank was issued on 19 June 1962, showing that apart from a general oversight, he was partially responsible for collection of statistical and other background data by 30 June; plus production of a booklet called Behind the Million. This latter activity was timed to be available in draft form by 9 August, and as a finished booklet by 30 September. The celebration was set for 25 October 1962 and was hugely successful.
As a further measure of the esteem in which Frank was held, he was elected as a Life Fellow of the Institution of Engineers in London. This honour cannot be applied for, but the nomination must come from other members of the institution, followed by a vote of all members.
Frank Daley passed away on 20 July 1983 in an aged care centre in Forest Hill, Melbourne, Victoria.
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The above is an a very abridged version of the commercial life of Frank Daley. If you would like more details of his life and achievements, a much more complete story of his life and times is available for download at this link.
Copyright Neil Pogson 2023.