Alexander Campbell Perkins died at Tokio, Japan, while on a holiday trip, in December, 1917, at the age of 49 years.
His early days were spent in New Zealand. In 1892 he completed a term of five years’ apprenticeship with a firm of mechanical engineers, during which period he had also studied at technical schools, and he was then for about three years engaged as a mechanical engineer in various works, and for a similar term he was subsequently engineer-in-charge and dredgemaster with two dredging companies. In 1898 he was appointed manager and engineer of the Unity Gold Dredging Co., Clyde, N.Z., with entire charge of the dredging operations and the property generally. In the following year, he became representative in New South Wales for Mr. F.W. Payne, consulting dredge-mining engineer of Dunedin, and had full charge of that branch of the business, acting as consulting engineer to a number of companies and examining and testing alluvial deposits.
For about three years from 1902 onward, Mr. Perkins was manager and engineer for the Island Block Gold Dredging and Sluicing Co., Ltd., at Dunedin, and in 1905 he became a member of the firm of F.W. Payne & Co., of London and Dunedin, and eventually a partner. In 1907, he went to West Africa as consulting engineer for the African Gold Dredging Co., Ltd., and then went on to examine alluvial deposits for the Gold Estates of Australia, Ltd. In 1908 he was back in London at work in connection with the design and construction of gold-dredging plant. In 1909 and 1910 he went to Russia twice, to report on the resources of the Neviansk district and to explore for gold alluvials in the Nerchinsk district, and on his return he spent some time in Cornwall.
In 1911 he visited the Federated Malay States, with a brief visit to the Urals towards the close of the year. In 1912 he returned the Federated Malay States as consulting engineer to the Malayan Tin Dredging Co., Ltd., with whom he remained until his death.
Mr Perkins was elected an Associate of the Institution in 1907, and transferred to membership in 1915.
Vol. 29, Trans I.M.M., 1919-20, pp.434-5
