Bill Gallagher

Alfred William Gallagher (17 May 1911 – 8 August 1990) was a New Zealand inventor, manufacturing engineer and businessman. He is notable for popularising the electric fence.

Early life Alfred William Gallagher, later known as Bill Gallagher, was born in Hamilton, in the Waikato province of New Zealand, on 17 May 1911, to Alfred John Gallagher, a dairy farmer, and his wife, Sarah Matilda née Clow. The eldest of six children, he was initially educated at Te Kowhai School. In 1920, the family moved from their dairy farm at Horotiu to a larger property at Papamoa, in the Bay of Plenty. He started working fulltime on the farm in 1926, once he had completed his formal schooling. Within a few years, he, together with his brother Henry, took over responsibility for the farm after their parent's marriage broke down and his father moved to Australia.

By 1936, Gallagher was married; he had met his wife, Millicent May née Murray, through involvement with a church at Te Puke. The couple would have five children. He was now farming at Horsham Downs, back in the Waikato near where he spent his childhood; the farm at Papamoa had been sold and his share of the proceeds went towards the purchase of the Horsham Downs farm. In 1940, he had moved his family to Hamilton East where he continued to manufacture his electric fence. Shortly afterwards, he, his other brother Vivian, and a friend began working in Wellington, making electric fences and gas producers for use with vehicles. He remained in Wellington for two years before he returned to Hamilton. Later, as part of the war effort, he repaired farming machinery. He died from cancer in Hamilton on 8 August 1990, and was buried in Hamilton Park Cemetery. and in 2017, he was a posthumous inductee into the Waikato Business Hall of Fame. As of 2019, his son, Sir William Gallagher is the chief executive officer and executive director of the business established by his father. His other son, John Gallagher, left his day-to-day role in the business in 1997 but remains on the board of directors.