Francis Kirby

Francis Richard Kirby (1911–1982) was an Australian electrical engineer and tramway administrator. After working at the State Electricity Commission of Victoria as an engineer, Kirby started working for the Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB). He became the MMTB's fourth Chairman in 1970, taking over from Robert Risson, and was succeeded by Dudley Snell, the last Chairman of the MMTB, in 1976.

Early life Kirby obtained a Bachelor of Electric Engineering from the University of Melbourne in 1936, and commenced work as an engineer at the State Electricity Commission of Victoria.

When Kirby succeeded Risson as Chairman of the MMTB on 1 July 1970, it was in a poor financial situation, with debts exceeding AU$6 million and was losing millions of dollars each year. Kirby also advocated for the under-grounding of some tram lines for operational savings,

Following Henry Bolte's resignation in 1972 as Premier of Victoria, Rupert Hamer become Premier and there was a tempering of Victoria's car-dominated transport planning, with some new investment in public transport. This was in part due to a social backlash against Melbourne's freeway plans. and succeeded, with PCC 1041 (a prototype inspired from a 1965 European fact-finding mission Kirby had been on Contracts for the Z-class tram, based on PCC 1041, were awarded to Comeng in 1973 with the first Z-class tram entering service in 1975. MMTB debts soared, with financial responsibility, through subsidies, falling on the State Government. This also transferred much decision making power, including the ordering of new trams and buses, out of the hands of the MMTB and into the Government.

Dudley Snell, who had been Deputy Chairman of the MMTB under Kirby, succeeded Kirby as chairman on 16 July 1976.