Unearthing Parramatta’s forgotten Architect/Engineer!
Have you ever wondered who designed the Parramatta weir under the Bernie Banton Bridge and when it was built? Trawling through the available records 'unearthed' a surprise result of a relatively forgotten colonial character during the Macquarie period.
All will be revealed in a powerpoint presentation highlighting that not only did this architect/engineer design this structure as a dam in 1818, but he also designed Lancer Barracks at Parramatta, extensions to Parramatta Government House, the Twin Towers of St. John’s Cathedral, Parramatta and even the building that today houses the National Trust HQ, on Observatory Hill in Sydney.
Upon his departure from the colony in 1819 he was not finished with his time in the Great South Land, as he returned to Adelaide, with his wife in 1841, to take up his appointment as Post-Master General of South Australia. In 1873 he and his wife died only 3 weeks apart in Adelaide.