Andrew Lenehan

(b Sligo, ?1805; d Sydney, 21 Feb 1886). Australian cabinetmaker of Irish birth. He arrived in Sydney a free settler in 1835 and started his own business in 1841 as a cabinetmaker, upholsterer and undertaker. His billhead, decorated with the royal coat of arms (indicative of vice-regal patronage), describes him as a 'Designer and Manufacturer of Superior Furniture'. His workshop was one of the most extensive mid-19th-century furniture manufactories in Sydney and attracted both official and private custom. In addition to being a prominent retailer of imported furniture, Lenehan produced a considerable amount of locally made furniture in both indigenous and imported woods. His designs drew heavily on contemporary British furniture pattern books and catalogues. Apart from extant documented work at Government House, Sydney, examples can be found at Old Government House, Parramatta, NSW, identified by his impressed punch mark or one of several trade labels. Furniture from his workshop was exhibited in Sydney in 1854 and 1861 and at the International Exhibition of 1862 in London. Financial misadventure led to the disposal of the business by 1868, although Lenehan worked independently until his retirement c. 1875.

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