Mortimer Lewis

Darlinghurst Court House, Sydney

Mortimer William Lewis (1796 – 9 March 1879), was an English architect who migrated to Australia and became Colonial Architect in the state of New South Wales. He was responsible for designing many heritage buildings.

Early life

Lewis was born in London in 1796. At the age of nineteen he was appointed as a surveyor and draughtsman in the London office of the Inspector General of Fortifications. After this he went into private practice and spent eight years in surveying and building. In 1819 he married Elizabeth Clements, who bore him three sons and a daughter. Another son was to be born later in Sydney, Australia. After his eight years in surveying and building, he received an appointment as Assistant Surveyor in the office of Surveyor-General of New South Wales. He set sail with his family in 1829 and arrived in Sydney in March, 1830.^[1]

Career in Australia

In Sydney, Lewis worked under Sir Thomas Mitchell, who gave him the job of surveying and mapping the Great Dividing Range, 130 kilometres west of Sydney (the Great Dividing Range goes roughly parallel to the east coast of Australia and divides the east-flowing watercourses from the west-flowing). Mitchell then made Lewis the Town Surveyor; in 1835 he was further promoted to the position of Colonial Architect.

Lewis's first job in the latter position was the design of the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum, the first purpose-built asylum for the mentally ill in New South Wales. Lewis created a sandstone complex in the Georgian style, located on a stretch of land between Tarban Creek and the Parramatta River, Sydney. The hospital was built between 1836 and 1838, and was later to be known as Gladesville Mental Hospital.

A long series of public buildings followed, including court houses, police stations and governmental buildings. He also supervised the construction of buildings designed by other architects, notable examples being Government House and St John's Church at Camden, both of which were designed in England by Edward Blore. Lewis became the leading proponent in Australia of the Classical Revival style,^[2] and especially the Doric variation, which he used for the court houses in Darlinghurst, Hartley and Berrima.

On first arriving in Sydney, Lewis lived on the premises of the Colonial Architect office, but later acquired land in what was to become the beachside suburb of Bronte. Here he began designing a sandstone bungalow that came to be known as Bronte House, which he sold to Robert Lowe before it was finished. He then moved his family to the prestigious suburb of Darling Point, east of the city centre. Bronte House would later be listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Unfortunately, Lewis's career as Colonial Architect would eventually encounter serious problems in spite of his contributions to the development of the state. In the late 1840s he began designing Sydney's first museum, which would later be absorbed into the present Australian Museum. The project experienced substantial cost overruns as time went by, and Lewis was criticised by both the press and politicians. The museum was eventually finished, but an official enquiry blamed Lewis squarely for the problems, and he was forced to resign as Colonial Architect in 1849.^[1]

However, Lewis remained active. In 1850, he built a new home, known as Richmond Villa, which faced the Sydney parkland known as The Domain. It was later to be absorbed into the Parliament House of New South Wales as it developed in Macquarie Street. In 1853 he designed Nugal Hall, a two-storey Gothic mansion in Milford Street, Randwick, for Alexander Arthur; the house would later be added to the Register of the National Estate. In 1873 he designed the Wentworth family mausoleum, in Chapel Road, Vaucluse. It was originally designed as the tomb for William Charles Wentworth, one of the explorers who crossed the Blue Mountains; other family members were also buried there.^[3]

Early in 1879, Lewis became ill from a kidney complaint and died on 9 March. He was buried in South Head Cemetery, Vaucluse.

Partial List of Works

The following Lewis buildings are listed on the Register of the National Estate.^[4]

• Toll House, Windsor (probably by Lewis), circa 1835
• Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum (Gladesville Mental Hospital), 1836
• Police Station, Victoria Road, Ryde, 1837
• Parramatta Court House, 1837
• Darlinghurst Gaol, Sydney, 1836
• National Trust (originally military hospital), remodelled by Lewis, 1850s
• Court House, Darlinghurst, 1836
• Original Customs House, Sydney, 1844
• Legislative Council Chamber, Sydney, 1843
• Original Museum contained within Australian Museum, Sydney, 1849
• Treasury Building and Premier's Office, Sydney, 1849
• Police Station, Phillip Street, Sydney, 1869
• Bronte House, Sydney, 1838
• Toll House, Windsor circa 1835 (probably Lewis)
• Signal Station, Vaucluse, early 1840s
• Former Court House, Sloane Street, Goulburn, 1849
• Court House, Berrima, 1838
• Former Court House, Wollombi, 1866
• Gaol, East Maitland, 1844-48
• Police Station, Hunter Street, Newcastle, 1849
• Court House, Raymond terrace, 1841
• Former Court House, Scone, 1848-49
• Court House, Hartley, 1837
• Nugal Hall, Randwick, 1853
• Wentworth Mausoleum, Vaucluse, 1873 (attributed to Mansfield brothers by some sources)^[5]

Signal Station, Vaucluse	Nugal Hall, Randwick	Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum (Gladesville Mental Hospital)	Court House, Hartley
Bronte House, Bronte	Premier's Office, Sydney	Wentworth Mausoleum, Vaucluse	Police Station, Ryde

References

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