Edmund William Wright (4 April 1824 – 5 August 1888) was a London-born Australian architect, engineer and businessman who was Mayor of Adelaide in 1859.

Early life

Wright was the third son of Stephen Amand Wright who may have been Master of Ordnance at the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

. He trained as architect and surveyor and in 1849 emigrated with his brother Edward to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, where they worked as land agents and joined the rush to the Victorian goldfields, but by 1852 he had returned to Adelaide where he married Agnes Jane Stuckey (née Rippingville).Healey, John ''S.A.'s Greats: The men and women of the North Terrace plaques'' Historical Society of South Australia, 2003 Agnes was the widow of Henry Stuckey (c. 1820 – 31 May 1851), also an Adelaide architect.

Business career

He worked as insurance agent and was appointed to the boards of several mining companies. In 1859 he was elected Mayor of the City of Adelaide. In 1875, he succeeded Alfred Watts as Consul for Sweden and Norway.

Architect

North Adelaide Congregational Church, Australia

Wright was a partner with E. J. Woods and E. A. Hamilton in the architectural firm of Wright, Woods & Hamilton, later Wright and Hamilton, from 1866 to 1871 and from 1888 to 1893 with James Henry Reed and Isidor Beaver as Wright, Reed & Beaver. He designed (either alone or in partnership) the following buildings: *"Belmont", Brougham Place, North Adelaide (1858) *

Bank of South Australia BankSA, formerly known as the Bank of South Australia, the State Bank of South Australia and the Savings Bank of South Australia is the largest bank in South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Westpac. History Bank SA, formerly known as The B ...

, Commercial Rd, Port Adelaide (1859) * Congregational Church, Brougham Place, North Adelaide (1861) *Methodist Meeting Hall, off Pirie Street, Adelaide (1863) *St Rose of Lima Catholic Church,

Kapunda Kapunda is a town on the Light River and near the Barossa Valley in South Australia. It was established after a discovery in 1842 of significant copper deposits. The population was 2,917 at the 2016 Australian census. The southern entrance t ...

(1866), rebuilt in 1938 to designs by

Herbert Jory Harrold Herbert Jory (20 March 1888 – 16 May 1966) , known as Herbert Jory, was a South Australian architect. He was a partner in the leading firm of Woods, Bagot & Jory from 1913, which became Woods, Bagot, Jory & Laybourne Smith from 1915 t ...

. *St. Laurence's Church and Priory, Buxton Street, North Adelaide (1867–1868) *GPO (General Post Office) building, King William Street, Adelaide (1867–1872) *Jewish Synagogue, off Rundle Street East (1871) *Bank of South Australia, now "Edmund Wright House" 59 King William Street, with Lloyd Tayler (1878) *Royal Exchange, King William Street, for John Robb *Bank of Adelaide, 81 King William Street, Adelaide (1878–1880) *West wing of Parliament House, North Terrace, Adelaide (1883–1889) *"Linden" at Burnside *"Paringa Hall" for the Cudmore family, Brighton Road, Brighton *"Athelney" at College Park *"Princess Royal" homestead at Burra *

Adelaide Educational Institution Adelaide Educational Institution was a privately run non-sectarian academy for boys in Adelaide founded in 1852 by John Lorenzo Young.B. K. Hyams'Young, John Lorenzo (1826–1881)' ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 6, Melbourne Univ ...

schoolhouse, 61–71 Young Street, Parkside *National Mutual Life building (later Goode House and Bank of New Zealand), 389-399 Collins Street, Melbourne (1887-1893)

References

External links

*P. A. Howell
Wright, Edmund William (1824-1888)
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Supplementary Volume, Melbourne University Press, 2005, pp 414–415. *Sullivan, Christine
'Wright, Edmund William'
''Architects of South Australia'', Architecture Museum, University of South Australia, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Edmund William 1824 births 1888 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia Mayors and Lord Mayors of Adelaide Architects from London 19th-century Australian architects 19th-century Australian politicians Burials at North Road Cemetery