John Cliffe Watts (7 May 1786 – 28 March 1873) was an Irish military officer and architect who designed some of the first permanent public buildings in the young British colony of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and who also later became

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

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 he was commonly referred to as "Captain Watts".

Early life

Watts was born in the village of

Sallins Sallins () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland, situated 3.5 km north of the town centre of Naas, from which it is separated by the M7 motorway. Sallins is the anglicised name of ''Na Solláin'' which means "the willows". In the officia ...

, County Kildare Ireland to Charles Watts and his wife Margaret ( née Boyse). He had seven brothers who, like him, all joined the army as commissioned officers; five of them (including him) reached the rank of captain. His education was completed by 1802, and thereafter he worked for a short time at a

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, and then in a

firm A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

of architects for approximately 18 months.

Military commission

On 24 July 1804 he was commissioned into the army as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the

64th Regiment of Foot The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was created as the 2nd Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot in 1756, redesignated as the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1758, and took a county title ...

, which was at that time stationed in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. In 1805 he was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

, and transferred to the 46th Regiment. During January and February 1810 he was involved in the action which, on 4 February 1810, took the island of Guadeloupe from the French. He returned to England with the 46th Regiment in 1811, where they were assigned garrison duty on

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

until 16 June 1812; they were then on duty on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

until August 1813.

New South Wales

Aide-de-camp

In August 1813 the 46th Regiment was ordered to proceed to the colony of

to relieve the 73rd Regiment of Foot which, under the leadership of

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Lachlan Macquarie, had forcibly deported their predecessors, the corrupt

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying th ...

. The 46th Regiment travelled in three ships, '' Windham'' and ''General Hewitt'', departing England on 23 August 1813, and followed three months later by '' Three Bees''. Watts travelled on ''Windham'', and arrived in Sydney on 11 February 1814. On 3 June 1814 he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, and became a family friend to Macquarie and his wife Elizabeth. Watts supported Governor Macquarie's attempts to integrate

emancipist An emancipist was a convict sentenced and transported under the convict system to Australia, who had been given a conditional or absolute pardon. The term was also used to refer to those convicts whose sentences had expired, and might sometimes ...

s into free society, however this was resisted by many free settlers and members of the military, including Watts' own commanding officer Colonel George Molle, of the 46th Regiment. Governor Macquarie wrote to

Lord Bathurst Earl Bathurst, of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The medieval English word was Botehurst, thought to date at least from the 13th century. Bote is the origination of Battle, although the family m ...

(

Secretary of State for War and the Colonies The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet-level position responsible for the army and the British colonies (other than India). The Secretary was supported by an Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. Hi ...

) and the Duke of York (the second son of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

) criticising the insubordinate behaviour of the various military officers who refused to attend civil functions which were attended by emancipists. Macquarie also listed the names of loyal and well-behaved officers in his letters, which included the name of his aide-de-camp, John Watts. Watts lived with the Macquaries for five years, and was warmly regarded by them as one of the family.

Architect

The Governor was a prolific builder and, as the colony had a serious shortage of architects and engineers, he soon made use of Watts' architectural skills, asking him to design a new military hospital to be built on what is now called Observatory Hill in Sydney. This building later functioned as Fort Street High School from at 1849 to 1975, and today is the headquarters of the New South Wales branch of the National Trust of Australia. The inner-core of this building remains behind the later Victorian facade. Watts' successful completion of his first assignment led to more, many of which were based around the new inland settlement of

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. In 1815-16 he worked on the repair and enhancement of

Government House Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and the remaining colonies of the British Empire. The name is also used in some other countries. Gover ...

at Parramatta. He also designed a hospital at Parramatta 1817–18, a military barracks 1818-20, added two steeples to St John's Church at Parramatta 1818–19, worked on repairs to the road and bridges between Sydney and Parramatta, and the construction of a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

across the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. S ...

in 1818. Mrs Macquarie considered the improved water supply to Parramatta to be Watts' greatest achievement, as up to that time Parramatta had tended to suffer from a lack of drinking water in summer. He worked closely with Mrs Elizabeth Macquarie on the modifications to St John's Church and Government House at Parramatta, and is listed as one of those who accompanied the Macquaries on their tours to Bathurst in 1815, and to the Cowpastures area (in the vicinity of modern Camden) in the same year.

Departure

When Governor Macquarie's illegitimate nephew, the rakish Hector Macquarie arrived in New South Wales on 14 April 1818, Watts offered to relinquish his position, to allow Hector Macquarie to become the Governor's new aide-de-camp. This offer was rejected by Lachlan Macquarie, who encouraged Watts to write to England to seek promotion. After eight months with no reply, Watts resigned as aide-de-camp, and the Governor granted his request for a two-year leave of absence from his regiment and duty, so that he could travel to England to follow up on his letter. The Governor publicly gave Watts his "best thanks" for his "architectural services and Taste", in an announcement in the ''

Sydney Gazette ''The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser'' was the first newspaper printed in Australia, running from 5 March 1803 until 20 October 1842. It was a semi-official publication of the government of New South Wales, authorised by Governo ...

'', published on 2 January 1819. After putting in some hurried work on the Parramatta military barracks, which were still under construction, Watts sailed for England on 1 April 1819, on the transport ship ''Shipley''. Macquarie gave him official despatches to deliver, as well as various personal presents for certain members of the Royal Family and also the Secretary of State, Lord Bathurst.

Britain

After his arrival in Britain, Watts was promoted to the rank of captain in Macquarie's old regiment, the 73rd Foot, on 24 February 1820. At that time the regiment was stationed in Ceylon, and not due to return to England until the following year. What he did during this period is unknown. In 1822, Governor Macquarie returned from Australia and, after securing seven weeks' leave from his returned regiment, Watts went to visit the Macquaries, meeting them in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 2 September 1822. During his stay in Scotland, Watts fell in love with Elizabeth Macquarie's niece, Jane Campbell, and made a proposal of marriage. They were married on 16 January 1823, although the Macquaries were away on an eight-month tour of Europe at the time. Watts resigned his commission in the army in 1824, and settled down to married life in Campbeltown,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, where he and his wife Jane raised a family of seven children. During this thirteen-year period, he made periodic trips to visit his parents living in Dublin, and eventually moved his family there in 1837. In 1834, while still living in Campbeltown, he sought an official position in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

and wrote to Elizabeth Macquarie, asking if she would write a letter to the Home Secretary

Henry Goulburn Henry Goulburn PC FRS (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856) was a British Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846. Background and education Born in London, Goulburn was the eldest son of a wealthy planter, Munbee G ...

in support of his request. Although she did assist Watts, he was unsuccessful.

South Australia

In 1840, Watts decided to emigrate to the colony of

, where his brother Henry was Postmaster General. He and his family left the port of Greenock Scotland, on 17 September 1840 on the ship ''John Cooper''. They arrived in Port Adelaide, South Australia, on 8 March 1841. He was appointed Postmaster General for South Australia on 1 April 1841 in his brother's place, and held the position for 20 years. They lived at the corner of King William Street and North Terrace, later the site of the Bank of New South Wales. He was one of the original trustees of the

Savings Bank of South Australia The Savings Bank of South Australia was a bank founded in the colony of South Australia in 1848, based in Adelaide. In the early 20th century it established a presence in schools by setting up a special category of savings accounts for schoolch ...

. Their eldest daughter, Margaret Elizabeth, married

Charles Hervey Bagot Charles Hervey Bagot (17 April 1788 – 29 July 1880), often referred to as "Captain Bagot", was an Irish-born South Australian pastoralist, mine owner and parliamentarian, and was the ancestor of a number of notable South Australian citizens. ...

's son Christopher; their son, John Bagot, married Lucy Ayers, daughter of Sir Henry. Their youngest daughter, Jane, married B. T. Solly, Private Secretary to the Governor of Tasmania. He retired on 29 June 1861 and was succeeded by James William Lewis, then in 1870 the Post Office was amalgamated with the Telegraph Office and Charles Todd was appointed as its head. He was an active member of the

Aborigines' Friends' Association The Aborigines' Friends' Association (AFA) was established out of concern for "the moral, spiritual and physical well-being" of Australian Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory and particularly South Australia. This organisation operated ...

. Captain Watts died at the Bagot home "Nurney House" between Kingston Terrace and Stanley Street,

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

in 1873, aged almost 87 years.

References

External links

Biography of John Cliffe Watts
( Macquarie University website).
Photograph of Captain John Watts
(c. 1869, when he was Postmaster General of South Australia)
History of the Lancer Barracks, Parramatta
(John Watts' last work before leaving New South Wales)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, John 1786 births 1873 deaths 19th-century Australian architects Irish architects Australian public servants North Staffordshire Regiment officers 46th Regiment of Foot officers 73rd Regiment of Foot officers People from County Kildare Architects from Sydney