Sir Richard Watkins Richards (19 July 1863 – 12 March 1920), commonly referred to as R. W. Richards, was

Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has be ...

in 1914–1915 and 1919–1920.

Early life and career

Richards was born in Wales in 1863 and came to New South Wales as a child. He was appointed City Surveyor in 1887 and retained this position until 1901. In 1919 he was appointed as a Director on the board of

Sydney Hospital Sydney Hospital is a major hospital in Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first rece ...

. He was appointed to Dunedin City Council as Town Clerk and City Engineer in 1905 and was responsible for designing the first underground conveniences in this city, after designing the first one in Sydney 24 May 1901. His voluminous report into the options around underground facilities brought Dunedin into a new age of modernity around publicly supplied facilities. His plans can be found in the Dunedin City Council Archives. He resigned from Dunedin City Council in 1911 and returned to Sydney where he went into private practice.

Political career

He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in the

1920 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1920 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 1 January 1920 and 30 March 1920 (referred to as the 1920 civil ...

but died three months later after a long illness. Richards was buried on 13 March 1920 at

South Head Cemetery The South Head General Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery located at 793 Old South Head Road, Vaucluse, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1845 to 1950. It is also known as Old South Head Cemetery and the South Head Cemetery. The ...

Vaucluse, New South Wales Vaucluse is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Council and the Municipality of Woollahra. Vauclus ...

Footnotes

1863 births 1920 deaths Welsh emigrants to colonial Australia Australian surveyors Australian engineers Public servants of New South Wales Mayors and Lord Mayors of Sydney Australian Knights Bachelor {{Australia-mayor-stub