Rowland Rees (25 September 1840 – 13 October 1904) was an architect, civil engineer and politician in

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 ...

History

Rees was born in

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, the eldest son of Rowland Rees, of Sutrana House, Dover, and later alderman of Brighton, England. He was educated in Hong Kong and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...

. It has also been asserted that he was educated in Dover, where his father was for many years mayor. He emigrated to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1869; his brother, Dr. John Rees followed seven years later. Rowland ("something of a black sheep in the family"), along with his brothers Allen and Charles, "had all three received and squandered their inheritance" and were accordingly left nothing in their father's will; at any rate, having suffered "some kind of financial catastrophe" and moved into "a small terrace villa in Hove", the senior Rowland Rees left only enough to cover a few preliminary bequests. Rees began his architectural practice immediately upon arriving in the colony, initially in partnership with Thomas English. His work was usually characterised by bold decorative elements such as capitals, pilasters and pediments. He was in partnership with Joseph Hornabrook from 1878 to 1881, when Hornabrook left for a life on the professional stage. He was elected to the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

as member for The Burra (1873–75), Burra (1875–81) and Onkaparinga (1882–90). He advanced liberal ideas, such as free education, the regulation (rather than banning) of gambling, and equal divorce rights for women. Rees was a member of the

South Australian Institute The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research l ...

from 1878, and helped to select works for the South Australian State Collection. He was a director of the Holdfast Railway Company, for which firm he also acted as engineer.

Selected works

* Moonta Methodist Church (1873) * Essenside, Glenelg (1873) * Downer House,

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 ...

(1877) * Kither's Buildings,

Rundle Street Rundle Street, often referred to as "Rundle Street East" as distinct from Rundle Mall, is a street in the East End of the city centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs from Pulteney Street to East Terrace, where it becom ...

(1879) * Holdfast Bay railway line (1879–80) * Huntsman (now Archer) Hotel,

, (1882) *

Lobethal Lobethal is a town in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. It is located in the Adelaide Hills Council local government area, and is nestled on the banks of a creek between the hills and up the sides of the valley. It was once the centr ...

Woollen Mills (1883) * British Hotel,

(1883) * Oxford Hotel,

(1884) * Cumberland Arms Hotel,

Waymouth Street Waymouth Street, often spelt as Weymouth Street in the early days, is an east–west street running between King William Street and West Terrace in the Adelaide city centre in South Australia. The street is named after Henry Waymouth, a foundi ...

(1884) * Newmarket Hotel, North Terrace (1884) * St Peters Town Hall (1885) * Fulton's Foundry, Kilkenny (1885–86)

Family

In November 1870 he married Ada Caroline Sandford (1853 – 12 September 1930), daughter of William Mathews Sandford ( – February 1902), an Adelaide solicitor. They had two surviving children: *Rowland John Patton Rees (1872 – ) moved to Perth, Western Australia *(Bagot) Sydney Rees (1873 – ) moved to Perth, Western Australia Mrs. Rees lived for some time with her son Sydney in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, and died in

Subiaco, Western Australia Subiaco (known colloquially as Subi) is an inner- western suburb of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Perth's central business district, in the City of Subiaco local government area. Historically a working-cl ...

. His brother John Rees, JP. (c. 1849–1893) studied at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

, and arrived in South Australia on 1 April 1876. He practised at Port Wakefield for two years before moving to Hindmarsh. He was mayor of Hindmarsh from December 1883 to December 1886, also serving as honorary Health Officer. He died of consumption (

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

). His sister Kathleen Rees in 1883 married the widower Dr. James Compton-Burnett (c. 1840 – 2 April 1901), 15 years his junior (so she was born around 1855). She had seven children by him, of whom

Ivy Compton-Burnett Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett, (; 5 June 188427 August 1969) was an English novelist, published in the original editions as I. Compton-Burnett. She was awarded the 1955 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for her novel ''Mother and Son''. Her works co ...

(1884–1969) was the eldest; there were also five children by his first marriage. Another sister Elizabeth Rees ( – 1941) married Robert Blackie (c.1852–1936). Their youngest daughter Margery Grace Blackie (1898–1981) was a noted homeopath.

References

External links

Rowland Rees
from architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Rowland 1840 births 1904 deaths South Australian architects Australian civil engineers Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Gibraltarian emigrants to Australia 19th-century Australian politicians 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Australia

History

Selected works

Family

See also

References

External links