William Archer (1820–1874) was an Australian architect, naturalist, grazier, politician and member of the prominent Archer family. He was the second son of

Thomas Archer Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. His buildings are important as the only ones by an English Baroque archit ...

, a prominent pastoralist and politician himself. A keen interest in architecture led to him going to London to study architecture when he finished school, where he studied under William Rogers and

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson FRS HFRSE FRSA DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father ...

. During his life he built many colonial buildings across Tasmania, served as a member of both the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Hobart. The Assembly has 25 m ...

and

Tasmanian Legislative Council The Tasmanian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. It is one of the two chambers of the Parliament, the other being the House of Assembly. Both houses sit in Parliament House in the state capital, ...

and made significant contributions to botany, with several native Tasmanian plants named after him. Despite this he died penniless at his brothers house Fairfield on 15 October 1874.

Life

Archer was born in Launceston,

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 ...

(now

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

) into the influential local Archer family, owners of the

Brickendon Estate Brickendon Estate is a farm estate located in Longford, Tasmania. It is one of the two main ancestral homes (with Woolmers) of the Archer family, prominent local pioneers and politicians. Founded in 1824, Brickendon Estate was one of the fi ...

and Woolmers Estate, a closely knit and pious Anglican family to Thomas (1780–1850), a banker and landholder, and Susannah (née Hortle) Archer. He was married (7 April 1846) to Anne Hortle, his first cousin, with whom he had thirteen children, one of whom died before him. Archer studied architecture and surveying in London from 1836 to 1840 under William Rogers. Following completion of those studies he worked under Robert Stephenson for two years, before returning to Tasmania on 18 October 1842. His career in architecture was delayed however when his brother died and the family bank collapsed. He took over management of the family estate Woolmers for some years. Following this, he moved to London again to study botany. Archer studied botany in England between the years 1856 and 1858 and was elected a

Fellow of the Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

before returning to Tasmania. He was secretary of the

Royal Society of Tasmania The Royal Society of Tasmania (RST) was formed in 1843. It was the first Royal Society outside the United Kingdom, and its mission is the advancement of knowledge. The work of the Royal Society of Tasmania includes: * Promoting Tasmanian historic ...

from 1860 to 1861. Sir

Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of ...

wrote a dedication to him (and jointly to Ronald Campbell Gunn) in his ''Flora Tasmaniae'' (1859). Archer composed illustrations of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

s and collected and sent numerous Tasmanian plant specimens to the Royal Botanical Gardens in

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

. He was the appointed architect to the

Anglican Diocese of Tasmania The Anglican Diocese of Tasmania includes the entire Tasmanian archipelago and is an extraprovincial diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia. The cathedral church of the diocese is St David's Cathedral in Hobart. The twelfth Bishop of T ...

, and designed

The Hutchins School , motto_translation = Character lives after death , city = Hobart , state = Tasmania , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , de ...

located in Hobart (1848–49), additions to the world heritage listed Woolmers and Brickendon estates, the calendar house " Mona Vale" (1865–68) in Ross, his own home Cheshunt, Fairfield for his brother. his cousins house Saundridge and Horton College at Ross. Archer did some of his architectural work free of charge. Archer died in Cressy, on 15 October 1874 following a prolonged period of financial hardship.

Politics

He was a member of the Tasmanian parliament three times, once as a member of the Legislative Council (1851–1855) and twice as a member of the House of Assembly (1860–1862 and 1866–1868).

Architectural works

Residences

* Part of Woolmers Estate * Saundridge, Cressy * Portico of

Cheshunt House Cheshunt House is an Italianate mansion in the Meander Valley, Tasmania, 10 kilometers from Deloraine. It was designed and originally owned by politician, botanist and architect William Archer, started in 1851-52. It was purchased incomplete ...

, Meander Valley * Mona Vale, Ross * Nursery wing of Panshanger House, Longford * Additions to Fairfield House,

Epping Forest Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...

Churches

* St Peter's Church of England,

St Leonards St Leonards may refer to: Places Australia *St Leonards, New South Wales **St Leonards railway station *St Leonards, Tasmania, suburb of Launceston *St Leonards, Victoria Canada *St. Leonard's, Newfoundland and Labrador New Zealand * St L ...

(demolished) * Former Paterson's Plains Chapel, St Leonards

Schools

* Horton College (mostly demolished) * Old

The Hutchins School , motto_translation = Character lives after death , city = Hobart , state = Tasmania , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, day & boarding , de ...

Building

Legacy

The species '' Eucalyptus archeri'', '' Amphibromus archeri'', '' Corunastylis archeri'' (the elfin midge orchid) and the genus Archeria are named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, William People from Launceston, Tasmania Tasmanian architects 19th-century Australian botanists Australian people of English descent Fellows of the Linnean Society of London 1820 births 1874 deaths 19th-century Australian architects 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Australia Infectious disease deaths in Tasmania