Edmund Wright

He collaborated with other notable architects E. Woods, Isidor Beaver, and Edward Hamilton in designing some of the most notable buildings.

• Name — Edmund William Wright • Born — 4 April 1824 • Birthplace — London, England • Died — 5 August 1888 • Place of death — Adelaide, South Australia • Resting Place — North Road Cemetery, Nailsworth • Spouse — Agnes Stuckey • Children — 4 • Parents — Stephen Amand Wright Lucy Elizabeth Tomkins • Practice — Wright and E. J. Woods Wright, Woods & Hamilton Wright & Reed Architects Wright, Reed & Beaver

Edmund William Wright born on 4 April 1824 in Fulham, London. He was the son of Stephen Amand Wright, who was Master of Ordnance at the Tower of London, and Lucy Elizabeth, née Tomkins. Wright spent holidays in France, as there were French relatives, and it is thought that memories of these influenced his later designs. He trained as architect, surveyor, and engineer, graduating when articled to a Mr Stow, Borough Surveyor of Bermondsey, London. He became clerk of works at Yarmouth, later sailing first to Bermuda to construct an iron lighthouse, and then to Canada, where he worked in construction and engineering. After experiencing poor health, he returned to Bermuda and thence to London. On 15 May 1849 Wright emigrated with his brother Edward to the colony of South Australia, and although he first advertised his architectural services in South Australia in The South Australian Register in June 1849, he did not work as an architect until over a decade later. The brothers 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).

Between 1849 and 1860, Wright worked in a number of roles, including as a clerk for the Mt Remarkable Mining Company. He also worked as a surveyor with the Union Land and Building Society and the Alliance Assurance Company, and as City Surveyor for the Corporation of Adelaide, and as an insurance agent for the Imperial Fire Insurance Company. He was appointed to the boards of several mining companies.

• Illustration — Adelaide Town Hall, designed with E. J. Woods • Illustration — Paringa Hall, now part of Sacred Heart College, in 1933 • Illustration — Brougham Place Uniting Church, North Adelaide (1859-1861), designed with Edward Hamilton

Wright gave talks in which he proposed adopting elements of some Italian styles of architecture, such as flat rather than steeply-pitched roofs, and suggested that large rooms were cooler in hot summers. He preferred the style of "Gothic-Italian" architecture seen in northern Italy over Gothic architecture. His building designs were influenced by French, Italian Renaissance architecture, with his best works showing more Neoclassical elements. His style has been dubbed "Victorian Free Classical" style. His designs for Parliament House were in Victorian Academic Classical style, while his bank designs were Renaissance style.

Wright won several architectural competitions to design notable buildings in Adelaide, including the Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide GPO (General Post Office), and Brougham Place Congregational Church, some in collaboration with Woods or other architects. The town hall was opened in 1866 after substantial modifications demanded by the councillors, to make it suitable for more purposes. Wright was paid to superintend the work. The post office also had to undergo major alterations to its design before it was built. The headquarters for the old Bank of South Australia (which became defunct in 1892) was designed by Wright in collaboration with Melbourne-based architect Lloyd Tayler. The building style is influenced by classical and Renaissance architecture, while the richly decorated interiors are in Rococo Revival style. Subsequent to the demise of the Bank of South Australia, the building was occupied by three major banks in succession, before being sold to a commercial developer, who planned to demolish it in 1971. A public campaign that raised saved the building, and it was bought by the Dunstan government and renamed Edmund Wright House. The campaign also led to the passing of the first SA heritage laws in 1978. The banking chamber was used for various types of performances, including the inaugural the Adelaide Chamber Singers' inaugural concert, many recitals, and Adelaide Fringe shows, while the offices were once occupied by the SA Government's Arts Department. The building became vacant around 2014 or 2015, and was sold to a private Sydney-based buyer by the Marshall government in 2019. In 2024, journalist David Washington compared its fate to Chelsea Town Hall in London, which had recently undergone extensive refurbishment, suggesting that the building is "arguably South Australia's most spectacular heritage building".

Wright was elected as an alderman on the City of Adelaide Council in July 1857. In January 1859, he became mayor but resigned in November of the same year. Wright was an inaugural member of the Society of Architects, Engineers, and Surveyors in 1858. In 1859 he read a paper to the society outlining his architectural philosophy for South Australia. In September 1885, he was elected president of the South Australian Architects' Association. Woods was patron, while Beaver, Edward Davies, and W. A. Reid were elected as vice-presidents. Wright was elected vice-president of the South Australian Institute of Architects after its foundation in 1886.

Wright married Agnes, the widow of Henry Stuckey (c. 1820 – 31 May 1851), on 26 October 1852. She had a daughter, and the couple had a further four children, of whom only three survived to adulthood. Wright bought and extended the cottage formerly rented by Stuckey 26 Palmer Place, North Adelaide (later the site of "the Walkley house", designed prominent Australian architect Robin Boyd in 1955).

• Illustration — National Mutual Life building (1893), designed with Isidor Beaver Wright designed (either alone or in partnership) the following buildings:

• Bank of South Australia, Commercial Rd, Port Adelaide (1859) • Adelaide Town Hall (competition, 1863; built 1863-66; inaugurated 20 June 1866) • National Chambers for the National Bank of Australasia, 22-26 King William Street (1864-5; with Woods) • Adelaide GPO (General Post Office) building, King William Street, Adelaide (competition, March 1866; in collaboration with Edward Hamilton; 1867–1872) • Bank of South Australia headquarters, in collaboration with (and perhaps principally designed by) Melbourne-based architect Lloyd Tayler; now "Edmund Wright House", 59 King William Street (1878) • Royal Exchange, King William Street, for John Robb • Bank of Adelaide, 81-87 King William Street (corner of Currie Street), Adelaide (competition; 1878–1880; with Woods; south-west corner only) • West wing of Parliament House, North Terrace, Adelaide (competition July 1874, with Lloyd Tayler; only built from 1883, supervised by Woods, and complete in 1939) • National Mutual Life building (later Goode House and Bank of New Zealand), 389-399 Collins Street, Melbourne (1887-1893), with Beaver and Reed; Beaver was supervising architect in Melbourne

• Brougham Place Congregational Church, North Adelaide (competition 1859, in collaboration with Edward Hamilton; built 1861, with construction supervised by Wright & Woods) now Brougham Place Uniting Church • Methodist Meeting Hall, off Pirie Street, Adelaide (1863) • St Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Kapunda (1866), rebuilt in 1938 to designs by Herbert Jory • St. Laurence's Church and Priory, Buxton Street, North Adelaide (1867–1868) • Jewish Synagogue, off Rundle Street East (1871)

• "Belmont", Brougham Place, North Adelaide (1858) • "Linden", Burnside • "Paringa Hall" for the Cudmore family, Brighton Road, Somerton Park, now part of Sacred Heart College • "Athelney", College Park • "Princess Royal" homestead at Burra • "The Olives", Glenelg, for his brother

• Adelaide Educational Institution schoolhouse, 61–71 Young Street, Parkside