William McMinn
William McMinn (1844 - 14 February 1884) was an Australian surveyor and architect, based in Adelaide.[1]
History
He was born in Newry, County Down, Ireland, a son of Joseph McMinn and his wife Martha McMinn (née Hamill), who with their large family emigrated to Adelaide on the Albatross, arriving in May 1850.
After completing school, he was apprenticed to the architect James Macgeorge, but first practiced as a surveyor. He was involved in Boyle Travers Finniss's ill-fated 1865 expedition to Northern Australia surveying the area around the Adelaide River. Following the desertion of a majority of the party to Singapore, McMinn and 5 others purchased a 23-foot open boat which they named the Forlorn Hope and sailed it 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to Champion Bay, Geraldton, Western Australia.[2] He was later involved in the 1872 surveying of the Overland Telegraph from Port Augusta to Darwin.
McMinn began practising as an architect in 1867, sometimes in partnership but usually independently. He designed many grand private residences, but also designed or assisted in the design of many of Adelaide's grand public buildings. Whilst in partnership with Edward John Woods, he designed the original Venetian Gothic building of the University of Adelaide, considered his greatest work.
Family
McMinn married Mary Francis Muirhead at Glenelg in 1877, with whom he had two daughters. He died in North Adelaide, aged forty, on 14 February 1884.
A brother, Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn (1841–1924), also worked as a surveyor on the Overland Telegraph Line, in February 1871 discovering Simpson's Gap, which proved a better route for the line. He served in various senior Public Service positions in the Northern Territory; McMinn Street, Darwin is named for him. He married twice and was survived by three sons and two daughters.[3]
Major works
Architect
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The Mitchell Building at the University of Adelaide (1878)
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The Governor's residence at Marble Hill (1878)[1]
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The Adelaide Children's Hospital (1878)
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Mount Breckan mansion at Victor Harbor[2]
- ^ Marble Hill, Postcards
- ^ Mount Breckan, home of the Hay Family in Victor Harbor
- The Austral Hotel in Rundle Street
- Torrens Park (now Scotch College, Adelaide)[4]
Assistant
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The main building at Prince Alfred College (1867)
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The General Post Office (1867)
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The Supreme Court of South Australia, alterations (1869)
References
- ↑ 'McMinn, Gilbert Rotherdale (1841–1924)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mcminn-gilbert-rotherdale-4130/text6611, published first in hardcopy 1974, accessed online 21 February 2016.
- ↑ "William McMinn :: biography at :: at Design and Art Australia Online". Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ↑ Berry, Dean W. (1979). "Bagot, Walter Hervey (1880 - 1963)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- ↑ Wakefield Companion to South Australian History. Retrieved 25 October 2014.