Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 7 May 1938, page 21


AN UNTRAINED

ARCHITECT.

Edmund Blacket and

His Work.

By Una Wood.

Edmund Blacket, the architect for St. Andrew's Cathedral, had no archi-tectural training as a youth. He was on his way from London to New Zea-

land in 1842 when Bishop Broughton and other important Sydney people to whom he had letters of introduction advised him to stay here.

Blacket was born in London on August 25, 1817. His father, a merchant, wanted him to go into the business, but he had other ambitions. He hoped to become an architect, and to that end spent his leisure in studying and sketching English architecture. After working with the Stockton Darlington Rail-way Company he decided to emigrate with his young wife.

His first work as an architect was the build-ing of his own home in Old South Head Road. There he began his career in 1845, using a

front room as an office. Having had no architectural training, he had to rely on his

sketch book and his memory for models. In 1850 he became Colonial Architect at a salary of £300 a year. Gabo Island lighthouse was planned by him during this time. While he was Colonial Architect, he continued his pri-vate practice, but without accepting any re-muneration, it being against his principles to do so. His salary was inadequate, and he found it worth while to resign after being given the planning of Sydney University. The main building was begun in 1856, and completed

about 1860.

Liked and Respected.

In 1852 Blacket moved to The Glebe. At that time the thickly timbered district in which his home stood had such a bad name that he found it necessary to have an escort. The Glebe made rapid progress, in which he took an active part. He became a member of its first council, and was an alderman for nine years.

From 1871 to 1882 Blacket, lived in Balmain, first in Darling Street, then in Booth Street. The house in Booth Street later became the Balmain Cottage Hospital. The site is now occupied by portion of the Balmain and Dis-trict Hospital. He died on February 9, 1883, at Petersham, where he and his family had moved the year before.

Blacket had eight children, one son, Cyril, being associated with him in the building of St. Andrew's. Cyril Blacket was the first lecturer in architecture at Sydney University

(1883-1886).

Photographs of Edmund Blacket show a pleasing, intelligent face, with well-defined features. He was liked and respected by all who knew him. His leisure hours were spent in reading the classics, listening to music (for which he had a great love), and in wood-carving. He was interested in the tuning of peals of bells and in the construction of organs. Before he left England he had built an organ for the Wesleyan Church at Stokes-ley and a town clock that was in use for thirty years.

Although Blacket's buildings included banks, offices, and private houses (one of which was "Grantham," Potts Point), he is best remem-bered for his ecclesiastical architecture. He built over one hundred churches. Some of the best known are: St. Andrew's Cathedral; Goulburn Cathedral; St. Phillip's, Church Hill; Christ Church, Sydney; St. Mark's, Darling Point; All Saints', Woollahra; St. John's, Glebe; St. John's, Darlinghurst; and St. Paul's, Redfern. It is evident that we are indebted to him for many of Sydney's finest churches.

His Masterpiece.

Sydney University is his masterpiece. It has been claimed that the Great Hall of the University is "the most distinguished example of Gothic architecture in Australia." Its noble stone, stained glass and tapestries, give it an impressiveness that few Australian build-ings possess. The other University building planned by Blacket was St. Paul's College, an attractive example of his work.

St. Andrew's Cathedral had been started be-fore he became its architect. On September 1, 1819, Governor Macquarie had laid the foun-dation stone on what is now George Street, and work was begun immediately. It was his intention to build a large Cathedral even though Sydney had as yet no bishop. His actions on this and other matters proving unpopular, complaints were made to the Bri-tish Government, and Commissioner Bigge was sent out to investigate. He disapproved of a cathedral, and advised that parish churches should be built first.

When Archdeacon Broughton became the first bishop in 1836 the position was altered. He favoured the building of a cathedral. As the road had encroached on the Church pro-perty, the foundation stone laid by Governor Macquarie was taken up and relaid by Governor Bourke on May 16, 1837. The de-sign suggested had one tower and was quite different from the one later adopted.

A drought followed by a financial depres-sion, caused the work to be left in abeyance for some time. A movement for completion of the cathedral led to the resumption of work in 1846, with Blacket as architect. He improved the entire plan. In 1868 St. Andrew's was opened, although not yet finished. A picture of the cathedral in 1870 shows no towers, but by 1874 it was completed.

Sydney Sandstone.

St. Andrew's is small for a cathedral. The total internal length is only 157 feet, and the width 61 feet. It can accommodate only 1,500, or 2,000 in an emergency, and is, therefore, quite inadequate for a city of over a million people. Movements for its enlargement which began in the 'eighties, have culminated in the present scheme.

St. Andrew's Cathedral is built of Sydney sandstone. The stone used at first came from Flagstaff Hill, while later, stone was obtained from Pyrmont. The length of time taken in building — the walls stood unfinished for years — left its mark on the masonry. The four main pillars of the Cathedral are not exactly perpendicular, and the transepts appear too high for their width, which is only 14 feet 7 inches. The superstructure for which Blacket was responsible, is at a disadvantage through these faults, but the detail is good and the grouping effective. The building has a dignity which makes it representative of the best in

the Gothic revival.

Sydney people feel an affection for St. Andrew's, and would like to see it preserved as far as possible. This feeling was shown in the earnestness of the recent controversy now in progress. Whatever is decided with re-gard to the Cathedral, New South Wales is indebted to Edmund Blacket for much work which, for artistic feeling, compares with the best done in England during the same period.