Edward Bartley
Edward Bartley was a Jersey-born New Zealand architect. Beginning as a builder, Bartley transitioned into a career as an architect, not an uncommon occurrence in the 19th century. He is responsible for designing more than 20 churches and some of Auckland's most notable buildings.
Life and career
Early life
Bartley was born to Robert Bartley and Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Benest in Saint Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands.The Bartley family lived in a tight-knit community in Saint Helier. They also had family connections on the island of Guernsey, mainland Europe and in the United States. The Bartley family resided in a home in Union Court, St Helier – a short lane running off the north side of Union Street. The family home was designed and built by Edward Bartley's father, Robert Bartley.
Edward Bartley was the tenth child born to his parents. Bartley's parents had twelve children, however, only five would survive through childhood.
The Bartley children were well educated according to standards of the time. Bartley received lessons in drawing, drafting, music, calculation, languages, classics and mathematics. Bartley also acquired a taste for science and technologies which were advancing rapidly at the time. In particular, the advancements made in the development of the microscope, and in photography, were of interest to him all his life.
Immigration to New Zealand and career beginnings
The Bartley children were well educated, according to the standards of the day. Edward received a solid grounding in drawing, drafting, music and calculation, in addition to the languages, classics and mathematics. He had also acquired a taste for the new science and technologies, which were developing swiftly at that time. In particular the advancements made in the development of the microscope, and in photography, continued to interest him all his life.Edward Bartley began his career as an apprentice to his father, at the age of thirteen. In this field, he followed his older brother, Robert, who had already qualified as a master builder.
After two years, Edward Bartley left Jersey having acquired some work experience and the sale-able skills of building and carpentry.
Bartley made the decision to leave Jersey due to the flat local economy which had resulted in no further public building projects.
Bartley's father, Robert, was of an age to retire. He had also contracted tuberculosis, a disease which had already claimed the lives of several family members.
In June 1854, Edward Bartley departed from London with his older brother Robert and his family with their sights set on New Zealand. There were a number of destinations available to immigrate to, but the possibility of land grants to approved settlers may have tipped the balance in favour of the Bartley brothers choosing to immigrate to New Zealand. The Auckland local government was keen to attract immigrants and had advertised in the British Isles the opportunity to receive free grants of land in the Auckland area.
Having made their plans to leave Jersey one year prior to their departure, the Bartley brothers would have felt their decision a timely one. In March of that same year, conditions in Europe had begun to deteriorate, leading ultimately to Britain declaring war against the Russian Empire.
Bartley accompanied his brother, Robert, to London – along with them followed Esther Kerby, wife of Robert Bartley, their young children and their possessions.
The Bartley brothers set sail for New Zealand on 20 June 1854 aboard the Joseph Fletcher. After a passage of 115 days, the Bartleys reached New Zealand in early October.
Auckland in 1854 was no sophisticated port settlement. In the absence of a wharf, the ships anchored midstream. Passengers and goods were transferred to lighters and run ashore on to the beach to disembark. In some weathers this could be a hazardous and nerve-wracking end to a long sea journey, especially so for parents of young children who had been penned up for several months. From the beach, the fortunate acquired drays to transport themselves and their possessions further into the town, the usual disembarking point being approximately the corner of the present day Queen Street and Shortland Streets.
There was an abundance of building work available in Auckland. The primary obstacle in building then was the scarcity of materials. Men with good training, who could easily adapt to colonial methods were desperately needed. Men who were not above dressing their own timber in order to get the job done. It was hard physical work that was waiting to be done and there was plenty of it.
Bartley himself recorded his reminiscences of his first experience of this new environment:
"We landed on a Thursday and commenced work on the following Monday, our first employer being A. Black, who was about to erect a building of five two-storey shops on the corner of Queen and Victoria Street East for J.S. McFarlane. We started by placing into position wood blocks for the foundations, after which we proceeded with the wood framework, all of which work was so strange to us as joiners and so vastly different to the employment we had been accustomed to at home. "There were no timber mills and therefore all the boards had to be hand planed and the tongue and groove worked by hand. This was termed 'flogging the boards' and I found it anything but easy work to be constantly employed at from 6 o'clock in the morning until 6 in the evening".
By 1857, Bartley was working with a Mr E.I. Matthews, a retired office of the Royal Engineers Department. In that year, they began work on the Mount Eden Gaol, under the supervision of architect Reader Wood. Bartley noted the extent of freedom allowed to the prisoners laboring on the site and their enterprise, particularly a shoemaker who undertook repairs to the worker's boots, for which payment was lodged with the authorities for collection at the completion of his term of detention.
The 1858 Militia Act
The 1858 Militia Act had divided the country into military districts and a system of ballot was introduced. Allowances were made, however, for men to substitute service in volunteer companies in satisfaction of their militia duties and a great number did so, enabling a continuation of business and trade while satisfying their obligations to the nation's defence. Edward became a member of the Royal Rifle Company of Volunteers. Establishing himself in steady employment in Auckland as a builder, he married in February, 1859.The following year was a tumultuous one, both at home and abroad. The first battle of the Taranaki Wars at Waitara took place in March. Tension peaked around the country. By 1861 Governor Browne was still making heavy weather of the crisis in New Zealand. It would be September before Governor Grey arrived in Auckland to take command. By this time the American Civil War was underway and the growing international tensions made it difficult for the Governor to press his case for further resources.
While all of this was well reported and debated in Auckland, building work continued steadily. The escalation of war assured it. Even the discovery of gold in Otago had not yet had an economic impact on the town, although wealth and influence were already moving inexorably southwards.
In 1862 Edward was now foreman for Mr Matthews and was engaged with his employer in demolishing the original St Paul's Anglican Church in Emily Place. Edward recalled that Colonel Mould of the Royal Engineers was the architect and the design was highly regarded. The colonel was a man of many talents. Active in the Taranaki, he returned to Auckland and set about organising recruitment, as well as supervising the provision of more satisfactory roads, so essential for improving troop movement to the Waikato. Edward now became Orderly-Sergeant of the No 5 Militia.
Wreck of Orpheus
The next year brought with it a great deal of tension and activity. It was, however, events on the sea, not land, which brought trauma and sadness to the town. Today it is difficult to appreciate the extent of the shock and grieving which affected Auckland when news came of the wreck of HMS Orpheus on 7 February. A subscription was immediately taken up in the town for the relief of personal hardship occasioned by the tragedy and the newspapers of the day gave considerable coverage to the event and its aftermath.In his memoirs Edward wrote:
"I remember the wreck of the HMS Orpheus 7 February 1863, which took place on the Manukau Bar. The first we knew of the affair was by seeing drayloads of sailors being brought into Auckland. Commodore Burnett and 189 officers and men were drowned and for days after the wreck bodies were being washed ashore. Three officers succeeded in reaching the shore on a plank of teak from the wreck, and from this I made for them several mementoes such as picture frames, paper knives... "
It was over the winter of 1863 that a war mentality began to characterise the Auckland community. Edward was ordered to the front that July, but his active service was short-lived. Eleven tradesmen were required to return to complete the Fort Britomart stores, as capacity was fast being outstripped by demand.
Mr Matthews and Edward, now aged 26, entered into a partnership in 1865 as Matthews and Bartley Builders. It was a difficult time for any new venture. The capital had been removed from Auckland in February, with the attendant loss of personnel and government contracts.
The goldfields of the south continued to pull people away to those areas of the country with more promise of wealth and few "native" concerns. The removal of the bulk of British troops was by now inevitable, no matter how much decried by the Auckland businessmen and speculators. The partnership, however, seemed fortunate in regular contracts. The Wesleyan Church in Pitt Street was one such, being completed and opened in October 1866. The Supreme Court building was another.