Francis Greenway
Francis Greenway was an English-Australian convict and colonial architect. After being convicted of forgery in England and subsequently transported to New South Wales, Australia at age 37, Greenway was appointed the colony's official architect by Governor Lachlan Macquarie despite his convict status. Over the next two decades, Greenway designed the General Hospital, St James' Church, and the Macquarie Lighthouse. His designs incorporated neoclassical architectural principles and responded to the practical needs of the developing colony.
Life and career
Greenway was born in Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire, the son of Francis Greenway and Ann Webb. Greenway became an architect in Bristol and Bath. His only remaining building in the United Kingdom is the Clifton Club in Bristol, originally the Clifton Hotel and Assembly Rooms, although only the front facade is his work, due to bankruptcy in 1809. In 1812 he pleaded guilty to forging a financial document, and was sentenced to death; this sentence was later commuted to 14 years' transportation. It is not known why he pleaded guilty, but some believe that this was due to his bankruptcy and the dire circumstances he may have faced. Whilst awaiting deportation to Sydney, Greenway spent time in Newgate Prison, Bristol, where he painted scenes of prison life.Greenway arrived in Sydney, New South Wales, on the transport General Hewitt in February 1814 to serve his sentence. On board the ship was the surgeon Dr John Harris who was to give Greenway his first private commission in the colony which involved extending his residence on his Ultimo estate. Greenway first met Lachlan Macquarie in July 1814, to whom he had come recommended by Admiral Arthur Phillip. During the initial meeting, Macquarie sought to test Greenway by asking him to copy a design of a town hall and courthouse from a pattern book. Greenway responded with a letter asserting his professional qualifications and urging Macquarie to consider a classical design, citing Sir William Chambers. He added that he would "immediately copy the drawing Your Excellency requested me to do, notwithstanding it is rather painful to my mind as a professional man to copy a building that has no claim to classical proportion and character."
Between 1816 and 1818, while still a convict, Greenway was responsible for the design and construction of the Macquarie Lighthouse on the South Head 2 km from the entrance to Port Jackson. After the success of this project, he was emancipated by the governor Lachlan Macquarie on 16 December 1817 at the Lighthouse. In the role of Acting Civil Architect and Assistant Engineer responsible to Captain J. M. Gill, Inspector of Public Works, he went on to build many buildings in the new colony.
Greenway's works include Hyde Park Barracks, extensions to First [First First Government House, Sydney|Government House, Sydney|Government House], the stables for a projected new Government House, and St James' Church, Sydney, which was chosen as one of Australia's only two man-made 'treasures' by Dan Cruickshank in the BBC series Around the World in 80 Treasures. He submitted designs for the first Catholic church in Sydney, St Mary's but they did not match the ambitious scale envisaged by the priest Fr Therry, and were not proceeded with.
Greenway fell into disrepute when Macquarie accused him of charging high fees whilst on a government retainer, and he was dismissed by the next governor, Thomas Brisbane, in 1822. He continued to follow his profession with little success.
In 1835 he was destitute, advertising in the Sydney Gazette that "Francis Howard Greenway, arising from circumstances of a singular nature is induced again to solicit the patronage of his friends and the public".
Greenway died of typhoid near Newcastle, New South Wales in 1837, aged 59. The exact date of his death is not known. He is believed to have been buried in the Glebe burial ground at East Maitland on 25 September 1837, but his grave is unmarked.
Posthumous tributes
Greenway's face was shown on the first Australian decimal-currency $10 note.Greenway is the eponym of a NSW Federal electorate, a suburb of Canberra, and a high school in Woodberry, a suburb of Maitland.
Francis Greenway Drive in the suburb of Cherrybrook is named in his honour, as is the Vaucluse home of the Australian architect Leslie Wilkinson.
A Correctional Centre complex near Windsor, NSW is called the Francis Greenway Correctional Complex.