Forrester & Lemon
Forrester & Lemon were an architectural community based in Oamaru, New Zealand . Many of the buildings in the historic city center, which are now listed buildings, were constructed from the white limestone Oamaru Stone according to their designs . They shaped the character of this historic district.
The architectural office was founded in Oamaru in 1872.
Shareholder
Irishman Thomas Forrester (* 1838 in Glasgow , † 1907) studied at the Glasgow School of Art before emigrating to New Zealand in 1861. He worked in Dunedin under William Mason (1810–1897) and William Henry Clayton (1823–1877) and later under Robert Arthur Lawson (1833–1902). In 1865 he was responsible for the Dunedin Exhibition . From 1870 he was responsible for monitoring construction work in the port. After 1885 he became an engineer on the Oamaru Harbor Board and officially remained so until his death. As such, repairs to the breakwater after a storm in 1886 and Holmes Wharf were among his work. His son John Megget Forrester later took over the office.
The Jamaican John Lemon (1828–1890) emigrated to New Zealand via England in 1849. With his brother Charles, he settled in Oamaru in 1860 and became a timber merchant. From 1869 to 1872 he ran the company Timber and General Merchants, Land and Commission Agents with his father-in-law George Sumpter . After this partnership ended, he worked with Forrester. John Lemon had no experience in architecture, but had business contacts and organizational skills.
John Meggett Forrester (1866 in Oamaru, † 1965) grew up in Oamaru and studied at the Oamaru Grammar School. Like his father, he became an architect and took over the office after Lemons death in 1890. His works include the Opera House (1907), the Borough Council building, the World War I Memorial, and the Waitaki Boys High School Memorial Hall . Ivan Steenson became his partner in 1919 and retired in 1931. In addition to his architectural work, he was also active in the city's social life. He was for many years a justice of the peace , sat on the council of Borough Oamaru (1913-1933), from 1931 to 1933 he was mayor. Based on a legacy in his will to found an art gallery for North Otago, the Forrester Gallery was established in 1983 in the former Bank of New South Wales building .
Works
(all in Oamaru)
- JG Fletts Bookstore / Royal Alfred Lodge (1873)
- AH Maude's Stores (warehouse, 1875)
- Exchange Chambers (office building, 1875)
- Home for David Miller (1875)
- St. Paul's Church (Church, 1875–76)
- Oamaru Harbor Board Office (Port Authority Building, 1876)
- Meek's Grain Store (warehouse, 1876)
- Criterion Hotel (Hotel, 1877)
- Bank of New Zealand Building (Bank, 1978)
- Union Bank of Australia Building (Bank, 1878)
- Sumpter's Grain Store (1878)
- Old Northern Hotel (Hotel, 1880)
- Queen's Hotel (later Brydone Hotel) (1881)
- Connell and Clowe's Store (1881)
- Neill Brothers' Store (warehouse, 1882)
- Oamaru Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute (1882)
- Columba Presbyterian Church (1883)
- Waitaki Boys' High School (1883)
- Oamaru Courthouse (courthouse, 1982-1883)
- Meeks Grain Elevator Building (warehouse, 1883)
- Oamaru Mail Office (1884)
- Oamaru Post Office (1884)
- Custom House (Customs House , 1884)
- AMP Society Building (office building, 1886)
- Municipal Chambers and Opera House (1907)
- St. Luke's Vicarage (around 1909)
- Waitaki Boys' High School Memorial Hall (1927)
- Waitaki Girls High School (1928)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Abstract of Forrester & Lemon on the New Zealand Historic Trust website , accessed May 5, 2012.
- ↑ Brief John Meggett Forrester on the website of the New Zealand Historic Trust , accessed on 5 May 2012 Design.