Albert Purchas
| Albert Purchas | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1825 Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales |
| Died | 26 September 1909 (aged 83–84) Kew, Victoria |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Buildings | Berkeley Hall, St Kilda; St George's Presbyterian Church, East St Kilda; Glenara Homestead, Bulla |
Albert Purchas (1825 – 1909) was an English-born architect, surveyor, inventor and officer in the Victorian volunteer army who was prominent and prolific in Melbourne, Victoria in the late nineteenth century.
Albert Purchas was born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales in 1825, the son of Robert Whittlesey Purchas and Marianne Guyon.
Purchas emigrated to Melbourne in about 1851. He was married on 1 Nov 1854 at St Kilda, Victoria, to Eliza Anne (abt 1825–1869), the eldest daughter of Robert Swyer, of Kersal, Lancashire. He soon established a private practice in Melbourne as a civil engineer and architect. He obtained a position as contract surveyor under Surveyor-General Robert Hoddle, but disagreed with Hoddle over the line for St Kilda Road, appealing to Governor La Trobe, and successfully getting the road diverted around a prominent hill which eventually became the site of the Shrine of Remembrance.
Albert and Eliza had a large family with 10 children, although several died as children. Their children included Robert Guyon Whittlesey Purchas (6 September 1862 – 4 June 1940); Edith Matilda; Marian Eliza Purchas (abt 1855-Abt 1875); Claude Albert Guyon Purchas (Abt 1857-); Violet Purchas (Abt 1860-Abt 1875); Beatrice Purchas (abt 1864-1864); Lillian Purchas (Abt 1864-1864); Ethel Annie Purchas (Abt 1865-Abt 1938); Adeline Purchas (Abt 1867-Abt 1867); Elaine Alberta Purchas (Abt 1868-Abt 1891).
Purchas played a prominent role in public life, serving as a member of the Royal Victoria Yeomanry Corps, and holding the position of Captain in the Victorian Volunteer Force, Officer Commanding the Metropolitan Troop of the Prince of Wales Light Horse. He was a member of the Acclimatisation society from 1862 1909, and responsible for laying out the Melbourne Zoological Gardens in Royal Park, Melbourne in 1862, where he also designed the elephant house, other buildings, and laid out the fence.
Purchas produced one of the few published maps and compilations of the early pastoral settlers runs in Victoria in 1853 In the same year he designed the Melbourne General Cemetery and took the role of secretary of the Cemetery Trust from 1852 to 1907. He was also Chairman of the Boroondara General Cemetery Board of Trustees 1867 to 1909, and had an important role in designing the landscape of the cemetery. He also designed many of the features of the cemetery including the cast iron entrance gates (1889), the rotunda (1890) and the surrounding ornamental brick wall (1895–6), as well as various additions to the original 1860 Cottage in the period 1866–1899 including the clock tower.
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