John George Knight
| John George Knight | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1826 London, England |
| Died | 10 January 1892 (aged 65) Darwin, Australia |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Awards |
Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects |
| Buildings | Houses of Parliament (Melbourne) |
| Projects | Gilded Pyramid |
Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects
Melbourne ship canal and docks
John George Knight (1826 – 10 January 1892), was an architect and Administrator of the Northern Territory, Australia.
Knight was born in London the son of John Knight, a stone and marble merchant. Knight became an engineer and for a time was superintendent of works for his father.
He arrived in Melbourne, Australia in February 1852 and after a week on the goldfields, joined the Public Works Department. Although earning a large salary, Knight did not stay long in the public service. On resigning he began to practise as an architect in partnership with a Mr Kemp. A third partner, Peter Kerr, was added to the firm, but Kemp soon afterwards returned to England.
The original design of Parliament House, Melbourne was entrusted to Knight and Kerr, and in 1856 the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council chambers were built. Knight was the senior partner and there seems to have been a tradition that the design was really his. Thirty-five years later the writer of Knight's obituary notice in the South Australian Register who appeared to speak with knowledge said: "Parliament house ... is a monument to Mr Knight's artistic genius and his cleverness in planning its construction". In 1859 Knight with Captain Pasley reported on the estimated cost of completing the building with different kinds of stone, but after the completion of the parliamentary library building in 1860, nothing more was done for 17 years, when Knight had left Victoria. Peter Kerr was then appointed architect and prepared a new design for the west facade, and for the grand hall and vestibule which was adopted.
Knight ceased practising as an architect in or about the year 1860, and in 1861 organized an exhibition held in Melbourne of the Victorian exhibits for the London exhibition of 1862. Knight took these exhibits to London and arranged them most successfully. In 1866 he again arranged an exhibition in Melbourne of articles from Victoria which were sent to Paris for the exhibition of 1867, with Knight as secretary of the Victorian section. About this period he was also appointed a lecturer in civil engineering at the University of Melbourne.
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