Edmund Blacket 1817-1883

Born in England, as a young man Blacket spent a year sketching and recording details of English mediaeval church architecture, before emigrating to New South Wales in 1842. He served as Colonial Architect from 1849-1854, when he resigned to work on buildings for the new University of Sydney. Later his son Cyril joined him to form Blacket and Son.
Not surprisingly, given his background, Blacket favoured the Gothic styles he had studied in his youth. Sydney abounds in his work: notable examples are the neogothic Quadrangle at Sydney University, St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney, and the Colonial Regency style Bidura, 357 Glebe Point Road, Blacket’s home.
For more detail on Blacket and a critical assessment of his work, see the Australian Dictionary of Biography.