James Charles Cavanagh (1874 – 6 May 1957) was an Australian architect, primarily known for his work in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Early life and education

James Charles Cavanagh was born in Melbourne in 1874, the third son of an Irish born builder and contractor, John Cavanagh ( – 18 March 1895). In 1881 his family moved to Adelaide, South Australia, where his father took on a position as supervisor of public buildings in the Government Architect's Department. Cavanagh was educated at the

Christian Brothers College, Adelaide Christian Brothers College (CBC) is a private Catholic school in Adelaide, South Australia. It was founded by a group of Irish Christian Brothers in 1878, and it is now one of three Christian Brothers schools in the state. CBC is predominantly ...

and then at the

South Australian School of Art The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

, following which he was articled to his older brother,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

's, architectural practice. In 1891, Cavanagh enrolled as a student at the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

, studying at the South Kensington Academy in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He returned to Australia and continued working in his brother's office for a few years. Cavanagh then travelled in the Eastern States and in 1900 returned to

Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth most populous city in Aust ...

, where he became a partner with his brother until 1905 when he took two years off to study some more in London and travel on the continent. The firm, Cavanagh and Cavanagh, were architects and sworn valuers who undertook a number of significant projects for the Roman Catholic Church including the Bishop's Palace, Church of the Oblate Fathers in Fremantle, the Redemptorist Monastery, North Perth,

St John of God Subiaco Hospital St John of God Subiaco Hospital is a private hospital in Subiaco, Western Australia, founded in . History Archbishop of Perth Matthew Gibney invited eight sisters of St John of God to Western Australia in 1895 to help people with typhoid fever d ...

and St Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Kalgoorlie, as well as range of commercial and residential properties. In 1918, Cavanagh moved to Brisbane, where he was employed as an architectural draftsman at the

Queensland Public Works Department The Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy (CHDE), formerly the Department of Housing and Public Works, is a ministerial department within the Queensland Government, tasked with providing housing (including homelessness and buil ...

. In 1920 he established the Brisbane office of Cavanagh and Cavanagh, designing

Tara House Tara House is a heritage-listed club house at 179 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Richard Gailey and built from to 1928. It was also known as the Irish Club, which owned and op ...

(Irish Club) in Brisbane, St. Mary's Catholic Church, South Brisbane, Hibernian Hall in

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

, St Patricks Church, Gympie, and

St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Brisbane St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral is a heritage-listed cathedral at 330–334B Vulture Street, Kangaroo Point, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Gregory Mechonoshin and Cavanagh and Cavanagh and built from 1935 to 1950s by B Ro ...

. Cavanagh was the vice president of the Queensland Institute of Architects in 1930 and between 1932 and 1934. He was also the president of the Town Planning Association of Queensland between 1936 and 1939. Cavanagh died in Adelaide on 6 May 1957.

Early life and education

References

Further reading