Cobden Parkes (1892-1978) was the youngest son of noted federal politician Sir Henry Parkes and was employed in the Government Architects Branch as a cadet in 1909. After serving in the First World War, he convalesced for some years before rejoining the branch in 1920. Appointed in 1935, he was the first Government Architect to be fully trained within the office. Before the Second World War, he fostered significant design changes in hospitals and increased defence construction, including bomb shelters in public buildings. After the war, his branch began to import pre-fab aluminium buildings from Britain for building schools and hospitals. During the 1950s, there were substantial increases of funding for public buildings – especially universities, technical colleges and residential colleges, and in recreational and welfare buildings. Parkes retired in 1958, almost 50 years after joining the branch.
Sources
—NSW Government Architect’s Office and website www.govarch.nsw.gov.au
- Writers:
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- Date written:
- 2015
- Last updated:
- 2015
