Albert Aspinall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The stone mason and builder Albert Wood Aspinall (27 December 1839 to 15 December 1903) was an expert in constructing round towers and buildings.
Contents |
[edit] Early Constructions
Albert moved frequently to wherever his building contracts took him. Much of his early work was done in the Sydney area. For about one year in 1865 he was building in the Maitland district. It is unknown whether any of the stone buildings still standing in the area were built by him.
[edit] Penrith
Albert moved his family to Liverpool for about five years from 1876 while he constructed stone buildings in the vicinity. During this period Albert constructed the Police Station and Lockup at Penrith. For many years, the building was regarded as a historic building by the Nepean District Historical Society [[1]]. Recent expansion in Penrith meant that the buildings had to be demolished but archival material remains.
[edit] St Peters Brick Kilns
In the mid 1880s, Albert was contracted to construct the brick-firing kilns of the St Peters brick works. Some kilns were located beside the quarry next to the Illawarra train line (now filled and transformed into the Camdenville Oval). These kilns have been demolished. It is not known whether the historic brick kilns at the north-west corner of Sydney Park were also his construction.
[edit] The Scots College
In the early 1890s, Albert carried out the renovations of the New Brighton Hotel to adapt the building as a boarding school for his brother, Arthur Aspinall.
[edit] Building Green Cape Lighthouse and the Eden Post Office
Albert's longest project was the partial building of the Green Cape Lighthouse on Green Cape, at the northern tip of Disaster Bay, south of Eden. The Eden Killer Whale Museum and Historical Society [[2]] has information concerning this project and the suicide of Albert. The precinct of the lighthouse is now a historic tourist site. Information about Albert as the builder is on display.
Building the lighthouse started in the late 1870s, with the construction of a jetty and storehouse at Bittangabee Bay. Albert then spent five months building a seven-kilometre wooden tramway from Bittangabee Bay to Green Cape. Soon, Albert found that the soil and rock were unsuitable for the foundations of such a heavy structure. The foundations had to be made much deeper than he had expected. He also experienced difficulties with his hired labourers. Building the lighthouse took over 20 years, a period much longer than he had anticipated. The construction drained him financially and physically. It became necessary for him to accept other contracts elsewhere during the period of construction. Then his health began to fail. At times, Albert was forced to spend time in Pambula Hospital. Eventually it all became too much for him. He committed suicide. Graphic details from the period are still held by the museum. Albert's creditors completed the lighthouse.
In the late 1880s, Albert also constructed the Post Office at Eden. It was officially opened in 1891. The Post Office is now a historic building.
[edit] Ill Health and a Patent
Albert found drinking a herbal tea made from an infusion of the leaves of the coastal sea box Alyxia buxifolis helped his medical condition. He applied for and secured the patent for this herbal tea.
[edit] Background and Family
Albert was born in Exley Bank Bottom, Southowram, WRY, England and died in Eden, New South Wales. He is buried in the Eden Cemetery. The Eden newspapers contained lengthy articles about the death of Albert.
Albert came to Australia in 1857 with his parents, John Aspinall and Sarah (nee Ingham), and siblings, aboard the Mary Ann. He was their the third, but second surviving son. In 1864, Albert married Mary Jane Bennett with whom he had thirteen children, seven of whom lived into adulthood. His only son did not have children. Mary died in 1886. In 1887 Albert married a widow from Eden, Eliza Silk (nee Marshall). The marriage did not last, however.
A grandson, James Goyen, and a great-grandson, Charles Mannins, also became builders. Both had a suburban Syney street named after them.
[edit] John Ingham Aspinall
Albert's elder brother, John, was also a stone mason of note, both in Australia and in New Zealand. His early constructions were in the Newtown-Camperdown-Enmore area. Some of the stone buildings still standing in these areas may have been constructed by John, but rarely is the name of a builder retained for a building.
The cream sandstone house, "Arden Lea", which John built for his son, still stands. The house is nestled at the foot of a cliff on what was a large property at 8 View Street, Woolwich. When John's daughter-in-law died the property was sold and sub-divided. Aspinall Place, off View Street, was named after the family. Access to the house was lost until stairs were constructed from Werambie Street whence the address was altered to 1a Werambie Street, Woolwich.
[edit] References
- Andrew, Phillipa A Built To Last: the stories of John and Thomas Aspinall and their descendants. Privately Published.
- ISBN/ISSN 0 646 34463 3: available in the library of The Society of Australian Genealogists, Sydney and the State Library of NSW.
