Rowland Rees (25 September 1840 - 13 October 1904) was an Australian architect, civil engineer and politician. Born in Gibraltar and educated in Hong Kong and Sheffield, he moved to Adelaide in 1869. In November 1870 he married Ada Caroline, daughter of an Adelaide solicitor. [1]
He began his architectural practice immediately upon arriving in the colony, initially in partnership with Thomas English. His work was usually characterised by bold decorative elements such as capitals, pilasters and pediments.
He was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly as member for Burra (1873-81) and Onkaparinga (1882-90). He advanced liberal ideas, such as free education, the regulation (rather than banning) of gambling, and equal divorce rights for women. Rees was a member of the South Australian Institute from 1878, and helped to select works for the South Australian State Collection.