William Crocker Cornish
William Crocker Cornish (1815-1859) of Cornish and Bruce
1815 Born in Cornwall the son of William Crocker Cornish, carpenter, and his wife Mary Bennett.
1852 Migrated to Melbourne in the Kent and arrived in September
Soon obtained his first contract, for the Melbourne General Post Office in 1853. this was followed by other public buildings including the Geelong Post Office and Geelong Customs House in April 1855, and then in 1856 the Melbourne Houses of Parliament, for a contract worth more than £50,000. Cornish clashed with trade unions over his demand that his workers work a ten-hour day despite all other contractors having accepted the union claim for an eight-hour day. Cornish then had contracts for the Castlemaine and Melbourne gaols (1857) and Bank of New South Wales building in Melbourne (1858)
1859 March 31st. Died at his Brighton home and survived by his wife Jane, née Rowell, and six of their seven children.
1867 May 7th. His widow Jane died at Petty's Hotel, Sydney.[1]
See Also
Sources of Information
- ↑ The Argus (Melbourne) 1867/05/08