William Crocker Cornish
From Graces Guide
born in Cornwall
Cornish arrived in Melbourne in September 1852 and 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)
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