Cherry, Walter

CHERRY, Walter (c1842–1899) was born at Bethnal Green, Middlesex, England, fifth of seven sons of nine children (in 1853) of James William Cherry, a carpenter, later a carver and gilder, and Elizabeth Foster. The family arrived in Victoria in April 1853, but by 1860 as miners and puddlers at Amherst in Victoria’s Central Goldfields, his father and two brothers were insolvent, blamed on insufficient water. In the early 1860s Walter studied mathematics at John Victor’s Collegiate School at Ballarat (forerunner of Federation University), participating in an excerpt from ‘Macbeth’ in a dramatic entertainment at the College in 1865. After passing an examination for contract surveyors in 1866, he was licensed to undertake Government surveys and by December was working as a temporary assistant in the mining registrar’s office at Gordon, a gold field on the road to Ballarat from Melbourne. By 1867, he was working in the office of Thomas Cowan, mining surveyor, Ballarat when he gave evidence in a murder trial. With an address c/- “Mining Surveyor’s office, Camp” by July 1868, Cherry also called tenders for commercial buildings including bluestone and brick stores and a brick shop. After he qualified as a mining surveyor in 1870, Cherry advertised as an architect, mining and contract surveyor of Lynn’s Chamber, Lydiard St, Ballarat. In 1882, he may have taken a job as a teacher in a provisional school at Caragaball while considering moving to New South Wales. In July he advertised in Sydney for some active men and draftsmen for a surveyor’s camp in the country, but this may not have eventuated. Instead, he moved to Queensland where in May 1885, he was associated with JW WILSON on mining surveys for the Mount Holly Gold Mining Company, at Raglan, near Rockhampton. Earlier at Ballarat, Cherry may have known Wilson and FE CLEWETT, a director of the Company who was succeeded by Wilson. The mine failed but Cherry remained at Rockhampton, presumably as an employee, in 1887 as an assistant to FJ BYERLEY, when he prepared a design for an Inn to be built by Patrick Egan. An alternative design by James FLINT was preferred. From 1890, Cherry taught architectural drawing classes at the Technical College. In November 1892, he won a competition for a new School of Arts at Rockhampton. His winning design, carried out with amendments and supervised by JW WILSON opened in March 1894. Premises he shared with CF BLAIN were destroyed by fire in 1898. His death a year later passed without mention.