James Barnet

James Johnstone Barnet (1827-1904) was born in Scotland and as a young lad studied drawing, design and architecture in London. In 1854 James and his wife Amy decided to start a new life in Australia. They packed up their possessions and arrived in Sydney. A few years later Barnet joined the Colonial Architects office. Five years later in 1865 he became New South Wales Colonial Architect.

Things you may not know about James Barnet

He was the first architect to install a telephone in a government office (what a mistake that was !).

In his career Barnet designed 169 post and telegraph offices, 130 courthouses and several hundred public buildings throughout the State.