Robert George ThomasFRIBA was a draftsman and architect in the British colony of South Australia. He drew the original plans for the City of Adelaide and was later responsible for the design and execution of some of its significant buildings, including several churches in a Gothic style.
History
Thomas was the eldest son of newspaperman Robert Thomas, and was articled as a draftsman to George Strickland Kingston, who was appointed by the South Australian Company to accompany Colonel William Light to South Australia. Light's brief was to select and survey a site for the city of Adelaide, and survey it ready for sale to speculators and prospective residents. They were part of the "First Fleet of South Australia" of 1836: Light was on the Rapid, but Thomas was with Kingston, aboard Cygnet, which arrived in South Australia a month after Rapid, much to Light's annoyance. The sixteen-year-old Thomas was confusingly also listed as a passenger on the Rapid. His parents and brother Robert Kyffin Thomas were also in the "First Fleet" aboard, to set up the colony's first newspaper, the South Australian Register, and print the Government Gazette. It was Thomas, a "very clever penman" who drew the first map of Adelaide and North Adelaide. Light left the employ of the South Australian Company in 1838 and founded a private firm, Light, Finniss & Co., with Thomas as a partner, to act as purchasing agents and surveyors and to provide expert assistance to prospective landowners, and to Local Government bodies. The company was dissolved on the death of Light in October 1839. Thomas then worked as secretary for Kingston, who succeeded Light as Surveyor-General, at the same time working as architect on the original Adelaide Hospital. Although he had no formal training as an architect, he demonstrated considerable aptitude and gained experience in 1845 designing business premises, then in April 1846, he left with fellow architect W. P. James aboard the Cleveland for Britain, where the recent boom in railway construction had put a premium on experienced architects. James and Thomas had worked together on the design of a bridge, whose failure was blamed on their design, and the resulting controversy may have precipitated their departure. Thomas worked as surveyor and architect in Newport, Monmouthshire; he designed the Gothic entrance to the Cardiff Cemetery, and its Mortuary Chapels. He married Charlotte Tuckett in 1856, and they had several children while still in Britain. They returned to Adelaide aboard the Eizabeth Ann in June 1861, after a rather long passage of 101 days, towards the end of which Mrs. Thomas gave birth to a boy. During his absence from the colony he had qualified as Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects, and lost no time in establishing a practice on King William Street at the Gresham Street corner. Thomas's first big contract was for design and oversight of the new Flinders Street Baptist Church, where the first service was held in April 1863. He designed another Baptist chapel, completed the following year, in Alberton. His next major project was the Stow Memorial Church, where the first services were held in April 1867. Thomas was appointed Assistant Government Architect in June 1866 as deputy to the Government Engineer William Hanson. Shortly after, the department was reorganized and he was designated Government Architect at a salary of £600 per annum. The position was abolished in September 1870 and Thomas returned to private practice. His achievements during this time include the Supreme Court building, the Magill Orphanage, Mount Gambier Hospital, the Sailors' Home at Port Adelaide, and the Parkside Lunatic Asylum and oversaw construction of the General Post Office, designed by Wright, Woods & Hamilton.. Thomas was obliged, as a cost saving measure, to redesign the tower at a reduced height. He resumed private practice, but the only substantial buildings for which he was responsible in this period were St. Augustine's church inUnley, which he designed in 1864, and the Port Adelaide Institute on Commercial Road, Port Adelaide in 1875. Lack of finance meant the foundation stone for St. Augustine's was not laid until August 1869, and its supervising architect was the Hon. Thomas English MLC. Thomas served as Secretary to the Central Board of Health from 1874 and died at home in Unley after a protracted illness.
Other interests
He was a fine amateur artist, with watercolors his specialty.
File:Stow Memorial Church, Flinders Street, Adelaide SLSA B-1941.jpeg|Stow Memorial Church File:Supreme Court of South Australia.jpg|Supreme Court building File:AdelaideGPO.jpeg|Adelaide GPO
