Edmund Anscombe

Edmund Anscombe was one of the most important figures to shape the architectural and urban fabric of New Zealand. He was important, not only because of the prolific nature of his practice and the quality of his work, but also because of the range and the scale of his built and speculative projects. These extended from conventional essays to monumental urban schemes informed by his international travel, especially in America. His influence was specifically felt in Dunedin, Wellington and Hastings, yet he also realised projects in Alexandra, Invercargill, Palmerston, Palmerston North, Rotorua, Waimate North and Wanaka. His key works include the 192526 NZ and South Seas International Exhibition, the 1940 New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, the Herd Street Post and Telegraph building, Anscombe Flats, the Empire Deluxe theatre and his work on the clocktower complex including specifically the Archway Building and Marama Hall effectively reconceiving the design of the University of Otagos h

Anscombe was born onFebruary 1874 in Lindfield, Sussex, England. His parents Edmund and Eliza Anscombe emigrated onJune 1874 to New Zealand on the Christian McAusland in the assisted immigration scheme. They arrived in Dunedin with sevenmonthold Edmund and his twoyearold sister Eliza. His father is described as a carpenter agedyears old from Sussex. His mother was 28. They arrived in Otago, New Zealand onSeptember 1874. His sister Edith Violet was born in Dunedin onApril 1885.

Source: Wikipedia