Archer, John Lee (1791-1852), an Irish civil engineer and architect, planned many of Tasmania’s oldest buildings. He planned the churches of Old Trinity, Richmond, Bothwell, Hamilton, Battery Point, Stanley, and St. John’s in New Town. His best-known public buildings are the Ordnance Stores, Public Buildings, and Launceston Court House. His Custom House now houses the Tasmanian parliament. He planned part of Anglesea Barracks and the Ross Bridge. He also planned lighthouses at Low Head and Cape Bruny.
Archer was born on April 26, 1791, in Ireland. After working as an architect and surveyor in London, he returned to Ireland, where he worked on churches and on Dublin’s Royal Canal. Archer was appointed civil engineer in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1827. He died on Dec. 4, 1852.
