Samuel Farr
New Zealand architect (1827-1918) · New Zealand · On the map · Architects · Died at 91
Samuel Charles Farr was a 19th-century builder and architect in Christchurch, New Zealand. He intended to emigrate from England to Auckland, but significant shipping problems saw him end up in Akaroa in 1850 instead. From 1862, he lived in Christchurch.
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Photos 7
Augustus White's Blythcliffe in Akaroa
Oil painting by Farr of Akaroa, looking towards Children's Bay, around 1860
The octagonal corner room of Cranmer Court collapsed in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake
St Paul's Church also collapsed in the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake
Te Wepu (now Merivale Manor) on Papanui Road was built for Henry Richard Webb
Christchurch's first two town halls, with the timber building the first and the stone building on its right the one designed by FarrAbout this person
Farr has a number of firsts against his name: the first marriage in Canterbury, he designed Akaroa's first church, designed New Zealand's first iron verandahs, and he started Sunday schools in Canterbury. As a leading member of the Acclimatisation Society, he stocked almost every lake and river in Canterbury with fish and was instrumental in introducing the bumblebee to New Zealand. His most notable building was Cranmer Court, the former Normal School, in the Christchurch Central City; this building was demolished following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
