Name Charles Smyth | Died October 1, 1925 | |
Charles Edward Owen Smyth CMG (1 January 1851–1 October 1925) was an Irish-born Australian civil servant.
Owen Smyth was born in Ferrybank, County Kilkenny, the son of a naval architect. He was educated at Erasmus Smith High School, Dublin, and then travelled the world as a sailor and house painter before settling in Australia in 1873. He spent two years as a builder's foreman and manager in Victoria before moving to Adelaide and joining the civil service in May 1876. He was appointed clerk to the architect Edward J. Woods, and remained with him when he was appointed Architect-in-Chief of South Australia in 1878.
In 1886, Owen Smyth was appointed superintendent of the new Works and Buildings Department, which he headed for the rest of his career until his retirement in 1920. He supervised the construction of, among other notable buildings, the Exhibition Building, the Museum and Art Gallery of South Australia, Magill Home, Bedford Park Sanatorium, Thebarton Mounted Police Barracks, the South Australian School of Mines and Industries, and the Torrens Parade Ground.
Owen Smyth was always an ardent imperialist, was active in several imperialist and patriotic organisations, and made sure portraits of the monarch were hung in all notable locations within his buildings. His eldest son was killed at Gallipoli during the First World War. Smyth was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours.