C. E. Owen Smyth

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.

[2] Although not an architect, Smyth had considerable influence in the design, construction and maintenance of South Australia’s public buildings.

[3] Public buildings supervised by Smyth include Withall and Wells' Jubilee Exhibition Building (1887), the north wing extension of the South Australian Museum and the Art Gallery of South Australia, the South Australian School of Mines and Industries (1903), the Thebarton Mounted Police Barracks, Port Road, Thebarton, the Margaret Graham Nurses' Home (1910–1911) on Frome Road, the Magill Home, the Bedford Park Sanatorium, and the Torrens Parade Ground.

In 1921 Smyth sailed to England with the intention of living there but returned to South Australia in 1923, writing a series of reminiscences of the department and its staff, which were published in the newspapers.

[3] During World War I, he took a great interest in the welfare of serving soldiers, and gave much of his time, influence and expertise to the Cheer-Up Society.