Christian Toxward

Christian Toxward
Toxward in Danish consul uniform, 1870s
Born(1831-11-26)November 26, 1831
DiedSeptember 30, 1891(1891-09-30) (aged 59)
CitizenshipNaturalised British citizen (1867)
OccupationsArchitect, Danish consul, director
Years active1862–1891
BuildingsKirkcaldie & Stains, St Mary's Cathedral, Wellington Hospital

Christian Julius Toxward[a] (1831–1891) was a New Zealand architect. He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1831.[3] He is buried at Bolton Street Memorial Park, and his grave is part of the memorial trail.[4][5] Toxward designed over 200 buildings in the lower North Island from 1866 to his death.[1] Toxward was one of Wellington's most prolific architects through the 1860s to 1870s. Little of Toxward's work today survives but his surviving works have heritage protection.[3]

Early life

Christian Julius Toxward was born 26 November 1831 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Toxward attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1841 to 1851, but did not receive any qualifications from the institute.[1]

Toxward's obituaries state he spent time in the Victorian goldfields before he arrived in New Zealand but the Royal Institute of British Architects state he worked as a draughtsman in Victoria before working in various locations in Europe.[1]

New Zealand career

It is not known when Toxward arrived in New Zealand, although he probably arrived c.1860.[1]

In 1862 Toxward was working as a surveyor in Dunedin and as an architect with Augustus Poeppel.[b] Poeppel was dismissed from his position as city surveyor and architect due to malpractice. By 1864 Toxward was living in Invercargill. On 13 November 1865 Toxward was living in Wellington and by April of next year he was advertising architectural and engineering services in Wellington. That year he designed a 'Scotch Church' on Lambton Quay and would go onto design 230 buildings, mostly around Wellington but Toxward also designed buildings in the Wairarapa and New Plymouth.[1] Toxward may have been the first to introduce rusticated boards to New Zealand in the 1860s.[6][7] Toxward designed the first masonry buildings in Wellington in 1875 and this building was one of the earliest to use sprinklers.[3][8]

In 1876 Toxward became the Wellington Education Board architect.[c] In 1883 the New Zealand government had Toxward produce designs for dairy factories for a promotional booklet.[1]

Toxward died 30 September 1891.[1]

Personal life

On 7 October 1864 Toxward married Jane Hall Hughes at St John's Church in Invercargill. In 1867 he naturalised as British citizen.[1]

Toxward was a Grandmaster of the Wellington Freemasons, justice of the peace, and Danish consul. Toxward was a director for the Wellington Trust & Loan Company and mine manager for the Wellington Quartz Crushing Company. In his role as Danish consul Toxward assisted Danish immigrants arriving in New Zealand. Toxward arranged a display of taxidermed specimens from the Christiana Museum at the Colonial Museum and Otago Museum.[1]

List of works

Name Date Image Note Ref
St Mary's Cathedral, Wellington 1867 Destroyed by fire in 1898 [9]
Kirkcaldie & Stains store 1868 Registered as a category 2 building with Heritage New Zealand. Only the facade remains [10]
Wellington Grammar School 1868 Burnt down in 1901 [3][11]
Old St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington 1868–1874 Original building was designed by Frederick Thatcher but Toxward designed two extensions adding a north and south transept. [12]
Powles House 1872 Registered as a category 1 building with Heritage New Zealand [13]
6 Parliament Street 1873 Part of the Ascot Street Heritage Area [14]
Mount View Lunatic Asylum 1873 Partially demolished but a surviving part of the structure is registered as a category 2 building with Heritage New Zealand [15]
Wellington College 1874 Demolished in 1931 [3][16]
Union Bank of Australia 1875 Destroyed by fire in 1906 [17][3]
Wellington Hospital 1875 Demolished in 1968 [3][18]
St Andrew's on the Terrace 1879 Burnt down in 1922 [19]
Dr Buller's house 1882 [20]
St Andrew's Church, Martinborough 1882 Registered as a category 2 building with Heritage New Zealand [21]
St David's Church, Petone 1889 Registered as a category 2 building with Heritage New Zealand [22]
First Presbyterian Church, Martinborough 1891 Scheduled with the South Wairarapa District Council [21]
Dr Boor's house 1866 Unknown architect, potentially Toxward. Registered as a category 1 building with Heritage New Zealand [23][24]

Further reading

  • Mew, G.; Humphris, Adrian (2020). Architects at the Apex. Martinborough, New Zealand: Ngaio Press. ISBN 978-0-9941349-4-3.

Notes

  1. ^ The Danish spelling of Toxward's surname is Toxvaerd[1], alternate Anglicised forms such as Toxhead are recorded.[2]
  2. ^ The pair only have 3 known tenders
  3. ^ The Wellington Education Board covered the area of the former Wellington Province and not the modern region or city.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mew, G.; Humphris, Adrian (October 2014). Raupo to Deco. pp. 103–106. ISBN 978-1-927242-56-8.
  2. ^ "Lambton Quay, Wellington". National Library of New Zealand.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Cochran, Chris (1993). "Christian Julius Toxward". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  4. ^ "Details". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Memorial Trail" (PDF). Bolton Street Memorial Park. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  6. ^ Jones, Martin (2022). Wellington Inner City Bypass, Archaeological Investigations, Arthur Street, Cuba Street, Tonks Avenue, Volume V, Buildings Archaeology (Report). Heritage New Zealand.
  7. ^ McCarthy, Christine (30 October 2010). "Elegance and excesses: War, Gold and Borrowings: New Zealand Architecture in the 1860s". Architectural History Aotearoa. 7: 1–12. doi:10.26686/aha.v7i.6785. ISSN 2703-6626.
  8. ^ McCarthy, Christine (16 August 2018). ""Colonisation ... in top gear": New Zealand Architecture in the 1870s". Architectural History Aotearoa. 15: 1–13. doi:10.26686/aha.v15i.8313. ISSN 2703-6626.
  9. ^ Fearnley, Charles (1977). "The Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Catholic: Hill St". Early Wellington Churches. Wellington: Millwood Press.
  10. ^ "1402". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand.
  11. ^ "Wellington Grammar School". National Library of New Zealand.
  12. ^ McCracken, Helen (4 February 2001). Old St Paul's Cathedral (Report). Heritage New Zealand.
  13. ^ "4139". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand.
  14. ^ Irvine, Susan; Cawte, Hayden; Kerrigan, Carole-Lynne; Breese, Alison (December 2021). Historic Heritage Area Evaluation Ascot Street Heritage Area (PDF) (Report). Wellington City Council.
  15. ^ "Mount View Asylum Wall". Wellington City Heritage.
  16. ^ "Wellington College building". National Library of New Zealand.
  17. ^ "Lambton Quay, Wellington". National Library of New Zealand.
  18. ^ O'Keefe, Mary (November 2007). Redevelopment at Wellington Hospital, Newtown, Wellington: Archaeological -Monitoring (Report).
  19. ^ "St Andrew's on the Terrace". Wellington City Heritage.
  20. ^ "[Toxward, Christian Julius] 1831-1893 :Proposed residence for Dr Buller. Section A B. Section C D. Scale 4 ft to one inch. 1882". National Library of New Zealand.
  21. ^ a b South Wairarapa District Council Heritage Inventory (Report). South Wairarapa District Council.
  22. ^ Mew, Geoff; McCracken, Helen (11 December 2003). St David's Church (Presbyterian) (Report). Heritage New Zealand.
  23. ^ "220". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand.
  24. ^ Thematic Heritage Study of Wellington (PDF) (Report). Wellington City Council. January 2013.
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