Henry R. Bastow

Who was Henry R. Bastow?

Henry Robert Bastow was an Australian architect and a leading Plymouth Brethren member in Melbourne, Victoria.

Bastow studied architecture with Thomas Hardy under John Hicks in Dorchester. He became one of the foremost architects of civil and public buildings in Melbourne and was appointed Architect to the State Schools Division of the Public Works Department of Victoria in the 1870s and 1880s. His style was characterised by steeply pitched roof detailing with prominent gables, label moulding round the windows and pointed arched openings. An example of this work is the Brunswick South Primary School.

He continued a correspondence with Thomas Hardy on personal and religious matters.