James O'Dea

James O’Dea was born in County Clare, Ireland and trained as a carpenter. He arrived in Westland in 1875, and worked in Reefton before moving to Durban in South Africa. He returned to New Zealand in 1881 and moved to Hawea or Patea where he advertised as an architect and builder. There is some confusion about when O’Dea established a practice in Wellington. The 1897 “Cyclopedia of New Zealand” lists 1882, but newspaper reports suggest c.1888.  The O’Dea family is known to have moved to 39 Adelaide Road by 1890.

In the two decades from 1888 to 1905 O’Dea designed over 150 buildings.  His work included significant building such as the main block at the Home of Compassion, Island Bay (1907) and the Royal Oak Hotel (1899), along with many commercial buildings on and around Cuba Street. Together with a number of houses, those buildings still standing include 58-60 Cuba Street for T.G. McCarthy (1897), the Tramway Hotel, Adelaide Road (1899), the People’s Palace, 203 Cuba Street (1904), 175-170 Cuba Street (1905) and the Kennedy Building, 33-39 Cuba Street (1905)

James O’Dea enjoyed the patronage of the Catholic Church and wealthy Catholic laymen such as Robert O’Connor, T.G. McCarthy and Martin Kennedy. However, O’Dea was an enthusiastic litigant and ended up in legal disputes with both McCarthy and Kennedy later in his career.

 

Sources:
“Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]” (Wellington: The Cyclopedia Company Ltd, 1897)
Evening Post, 26 May 1888; 21 July 1911; 15 February 1912
Mew, Geoff & Adrian Humphris. “Raupo to Deco: Wellington Styles and Architects 1840 – 1940” (Wellington: Steel Roberts Aotearoa, 2014) 
WCC Heritage Inventory 2001