Talbot Hobbs

Lieutenant General Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs, (24 August 1864 – 21 April 1938) was an Australian architect and First World War general.

Early life Hobbs was born in London, the son of Joseph and his wife Frances Ann Hobbs (née Wilson).

Post-war After the Armistice, Hobbs decided to return to his former profession; architecture. With a keen interest in the construction of war memorials, Hobbs was responsible for designing the Western Australian War Memorial in Kings Park, Perth, St George's College, Perth, and the Temperance and General and Royal Insurance buildings.

Hobbs died at sea of a heart attack while en route to the unveiling of the Villers–Bretonneux Australian National Memorial. His body was returned from Colombo to Perth where he was given a military and state burial.

Legacy Sir Talbot Hobbs Memorial at The Esplanade, PerthThe Lieut. General Sir J. J. Talbot Hobbs Memorial, better known as the Talbot Hobbs memorial, was proposed and constructed just prior to the Second World War. The memorial is made of Donnybrook stone with a bronze bust of Hobbs on top, and placed against a background of Canary Island Palms on the Perth Esplanade. Since it was built the memorial has been the receiving point for the salute during Anzac Day parade, it was also the location from where Queen Elizabeth II took the salute during the 1954 Royal visit. The memorial was placed on the Western Australian Heritage register on 18 March 2005.