Edward La Trobe Bateman

Edward La Trobe Bateman (8 January 1816 – 30 December 1897) was a Victorian painter in watercolour, architect, book illustrator, draughtsman and garden designer. He worked in Australia from 1852 to 1869, and had links with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Life
Bateman was probably born in Lower Wyke, Yorkshire, the son of John Bateman, a manufacturer, and his wife Mary (née) La Trobe. His brothers were John Frederick Bateman, the hydraulic engineer, and Christian Henry Bateman, an Anglican Church minister and a composer of hymns. His nephew Benjamin Latrobe was a notable architect, and a cousin Charles Latrobe was first lieutenant-governor of the colony of the state of Victoria in Australia.

In 1924, his grandson Charles La Trobe donated 12 artworks by Bateman to the state. The pencil sketches were of La Trobe's Cottage and its grounds.

Bateman had lived in London where he had been engaged to the daughter of William and Mary Howitt. When Bateman visited Australia, he stayed initially with Godfrey Howitt.

In 1856, the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne were redesigned and Edward la Trobe Bateman was engaged to do the designs. The path layout and other features were built, although limitations on funding for maintenance resulted in frequent criticism.

He died in Rothesay, Scotland, where he had lived after returning to the UK in 1870.