Charles Reginald Ford was an explorer and architect. He is most noted for his role in the Royal Geographical Society’s National Antarctic Expeditions led by Commander Robert Scott. He later co-founded one of New Zealand’s most successful architectural firms.
The son of a butler, Charles Reginald was born in London on 4 February 1880. He volunteered for the first of the Royal Geographical Society’s National Antarctic Expeditions in 1901, accompanying Commander Scott aboard the Discovery. Iced in for more than two years, Scott credits Ford’s management of supplies as a large part of the mission’s survival.
Ford returned to New Zealand around 1906 and married Edith Christine Smith Badger in 1908. He had begun to study architecture in 1906 and by 1921 was the president of the New Zealand Institute of Architects. Ford moved to Auckland in 1923 where he formed a partnership with W. H. Gummer. Their firm thrived as one of New Zealand’s most successful during the inter-war years.
Ford was also a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He also served as president of the Auckland Society of Arts, having a keen interest in English porcelain.
After visiting California in 1922 he wrote Earthquakes and Building Construction (1926), one of the earliest examinations of earthquake risk in relation to building construction and safety of human life.
Auckland Museum Selection of Ford’s Expedition Photographs
Charles Reginald Ford
Died 1972
IMAGE: Standish and Preece, Christchurch via the Auckland War Memorial Museum, PH-PR-224 (Reference Number)
