At the same time, responsibility for civil and military buildings was made separate. Accordingly, these roles reported direct to the governor. The Surveyor-General, Thomas Mitchell, would have supported the independence of Mortimer Lewis, who he had worked with while Lewis was Town Surveyor, and whom Mitchell had suggested would fill the role better than Hallen had. Mortimer Lewis was appointed Colonial Architect in April 1835. Final approval for the arrangements only came in September 1837, due to the delays in corresponding between New South Wales and England by ship.