Charles Bruce Dellit (7 November 1898 – 21 August 1942) was an Australian architect who pioneered the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

style in Australia.Dellit, Charles Bruce (1898–1942)
Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 2012-03-05. He was generally known as Bruce Dellit.

Early life

Dellit was born on 7 November 1898 in Darlington,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Australia. He was the son of Albert Dellit, a furniture manufacturer and Agnes Gertrude Mack. His full siblings were Albert Cormack, Leo Harold and Ena May. As a child, he attended Christian Brothers' College, Waverley. After leaving school, Dellit gained employment with the architect John L. Berry and at 16 he enrolled at the Sydney Technical College From 1919, Dellit studied architecture under Professor

Leslie Wilkinson Leslie Wilkinson , FRAIA, (12 October 1882 – 20 September 1973) was a UK-born Australian architect and academic. He was the founding dean of the faculty of architecture at University of Sydney in 1920. A traditionalist, he is known for his r ...

at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

for one day a week.

Career

From 1918 Dellit worked for

Hall & Prentice Hall and Prentice was an architectural firm established in 1919 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, through the partnership of Thomas Ramsay Hall (T. R. Hall) and George Gray Prentice (G. G. Prentice). The firm designed many prestigious building ...

in Queensland and, after returning to Sydney, joined ''Spain & Cosh'' in 1922. He set up his own practice in 1928. Dellit is most noted for his design of the

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

Anzac Memorial The Anzac Memorial is a heritage-listed war memorial, museum and monument located in Hyde Park South near Liverpool Street in the CBD of Sydney, Australia. The Art Deco monument was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned wi ...

Hyde Park, Sydney Hyde Park, Sydney, is an urban park, of , located in the central business district of Sydney, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest public parkland in Australia. Hyde Park is on the east ...

, built to commemorate all who fought in the First World War. Dellit won the project in a design competition that attracted over 100 entries.K. S. Inglis
"Sacred Places: War Memorials in the Australian Landscape"
Melbourne University Press (1998), pp. 289-297. Online version retrieved 2012-03-06. He introduced the new fashion for

(more familiar for entertainment buildings) devoid of any classical details and adding a stepped roof. Dellit engaged the sculptor,

Rayner Hoff George Rayner Hoff (27 November 1894 – 19 November 1937) was a British-born sculptor who mainly worked in Australia. He fought in World War I and is chiefly known for his war memorial work, particularly the sculptures on the ANZAC War Memo ...

, to create the statues and

bas-reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

for the monument. Dellit continued to complete several commercial and residential buildings during the 1930s.

Notable Works

''Kyle House''

After beginning his private practice in 1928, Dellit's first major project was Kyle House in Macquarie Place, Sydney. The building, notable for its strong vertical lines and dominating ground floor arch, is considered among the earliest examples of Sydney commercial architecture embracing the Inter-War Art Deco style.

''Anzac Memorial''

Dellit's

, within Hyde Park Sydney, is considered to be the "epitome" of pairing of the symmetrical classicism of the Moderne style architecture with Art Deco, decorative embellishments. Dellit's "masterpiece" is complemented by

's Art Deco sculptures and reliefs depicting the men of the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Au ...

''Kinselas Funeral Chapel''

Built in 1910 at the present location of Taylor Square Darlinghurst. The original building was converted into an Art Deco style by Dellit after being purchased by funeral director Charles Kinsela in 1932. The building, which is now used as a bar, contains the work of Rayner Hoff and is considered among the best examples of Art Deco "funerary spaces" in Sydney.

Personal life

Dellit married Victoria Clara Millar on 15 October 1921 in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. Children of the marriage were Portia, Albert Victor (known as Victor) and Deirdre. Victor was also a prominent architect. In 1942 Dellit died from cancer in Hornsby near Sydney, NSW.

References

External links

Brief biography (Sydney Architecture)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dellit, Charles Bruce 1898 births 1942 deaths New South Wales architects 20th-century Australian architects Deaths from cancer in New South Wales