Eleanor Cullis-Hill (4 November 1913 – 8 September 2001) was an Australian architect. Running a solo practice from her home between 1946 and 1981, she designed dozens of buildings and renovations, mostly residential, on Sydney's North Shore.

Early life and education

Cullis-Hill was born Eleanor Beresford Grant in 1913 in

Warrawee, New South Wales Warrawee is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Warrawee is located 17 kilometres north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. Wa ...

, a suburb of Sydney. Her father was Joseph Beresford Grant, a businessman in real estate. She attended

Frensham School Frensham School is an independent non-denominational comprehensive single-sex preschool, primary, and secondary day and boarding school for girls, located at Mittagong, in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia. Es ...

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

and went on to study architecture 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 ...

. She graduated in 1938.

Career

Cullis-Hill began working as a professional architect after the Second World War. In a contract position with the

New South Wales Housing Commission Housing NSW, formerly the Housing Commission of New South Wales and before that the New South Wales Housing Board, was an government agency, agency of the Department of Communities and Justice that was responsible for the provision and management ...

, she designed houses as part of Sydney's postwar reconstruction boom. She set up a solo practice in 1946 at her own home in Warrawee, since she felt that women architects were unwelcome in large firms. Initially, she accepted commissions from friends, and through word-of-mouth recommendations she received enough projects to keep her in full-time work. Cullis-Hill worked mainly on Sydney's North Shore in the suburbs of Warrawee and

Wahroonga Wahroonga is a suburb in the North Shore (Sydney)#Upper North Shore, Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia ...

, but she also designed residential renovations and houses in East Killara,

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of the lower north shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area ...

Kenthurst Kenthurst is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 39 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of The Hills Shire. It is part of the Hills District region. Kenthurs ...

Pymble Pymble is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pymble is north of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. West Pymble is a separate suburb ...

and

Turramurra Turramurra is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. It shares the postc ...

. In total, she designed more than 30 houses and around 50 residential alterations. She also designed church and school buildings: these included additions to Gib Gate School in Mittagong (1954–1973) and St James' Anglican Church in Turramurra (1957–1975) as well as the original plans for Wahroonga Nursery School (1954–1955) and the Turramurra Nursery School (1961). Her design for the Wahroonga Nursery School was shortlisted for the

Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

Sulman Award The Sir John Sulman Medal is an architectural prize presented by the New South Wales chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects since 1932. The medal is sometimes referred to as the Sulman Award and now recognises excellence in public an ...

in 1956. Cullis-Hill retired in 1981 and died in 2001.

Family

In 1938 she married Grandison Cullis-Hill, a fellow architecture student at the University of Sydney. They had four children—Caroline, Josephine, Mary and David—and lived in a house on Bangalla Street in Warrawee that she designed. Her two eldest daughters, Caroline Martin and Josephine Roberts, also became architects.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullis-Hill, Eleanor 1913 births 2001 deaths 20th-century Australian architects Australian women architects New South Wales architects People from the North Shore, Sydney University of Sydney alumni People educated at Frensham School 20th-century Australian women 21st-century Australian women 21st-century Australian people