George Newton Kenworthy FRAIA, also known as G. N. Kenworthy or "Kennie" (1885 – 28 October 1954), was a leading

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 Mountain ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and Fellow of the

Royal 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_ ...

best associated for his work in partnership with

Henry Eli White Henry Eli White (21 August 1876 – 3 March 1952), also known as Harry White, was a New Zealand-born architect who is best known for the many theatres and cinemas he designed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1910s and 1920s. Many of the majo ...

and for his building designs (particularly theatres) in 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 Unite ...

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

, Functionalist and Spanish Mission styles.

Early life

Kenworthy was born in 1885 in Manchester, England and was first educated at Trinity Grammar School and the Victoria School of Arts in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. He studied architecture at the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

School of Architecture This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world. An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education. Africa ...

and qualified as an architect in 1906. First articled to Francis Redfern, Kenworthy worked for several leading architectural firms in England before starting his own practice in 1909 in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

Practice in Australia

In 1911 Kenworthy moved to Sydney, Australia, taking up a position in the

New South Wales Government Architect The New South Wales Government Architect, an appointed officer of the Government of New South Wales, serves as the General Manager of the Government Architect's Office (GAO), a multi-disciplinary consultancy operating on commercial principles ...

's Office, where he remained until 1923, having risen to be Architect-in-Chief, Secretary's Department, Theatres and Public Halls Section. From 1914 to 1922 he was also a part-time lecturer in Architecture at the

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education i ...

. Until 1951 an examiner for the Board of Architects and the Sydney Technical College, Kenworthy was made a Fellow of the

, having also served on the Institute Council and Education Committee. In 1923, Kenworthy left the NSW Public Service and became a partner in the firm of

, where he worked on many significant projects in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

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 , established_ ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, including fourteen theatres such as the State Theatre, Sydney,

Newcastle Civic Theatre The Newcastle Civic Theatre, also known as ''The Civic'', is a heritage-listed building located on Hunter Street, Newcastle, Australia. Opened in 1929, the 1520-seat theatre is now the venue for a wide range of musicals, plays, concerts and danc ...

, St. James Theatre, Auckland, Hengrove Hall, Macquarie Street, Chalfont Chambers, Phillip Street, St Kilda's

Palais Theatre The Palais Theatre (originally Palais Pictures) is a historic picture palace located in St Kilda, an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. With a capacity of nearly 3,000 people, it is the largest seated theatre in Australia. Replac ...

and the

Melbourne Athenaeum The Athenaeum or Melbourne Athenaeum is an art and cultural hub in the Melbourne city centre, central business district of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1839, it is the city's oldest cultural institution. It ...

. He left White's firm in 1929 to start his own practice at 105 Pitt Street, Sydney, where he stayed until his death, working all manner of works though theatres were most prominent as "a recognised authority on the design and construction of theatres and auditoria generally", including the Cremorne Orpheum, Mudgee Regent, Hurstville Savoy, Bankstown Regent and the Port Macquarie Ritz. At a speech to the Institute of Architects at

Science House Science House is a heritage-listed commercial building located at 157–169 Gloucester Street and Essex Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of The Rocks, New South Wales, The Rocks in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wa ...

in 1933, Kenworthy observed that the modern theatre building "should be designed for both stage plays and talking pictures, and entrances and foyers should be spacious, and not cluttered up with soda fountains and confectionery counters." On his death at his Lindfield residence at age 69 in 1954, he was described as "a man of brilliant brain and kind heart ... He deeply loved Australia and never returned to England—not even for a holiday—and, to use his own words, has left his mark on the skyline of Sydney."

List of works (incomplete)

*Alterations to the Rialto Theatre –

The Corso ''The Corso'' is one of the main streets and a pedestrian mall in Manly. It connects the Manly ferry wharf to Manly Beach on the Pacific Ocean side of the Manly peninsula. History There has long been a track between Manly Cove and Ocean Bea ...

, Manly (1932–1933; Demolished 1960). *Spanish Mission style house –

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Centennial Park (1934; Extant). *State Ballroom and State Coffee Lounge (in the basement of the State Theatre and in the style of the theatre above), Market Street, Sydney (1934, Demolished) * Cremorne Orpheum Theatre – 380 Military Road, Cremorne (1935; Extant, now Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace). *Spanish mission style house – 81 Shirley Road, Roseville (1935; Extant). *W. R. Angus Residence – 1163 & 1161 Pacific Highway,

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 ...

(1935; Extant). * Regent Theatre – 5-7 Church Street,

Mudgee Mudgee is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gover ...

(1935; Extant). *Addition of Ballroom and Supper Room to the Paragon Cafe – 63-69 Katoomba Street, Katoomba (1935; Extant). *"''The Vanderbilt''" residential flat building – 2 Ward Avenue, Elizabeth Bay (1936; Extant). *Strand Theatre – John Street,

Singleton Singleton may refer to: Sciences, technology Mathematics * Singleton (mathematics), a set with exactly one element * Singleton field, used in conformal field theory Computing * Singleton pattern, a design pattern that allows only one instance o ...

(1937; Demolished). *Savoy Theatre – 14-16 Ormonde Parade,

Hurstville Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...

(1937; Demolished 1995). *Ritz Theatre – 22-28 Horton Street,

Port Macquarie Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...

(1937; Extant, but altered internally and renamed Majestic). *Remodelling to the Royal Hotel – 232 Lords Place,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

(1937; Extant). *Alterations to the Enfield Savoy Theatre (1938; Extant). *"''Olympus''" house – 12 Cliff Drive, Katoomba (c. 1940; Extant). *Remodelling of Majestic Theatre (renamed Bankstown Civic Theatre) – 299 South Terrace,

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...

(1940; Demolished 1970) *"Ozone" Flats and Cafe – Corner Beach Street and The Esplanade,

Ettalong Beach Ettalong Beach is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia south of Woy Woy on Brisbane Water at the point where it meets Broken Bay, about 80 km north of Sydney. It is part of the local government area. Ettalong ...

(1941; Demolished). *

2UW KIIS 1065 (call sign: 2WFM) is a commercial broadcasting, commercial FM radio station in Sydney, Australia, on a frequency of 106.5 MHz. KIIS 1065 is one of the flagship stations on Australian Radio Network, ARN's KIIS Network. The station's ...

Radio Theatre – 464 George Street, Sydney (1944; Demolished but Globe Theatre building extant).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenworthy, George Newton Architects from Manchester Alumni of the University of Liverpool English emigrants to Australia New South Wales architects Public servants of New South Wales Art Deco architects Theatre architects 20th-century Australian architects 1885 births 1954 deaths