Hillson Beasley (30 April 1855 – 7 October 1936) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-trained

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 ...

who relocated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, executing his major buildings in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

(1886–96) and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

(1896–1917). In his later career he was the Principal Architect of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

and designed many notable public buildings, including the Government House ballroom (1899),

Parliament House, Perth Parliament House, Perth is located on Harvest Terrace in West Perth, Western Australia. It is the home of the Parliament of Western Australia, including the Legislative Council (upper house) and Legislative Assembly (lower house). History Lo ...

(1900-1904),

Fremantle Post Office The Fremantle Post Office located in Market Street, Fremantle was designed by Hillson Beasley of the Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See ...

(1907) and the

old Perth Technical School The 1910 Perth Technical School building is located at 137 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia, adjacent to the Old Perth Boys School building, which had served as part of the school's former temporary premises since opening of classes ...

(1910).

Biography

Hillson Beasley was born on 30 April 1855 at

Canterbury, Kent Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, the son of Edward Beasley and Caroline (née Saunders). He was educated at

Wesley College, Sheffield Wesley College, a school to educate the sons of the laity, opened in 1838 in new buildings designed by William Flockton on Glossop Road, Sheffield, England. It was founded by Rev. Samuel Dousland Waddy (1804–1876) to "supply a generally sup ...

, following which he was articled to an architect in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

. Beasley then practised in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. On 22 December 1877 he married Fanny Clarke at

Great Missenden Great Missenden is an affluent village with approximately 2,000 residents in the Misbourne Valley in the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England, situated between the towns of Amersham and Wendover, with direct rail connections to London Mar ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. The couple relocated to the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when i ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, where Beasley worked in the architectural branch of the Public Works Department for three years. They subsequently emigrated to Melbourne in 1886 where Beasley opened his own architectural practice. His works in Melbourne included the Presbyterian (Uniting) Church in St Kilda. Beasley also taught at the Working Men's College and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. In 1896 Beasley moved to

where he joined the

as a specification draftsman. In 1897 he became chief draftsman and assistant to

John Grainger John Grainger (1830, Belfast– 1891) was an Irish cleric and antiquarian. Grainger was educated at Belfast Academy and Trinity College, Dublin. After gaining a Doctorate of Divinity he became Rector of Broughshane, County Antrim. He was an in ...

, who succeeded

George Temple-Poole George Thomas Temple-Poole (born George Thomas Temple, 29 May 1856 – 27 February 1934) was a British architect and public servant, primarily known for his work in Western Australia from 1885. As Superintendent of Public Works, and then Pri ...

as Principal Architect that year. In 1905 Beasley was appointed Principal Architect, succeeding Grainger. In fact, he had been acting in the position since November 1903, when Grainger departed on extended leave owing to illness.Tibbits, G. R. and Beauchamp, D
John Harry Grainger: Engineer and Architect
at ''3rd Australasian Engineering Heritage Conference 2009''. Retrieved 15 January 2013 In his role as Principal Architect, Beasley oversaw a great number of new government works and additions in Perth, Fremantle and towns along the railway to the eastern goldfields. He designed or was responsible for the Government House ballroom (1899),

(1900), Claremont Teacher Training College (1902),

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

(1909–11), additions to the original

Art Gallery of Western Australia The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) is a public art gallery that is part of the Perth Cultural Centre, in Perth. It is located near the Western Australian Museum and State Library of Western Australia and is supported and managed by the ...

(1906), Midland Courthouse (1907),

(1907),

Fremantle Customs House The Old Customs House is a building in Fremantle, Western Australia that was built in 1908 to house the main branch of the Customs Department of Western Australia. It is one of only a handful of extant Customs Houses in the state; others are in ...

(1908), Fremantle Technical College annexe (1910), the

State Library of Western Australia The State Library of Western Australia is a research, education, reference and public lending library located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. It is a portfolio agency of the Western Australia Department of Culture and t ...

(1911) and the Chief Secretary's Office & Medical and Public Health Buildings (1912). In 1917 Beasley retired from the Public Works Department. Between 1920 and 1921 he lectured in architecture at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

. In his later life Beasley moved to Albany, where he died on 7 October 1936 and was buried in the local Presbyterian cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beasley, Hillson 1855 births 1936 deaths Architects from Western Australia History of Western Australia People educated at Wesley College, Sheffield