John Francis (Jack) Hennessy (1887–1955) was an Australian architect, with the same name as his architect father, John Francis Hennessy, with whom he was in partnership as Hennessy & Hennessy from 1912 to 1924. As principal of the firm after his father retired from 1924 to 1955, he was responsible for many major Art Deco office buildings in capital cities in Australia and New Zealand in the 1930s, as well as many projects for the Catholic Church in Queensland, and the Great Court of the University of Queensland.

Early life

Hennessy was born on 8 January 1887 at Burwood, Sydney. After completing his secondary education at the Christian Brothers’ High School at Lewisham, and St Patrick's College, Goulburn, he studied architecture at

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College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts.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 ...

and at the University of Pennsylvania. He gained experience with firms in America and Sydney, before becoming a partner with his father John Francis Hennessy trading as Hennessy & Hennessy in 1912. John Hennessy retired in 1924, and the firm continued under Jack Hennessy Jnr, retaining the name, though they were also known as Hennessy, Hennessy & Co.

Career

In the 1920s, Queensland Archbishop Duhig commissioned a number of projects for the Catholic Church in Brisbane, including the never-built

Holy Name Cathedral, Brisbane Holy Name Cathedral was a planned but never-built Roman Catholic cathedral for the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Designed by Hennessy, Hennessy & Co, initially in an English Baroque style inspired by St Paul's in London, it was inten ...

. In the 1930s Hennessy designed a series large office buildings for three different insurance firms in three countries, and has been described as Australia's first international architect. Another major project was the

Great Court, University of Queensland Great Court is a heritage-listed university colonnade at the University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by John (Jack) Hennessy and built from 1937 to 1979. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Reg ...

in St Lucia, Brisbane, built between 1938 and 1979. In 1950, Hennessy was awarded over £25,000 by the court when he sued to recover his unpaid fees for the Holy Name Cathedral. Hennessy died of heart disease at his eldest son's home in Sydney on September 4, 1955, at the age of 68. He was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Rookwood. The firm continued until 1968.

Major extant works

** 1925: Corpus Christi Church in

Nundah Nundah (previously called German Station) is an inner suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It contains the neighbourhood of Toombul. In the , Nundah had a population of 12,141 people. Prior to European settlement, Nundah was i ...

, Brisbane ** 1927-28: Villa Maria Convent, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane ** 1929: Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola in Toowong, Brisbane ** 1930-31: Colonial Mutual Life, Brisbane ** 1934: Colonial Mutual Life, Adelaide **1935: Colonial Mutual Life, Wellington, New Zealand ** 1936: Lawson Apartments, Perth ** 1936: Australian Catholic Assurance, Melbourne ** 1936: Australian Catholic Assurance, Sydney **1937: Colonial Mutual Life, Newcastle ** 1937-79:

, St Lucia, Brisbane **1941:

Pius XII Provincial Seminary Holy Spirit Seminary is a Catholic provincial seminary for Queensland located in Brisbane, Australia. Originally known as the Pius XII Provincial Seminary, it was founded in 1941 on top of Beehive Hill in the Brisbane suburb of Banyo, in a large R ...

, Banyo, Brisbane.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hennessy, Jack, junior Architects from Sydney 1887 births 1955 deaths