John Percival Tate (21 March 1894 – 21 January 1977) was an Australian architect, urban planner and politician. He was born in New Zealand where he trained as an architect and engineer. He moved to Sydney as a young man and went into private practice, later working for the federal government during World War II. Tate served on the

Ryde Municipal Council The City of Ryde is a local government area in the Northern Sydney region, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It was first established as the Municipal District of Ryde in 1870, became a municipality in 1906 and was proclaimed as the ...

and

Sydney City Council The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

in the 1940s and 1950s. As chairman of the

Cumberland City Council Cumberland Council, trading as Cumberland City Council, is a local government area located in the western suburbs of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Council was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of parts of the Cit ...

he was a key figure behind the Cumberland Plan for

Greater 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 Mountains ...

. He also served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for

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from 1950 to 1953, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Early life

Tate was born on 21 March 1894 in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand. He was the son of English immigrant parents Frances Lillian (née Gormley or Gumley) and Robert Gillies Tate. As a young man he changed his middle name from "Henry" to "Percival". After leaving school, he completed an apprenticeship with Panton & Son, a civil engineering and architectural firm in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

Professional career

Tate moved to

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 ...

in about 1920, where he went into partnership with William Auburn Young in the firm of John P. Tate & Young. One of the firms earliest commissions was the Manchester Unity Building on Elizabeth Street (later known as the St James Trust Building), which was designed in 1921 and finished in 1924 as one of the city's first high-rise buildings. Tate "built up a diverse private practice designing aeroplane hangars, theatres and various types of factories". He also supervised the construction of the

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

steelworks in the 1920s. In 1923, his firm was selected to design a refurbishment of the

Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is a heritage-listed late-nineteenth-century building designed by the architect George McRae located at 429–481 George Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian st ...

. The

ultimately decided not to continue with the renovations, with Tate & Young suing for breach of contract; they sought £17,448 () but ultimately settled for £7,000 (). In 1940, Tate joined the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

as superintending architect, responsible for defences work programmes in New South Wales. He was appointed state construction manager for the

Allied Works Council The Allied Works Council was an organisation set up to oversee and organise military construction works in Australia during World War II. Established in February 1942, the Allied Works Council was responsible for carrying out any works required ...

in 1942, and advised the Chifley government on housing. In 1945, Tate was appointed as the inaugural chairman of the Cumberland County Council, established by the New South Wales state government to prepare a planning scheme for the

area which spanned 69 local government areas. He worked closely with chief planner Sidney Luker to prepare what became known as the Cumberland Plan, which "advocated decentralization, zoning, green belts, open spaces, and improved road and rail systems". It was presented to the state government in 1948, but was not formally adopted until 1951. Tate resigned as chairman in protest at its late adoption, which he described as a "civic tragedy". In the mid-1950s, Tate returned to private practice as the principal of John P. Tate and Associates. He also served as chairman of A. E. Goodwin, a shipbuilding and engineering firm. He was elected as a 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_ ...

in 1950 and a fellow of the Town and Country Planning Institute of Australia in 1962.

Politics

Tate served on the

from 1944 to 1948 and was chairman of its housing committee. He was also elected to the

in 1947. He was a leader of the

Civic Reform Association The Civic Reform Association, variously known as the Civic Reform Movement and the Citizens' Reform Association, was an Australian non-aligned ratepayers' organisation that was formed by approximately seventy people at the Sydney Town Hall on 20 ...

, serving as an alderman until 1956. He also served on the executive of the Local Government Association of New South Wales. In May 1949, Tate won

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

for the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

ticket in New South Wales at the 1949 federal election. He was elected to a six-year term beginning on 22 February 1950, which was cut short by a

double dissolution A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks in the bicameral Parliament of Australia between the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). A double dissolution ...

in 1951. He was re-elected to a three-year term at the 1951 election, but was defeated for preselection by Ken Anderson prior to the 1953 half-Senate election.

Positions

Tate supported increased immigration and "saw population growth as essential to Australia's economic development and international standing". However, he was concerned about overpopulation in the capital cities and was an advocate of

decentralisation Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

, suggesting that immigrants be directed to regional areas. He supported increased autonomy for the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

as well as the development of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. Tate also supported electoral reform. He was opposed to proportional representation in the Senate, which had been introduced for the 1949 election, and was "highly critical of the partisan nature of Senate deliberations, which he believed detracted from the chamber’s original role as a States House and a house of review". He suggested that state governments be allowed to directly appoint senators.

Personal life

Tate married Gladys Woodland () in 1920, with whom he had four sons. After being widowed in 1974 he remarried in 1976 to Bernice Cheetham. He moved to Canberra in the same year and died at Canberra Hospital on 21 January 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, John Percival Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Members of the Australian Senate New Zealand emigrants to Australia 1894 births 1977 deaths 20th-century Australian politicians Australian architects Australian urban planners