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Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
Walter Liberty Vernon (11 August 184617 January 1914) 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 ...
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 migrated to Australia and pursued his career as an architect in Sydney,
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 ...
. In his role as 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 principle ...
he is noted for designing multiple government buildings, many of which are extant with listings on national and state heritage registers.


Early life

Vernon was born 11 August 1846 in
High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...
, Buckinghamshire, England, the son of a banker's clerk, Robert Vernon and Margaret Liberty. He was articled in 1862 to a London architect, W. G. Habershon, and studied at the Royal Academy of Arts and South Kensington School of Art. After completing his studies, he pursued a practice as an architect in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
and married Margaret Anne Jones in 1870 at
Newport, Wales Newport ( cy, Casnewydd; ) is a city and county borough in Wales, situated on the River Usk close to its confluence with the Severn Estuary, northeast of Cardiff. With a population of 145,700 at the 2011 census, Newport is the third-largest a ...
. His London practice was successful, but he suffered from bronchial asthma and received medical advice to leave England. He migrated to Australia and arrived in Sydney in November 1883.


Career in Australia

Vernon established a private practice in Sydney, and then partnered with William Wardell from 1884 until 1889. Vernon assisted with works already in progress, designed buildings and supervised Wardell's
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 ...
projects in 1884–85. Vernon was an alderman on East St Leonards Municipal Council in 1885–90, serving a single term as Mayor from 1887 to 1888. When the Borough of East St Leonards amalgamated to form the Municipality of North Sydney on 29 July 1890, Vernon was an Alderman of the new council, but did not seek re-election when his term expired in February 1891. Elected a fellow of the
Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three supp ...
in 1885, he joined the (Royal) Art Society of New South Wales in 1884, (Sir)
John Sulman Sir John Sulman (29 August 1849 – 18 August 1934) was an Australian architect. Born in Greenwich, England, he emigrated to Sydney in 1885. From 1921 to 1924 he was chairman of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee and influenced the develop ...
's Palladian Club and the Institute of Architects of New South Wales in 1887, and the Sydney Architectural Association in 1891. On 1 August 1890 Vernon was appointed as 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 principle ...
, however his staff numbers were reduced significantly. Vernon showed that the system of design competitions were twice as expensive and the activities of this office were boosted in 1894 when extra funding was committed as a way of creating relief work during the Depression of the 1890s. As an architect practising in Australia, Vernon favoured what were later known as the Federation styles, such as the Free Classical, Arts and Crafts, and Free Style. Examples of the former were his fire station in St Johns Road,
Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...
, Jenolan Caves House in the Blue Mountains and the Public School, Military Road, Mosman. Examples of the latter were his fire stations in The Avenue, Randwick; Darlinghurst Road,
Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...
; and Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont. Another example of Federation Free Style is the former police station,
Taylor Square 500px, Taylor Square, Darlinghurst Taylor Square is a public square in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Taylor Square is located beside a major road junction, where Oxford Street meets Flinders Street. Taylor Square is also on the border o ...
, Darlinghurst. In a stylistic departure, he designed the (former) police station in Bourke Street,
Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surround ...
, in the Romanesque style. For more substantial public buildings, Vernon continued the tradition whereby such buildings were designed in a Classical style. Notable examples were the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the
Mitchell Library The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland. History The library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a ...
(part of the State Library), Central railway station and Newcastle Court House. The Art Gallery has been described as "masterly symmetry featuring Ionic colonnades." Central Station has been described as "the grandest railway station in Australia." Vernon also designed significant additions to existing buildings, such as
Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...
in
Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...
; Randwick Police Station; the Chief Secretary's Building, Sydney;
Balranald Balranald is a town within the local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town of Balranald is located where the Sturt Highway crosses the Murrumbidgee River in a remote, semi-deser ...
Post Office;
Armidale Post Office The Armidale Post Office is a heritage-listed post office located at 158 Beardy Street, Armidale, in the Armidale Regional Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The post office building was designed by the NSW Colonial Ar ...
; and the former Premier's Office, Sydney. His office was also responsible for the public decorations during the Federation celebrations of 1901. in 1906, he advocated Mahkoolma, near the future site of Lake Burrinjuck, as the site of Australia's new national capital. He retired as New South Wales Government Architect in 1911 and returned to private practice, establishing a partnership with
Howard Joseland Howard Joseland (1860–1930) was an English architect who migrated to Australia and pursued a successful and influential career there. Early life Richard George Howard Joseland was born on 14 January 1860 at Claines, Worcestershire, Engl ...
. The latter, also born in England, was a practitioner of the
Federation Arts and Crafts Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Australian colonies collectively became the Commonwealth of Au ...
and
Federation Bungalow Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Australian colonies collectively became the Commonwealth of ...
styles. One of the buildings designed by Vernon and Joseland was the Paterson Reid and Bruce building, York Street, Sydney. In 1911, Vernon judged the competition entries for Parliament House 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 metr ...
, New Zealand, after the original buildings were destroyed in a 1907 fire.


Death and funeral

Following the amputation of a leg, Vernon died of
septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...
and gangrene on 17 January 1914 in Darlinghurst and his "impressive funeral" at
St James' Church, Sydney St James' Church, commonly known as St James', King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales. Consecrated in February 1824 and named ...
on 19 January was attended by "a large and representative gathering of mourners". He is buried in the Anglican section of the Gore Hill cemetery.


Legacy

Vernon had an outstanding career as an architect, with many of his buildings being listed on various national and/or state heritage registers. He is known as a key practitioner of various Federation styles. The Vernon lectures in town planning, instituted at the University of Sydney in 1916, were endowed in his honour. Vernon Circle in Canberra is named in his honour, as is the Vernon Pavilion in Sydney's Centennial Park.


Partial list of works

The following buildings and structures were designed either in part or in full by Vernon, that are listed on active Commonwealth or State heritage registers include: Other places were Vernon had involvement, either in part or in full, that are not listed on active Commonwealth or State heritage registers include the Anderson Stuart building,
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 six ...
, the former Balranald Post Office (since demolished), Bowral Court House, the former Braidwood Courthouse, Charles Sturt University, Original Farm and Farm School Buildings, Bathurst, Cootamundra Court House, Condobolin Court House, Cowra Court House, Crows Nest Fire Station, Darlinghurst Fire Station, Darlinghurst Police Station (former), Dubbo Lands Board Office, Forbes Lands Board Office, Hay Court House, Hay Lands Board Office, Hunters Hill Post Office, Kogarah Post Office (former), Lismore Post Office, Narrandera Court House, Newtown Post Office, Orange Lands Board Office, Parkes Court House, Pyrmont Fire Station, Randwick Police Station, Redfern Court House, Sargood & Co Warehouse (former), Surry Hills Police Station (former), Wagga Wagga Court House,
Western Sydney University Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
Stable Square, Richmond and Wyalong Court House.


Gallery

Image:(1)Pyrmont_Fire_Station-1.jpg, Pyrmont Fire Station Image:RandwickFireStation0001.jpg, Randwick Fire Station Image:(1)Darlinghurst_Fire_Station-b.jpg, Darlinghurst Fire Station Image:Caves-House-Accommodation-at-Jenolan-Caves.jpg, Jenolan Caves House, in the Blue Mountains


See also

*
Federation architecture Federation architecture is the architectural style in Australia that was prevalent from around 1890 to 1915. The name refers to the Federation of Australia on 1 January 1901, when the Australian colonies collectively became the Commonwealth of ...
*
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 principle ...
* Mahkoolma


References


External links


Walter Liberty Vernon at Federation House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Walter Liberty 1846 births 1914 deaths Architects from Buckinghamshire New South Wales architects Public servants of New South Wales Federation architects People from High Wycombe 19th-century Australian architects Mayors of East St Leonards Australian Army officers 19th-century Australian military personnel Burials at Gore Hill Cemetery North Sydney Council