He that hath no relish for the grandure [sic] and joy of building’, wrote Roger North in 1698, ‘is a stupid ox.’ Unfortunately, despite the considerable progress made over the last thirty years, such oxen abound in Australia. One has but to think of the destruction of Brisbane’s Bellevue Hotel, or of Townsville’s Buchanan’s, its balconies the most artfully cast-iron laden in the country: fire had destroyed the rear of the building, justification enough for the council to move against the façade. Not even appearance on a postage stamp was enough to save it. But it is not only in Queensland that we see the depredations of these Captain Midnights: Melbourne recently saw the Toorak Methodist Church similarly attacked, to the point where it was deliberately placed beyond repair. Developers and the imperatives of capitalism still effortlessly outpace both half-hearted conservation measures and the degree of public awareness necessary to make such sanctions work.
The History and Design of the Australian House by Robert Irving
OUP, 328 p., illus., biblio., index., $50.00
Australia’s Iron Lace by Brian Turner
Allen & Unwin, 192 p., illus., biblio., index, $39.95
Leaves of Iron: Glen Murcutt, Pioneer of an Australian Architectural Form by Philip Drew
Law Book Company, illus., biblio., index, 148 p., $37.50 hb
ABR receives a commission on items purchased through this link. All ABR reviews are fully independent.
If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.
If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.
Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.