George McRae was a Scottish architect who migrated to Australia and pursued his career in Sydney, where he became Government Architect of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

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Life and career

George McRae was born in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Scotland, in 1858. He arrived in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 in 1884 and was appointed Assistant Architect in the City Architect’s office. He became City Architect and City Building Surveyor in 1889. He held this position until 1897, when he was appointed Principal Assistant Architect to Walter Liberty Vernon

Walter Liberty Vernon

Walter Liberty Vernon was an English architect who migrated to the state of New South Wales, Australia and pursued his career as an architect in Sydney...

 in the Government Architect's Branch. He succeeded Vernon as New South Wales Government Architect

New South Wales Government Architect

The New South Wales Government Architect is an officer of the New South Wales government. Historically, the government architect was in charge of the state government's public building projects....

 in 1911 and held the position until he died in 1923.

Partial list of works

George McRae was responsible for the design of many buildings in Sydney and other places, several of which still survive and are heritage-listed. Some of the extant buildings are:

• Rozelle Tram Depot
  Rozelle Tram Depot
  The former Rozelle tram depot, located in Glebe, New South Wales, is the largest remaining tram depot in Sydney, and is one of five remaining tram depots in the state of New South Wales. It was the second largest tram depot to service the Sydney network, running at peak capacity of approximately...
  
  , located in Glebe, New South Wales, 1904; Federation Queen Anne style, saw-tooth, corrugated iron roof concealed by a brick stepped parapet structure.
• Education Department Building, Bridge Street, Sydney, 1912; a six-storey sandstone building with steel and reinforced concrete structure and a central light-well, listed on the Register of the National Estate
  Register of the National Estate
  The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
  
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• Former Parcels Post Office, Railway Square, Sydney, 1913; a brick and sandstone building in the Federation Free Classical style, described as "an ingeniously designed and monumental building." This distinctive building used to house a post office, Telecom Telex machine centre and a tool store; it has now been fully restored and reopened as an "executive hotel".
• Taronga Zoo
  Taronga Zoo
  Taronga Zoo is the city zoo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Officially opened on 7 October 1916, it is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Mosman...
  
   lower entrance, top entrance and Indian elephant house, Mosman
  Mosman, New South Wales
  Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...
  
  , Sydney, 1916; replaced first zoo at Moore Park, has a Local Government Heritage listing.
• Corporation Building, Hay Street, Sydney, circa 1893; known at first as the Municipal Building, this building combined Queen Anne and Anglo-Dutch influences, and originally had a ground-floor market stall arcade. It is listed on the Register of the National Estate

• Additions to the Colonial Treasury Building, Bridge Street, Sydney, originally built circa 1849, extensions circa 1896; listed on the Register of the National Estate
• Queen Victoria Building
  Queen Victoria Building
  The Queen Victoria Building, or QVB, is a late nineteenth century building by the architect George McRae in the central business district of Sydney, Australia. The Romanesque Revival building is 30 metres wide by 190 metres long, and fills a city block, bounded by George, Market, York and Druitt...
  
  , George Street, Sydney, 1893-98; a sandstone masterpiece in American Romanesque style, reopened in 1986 as a retail centre after major restoration, and listed on the Register of the National Estate
• Former Sydney City Markets, Ultimo Road, Haymarket
  Haymarket, New South Wales
  Haymarket is a locality of Sydney's city centre, New South Wales, Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney....
  
  , 1910. Part of the market complex that included the vegetable market, Hay Street, and the markets bell tower, Quay Street. Later converted to a hotel.
• Corn Exchange, Sussex Street, Sydney; built by City Council in 1887 and attributed to McRae. A two-storey building with an unusual curved facade, listed on the Register of the National Estate.
• Court House, Maitland Street, Cessnock, New South Wales
  Cessnock, New South Wales
  Cessnock is a city in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about by road west of Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the Cessnock City Council LGA and was named after an 1826 grant of land called Cessnock Estate, which was owned by John Campbell...
  
  ; the State Government set aside land in 1905 that established Cessnock as the administrative centre of the coal fields in that part of the Hunter Valley. This included the court house, which now has a Local Government Heritage listing.