Harold Desbrowe-Annear (16 August 1865 – 22 June 1933) was an influential Australian architect who was at the forefront of the development of the Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...

 in this country. During the 1890s

1890s

The 1890s were sometimes referred to as the "Mauve Decade" - because William Henry Perkin's aniline dye allowed the widespread use of that colour in fashion - and also as the "Gay Nineties", under the then-current usage of the word "gay" which referred simply to merriment and frivolity, with no...

 he was an Instructor in architecture at the Working Men’s College

Working Men's College of Melbourne

The Working Men's College of Melbourne was an Australian college of further education located in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1887 by a prominent Victorian parliamentarian and philanthropist, Francis Ormond....

 (now RMIT University

RMIT University

RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....

) where he founded the T-Square in 1900. The club acted as a meeting point for Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

’s architects, artists and craft workers and helped to develop a strong Arts and Crafts culture in the city. Desbrowe-Annear was also a supporter of the Victorian Arts and Crafts Society, founded in 1908.

Early Life & Education

Born in Happy Valley, Bendigo, Victoria in 1865, Desbrowe-Annear was the elder son of James Annear, mining contractor, and Eliza Ann (née Hawkins). He had six older stepsisters, two sisters and a brother. After the family moved to Melbourne in 1875 Desbrowe-Annear attended Hawthorn Grammar School, matriculating in 1882. On July 25, 1891, he married Florence Susan Chadwick but by the end of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, due to irreconcilable differences, they had separated. Desbrowe-Annear died on 22 June 1933 of heart disease

Heart disease

Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...

; he was survived by Florence whom he had not divorced and their two sons James and Hector.

Practices

In 1883 Desbrowe-Annear was articled to Melbourne architect William Salway and during this time his interest and knowledge of architecture grew extensively. In 1889 he chose to pursue a practice of his own having already received recognition for his architectural sketches and papers delivered to the Victorian Institute of Architects. During the 1890s he became an advocate of the Arts and Crafts movement and he established the T-Square Club on an Arts and Crafts agenda of collaborative work and the promotion of the building crafts. He was sympathetic to the theory of a ‘democratic architecture’ which underpins his most recognised work, the Eaglemont houses (1903) as well as his journal For Every Man his Home (1922) which expressed the idea of domestic Australian architecture suitable for everyone.

The Harold Desbrowe-Annear Award

In 1996, The Royal Australian Institute of Architects introduced the Harold Desbrowe-Annear Award to the best residential project of the year in Victoria. It is the highest honour in the state for Residential Architecture.

Federation Arch, Princes Bridge 1901

The ephemeral triumphal arch erected on Princes Bridge by the City of Melbourne was designed by Desbrowe-Annear in 1901 to mark the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York for the Federation celebrations. It was influenced by Beaux-Arts civic design and the ‘Arc de Triomphe’ in Paris.

Chadwick Houses, Eaglemont 1903

The three houses that Desbrowe-Annear erected in Eaglemont were commissioned by his father-in-law James Chadwick in 1903. They were 36-38 The Eyrie built as a residence for the architect and his family; 32-34 The Eyrie and 55 Outlook Drive. While relatively modest in size their design indicates that the architect was prepared to grasp the issue of the “small home” as one of the most challenging of the new century. They embody the principles of William Morris in their truth to materials and place, structural ‘honesty’, functionalism and celebration of the builder’s craft. They are weatherboard with rough cast and half-timbering and exhibit many technological innovations including wall recessed, sliding window sashes, modular wall-framing and convection heating vents to fireplaces. Each house was thoughtfully positioned on the slope of the hill, with increasing setbacks from the street, so as not to block the views from within.

Springthorpe Memorial, Booroondara Cemetery, Kew, 1897-1900

The Springthorpe Memorial

Springthorpe Memorial

The Springthorpe Memorial is an elaborate Victorian era memorial located within Boroondara General Cemetery in Kew, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.The memorial was built by Melbourne doctor John Springthorpe,...

 in the Boroondara Cemetery

Boroondara General Cemetery

Boroondara General Cemetery, often referred to as Kew cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Victoria, Australia. The cemetery, located in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, is listed as a heritage place on the Victorian Heritage Register.-History:...

, Kew

Kew, Victoria

Kew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....

, was Desbrowe-Annear’s first Arts and Crafts venture. The design was influenced by William Lethaby

William Lethaby

William Richard Lethaby was an English architect and architectural historian whose ideas were highly influential on the late Arts and Crafts and early Modern movements in architecture, and in the fields of conservation and art education.-Early life:Lethaby was born in Barnstaple, Devon, the son of...

’s writings on the iconography

Iconography

Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...

 of the domed temple form in “Architecture: Mysticism & Myth”. Consequentially the architecture is symbolic. The geographic alignment of the tomb

Tomb

A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...

 ascertains that the intense light of the afternoon sun lights up the temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

with brilliant colour. It explores the idea of the hoped-for union of souls.

Inglesby, South Yarra 1915

Inglesby, the Francis house, South Yarra was one of Desbrowe-Annear’s most famous houses, identified by Robin Boyd as an example of Melbourne’s ‘pioneer modernism’. It was timber-framed with plain white roughcast walls inspired by Californian architect Irving Gill. The plan of Inglesby centred on a large hall entered from the porch. It was flanked either side by the dining room and the living room accessed through sliding doors which when opened extended into a huge living area across the front of the house. Inglesby’s low ceilings and horizontal flow aligned it also to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.