Harry Winbush

Harry Winbush
Born (1903-10-15)15 October 1903
Brunswick, Victoria
Died 30 May 1990(1990-05-30) (aged 86)
Nationality Australian
Occupation Architect
Awards Paul Harris Rotary International Fellow

Harry Stephen Winbush (born 1903) was an Australian architect based in Melbourne.

Early life

Winbush was born in Melbourne. His father was a builder. The prominent Melbourne architect, Percy Everett recommended that Winbush study architecture. He did well in his studies gaining his architecture qualifications in Melbourne and later in London.

Career

Architectural commissions

During his professional career he designed many residential and commercial buildings. Other buildings he designed included fire stations in Port Melbourne[1] Box Hill[2] and East Kew[3] built in 1941 and currently recommended for heritage listing.

He designed a theatre for the Essendon Society of Arts, as well as hospitals situated in Essendon and Greensborough-Diamond Valley.[4] He designed sporting infrastructure including the main grandstand - the A.F. Showers Pavilion[5][6] at Windy Hill, Essendon the home of the Essendon Bombers football club. He designed one of the first of the 'new-generation' of indoor sporting facilities - the ten-pin bowling alley.[7]

He also designed the Moonee Ponds Trugo club[8] and an Art Deco house in Fletcher St Essendon[9][10] as well as public libraries in Glenroy[11] and Essendon.[12]

He undertook a wide range of architectural commissions including pioneering examinations of: Obsolescence in Residential Properties[13] and Camouflaging of buildings around Melbourne, and Camouflaging of the gun emplacements at Point Nepean - the entrance to Port Philip Bay, during World War 2.

Academic positions

Winbush was appointed, in 1943, head of the Department of Art and Architecture which was to become the Department of Architecture and Design[14] at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).[15] He was responsible for the management of the education of thousands of students.[16]

In 1948, he developed the RMIT Interior Design course which in turn led to the establishment the 'Industrial Design Institute of Australia' which was renamed as the Design Institute of Australia[17] He retired from his position as head of RMIT Architecture and Design in 1968.[15]

During this period he also established and maintained a successful architectural consulting business.

Professional positions

In 1949 the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) established a Joint Board of Architectural Education. It was this Board which became the vehicle through which the profession directly influenced architectural education in Australia through the accreditation of both courses and educational institutions. Winbush was a member of that first Board.[18]

He was appointed President of the RAIA, 1955-57.[1]

Winbush was a graduate of Melbourne University and a Fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (FRAIA) and also a Fellow the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA).[19] He went on to become a member of the Melbourne University, Faculty of Architecture.

He was chairman of the Architects' Registration Board of Victoria. As a councillor of the National Trust of Victoria he was actively engaged in the preservation of Victoria's historic buildings.[20]

No place like home

During the 1960s, new houses were being built across the ever-expanding suburbs of Melbourne. He was asked to prepare feature articles for the Melbourne Sun newspaper detailing his comprehensive ‘road–tests’ of those homes. The column was titled, No place like home and ran every week from March 1964 until June 1973. The University of Melbourne, Department of Architecture reported:

The Melbourne 'Sun' introduced a new feature to appear weekly on Tuesdays—"No Place Like Home" written by Mr. Harry Winbush, head of the School of Architecture at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Besides the expected general information for the prospective homeowner, on finance, renovations, decorations, etc; the column assesses the stock range of builders' houses for sale. A worthwhile analysis, for it points out not only what the buyer gets for his money, but also what he doesn't get (e.g. sewerage facilities, polished floors, fences etc); and it is also critical of fittings and planning. The level of the column drops to catch-phrases however with remarks such as "The feature wall of stained and varnished pine in the family living area is a happy thought." The service is apparently directed towards readers who find the "Age" R.V.I.A. Small Homes Service too highbrow, or at 10 guineas per plan, too expensive.[21]

Rotary International

Winbush was an active member of Rotary International for nearly 50 years and was held in high regard by his fellow members. He was President of the Essendon club in 1951-52. In 1952 he designed for Rotary a "Pioneers Retreat" (and as described in the Rotary Club history), "a beautiful cream-brick building in the sylvan setting of Queens Park, Moonee Ponds". Another project which Essendon Rotary supported was 'Gladswood Lodge', (with Winbush known as its 'honorary architect'), which continues to provide care for the aged. He also instigated the forming of the Brunswick Rotary Club in 1953.[22]

Essendon Rotary Club, at that time had established and continued to assist in the maintenance of 'Rowallan Recreation and Adventure Camp' set in 74 hectares (183 acres) of natural bushland in the Catherine Valley, Gisborne for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides.[23][24]

Winbush was recognised as a Paul Harris Fellow, an honour recognising outstanding service and represented Rotary Australia at international conferences.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Fire Station Complex, Port Melbourne". City of Port Phillip Heritage Review. 15 August 2012. p. 51. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  2. ↑ "Box Hill Fire Station". Victoria Australia RAIA 20thC Architecture register 1982-85. 6 December 2014. p. 5. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "Thematic environmental history" (PDF). City of Boroondara. May 2012. p. 25. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  4. ↑ "Archive collection: Clements Langford Pty Ltd". University of Melbourne. January 1960. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "New grandstand at Essendon". The Argus (Melbourne). 12 August 1938. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "The Age Landmarks: Windy Hill". Austadiums. 9 April 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  7. ↑ "Metropolitan Bowl 70 Fletcher Street, Essendon (demolished) [Harry Winbush, 1962]". Builtheritage. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  8. ↑ "Footscray Trugo Club - Conservation Analysis, Queens Park Trugo Club, Moonee Ponds" (PDF). The City of Maribyrnong. July 2006. p. 27. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "Art Deco house". Melbourne Circle. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Fletcher St Essendon". 14 February 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  11. ↑ "Glenroy Library". Butalist Charm. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Reeves, Simon (2009). "Memories of Modernism - City of Essendon Public Library Mt Alexander Rd, Moonee Ponds Harry Winbush, 1964" (PDF). Aicomos. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  13. ↑ "Consolidated Index to the Australian Property Institute's Journals 1930–2015Name Index" (PDF). Australian Property Institute. 2015. p. 252. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  14. ↑ "Department of Art and Architecture - Murray Forster" (PDF). Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  15. 1 2 Njoo, Alex Haw Gie (2008). "Organic architecture : its origin, development and impact on mid 20th century Melbourne architecture" (PDF). RMIT University. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  16. ↑ Ryan, Dorothy (1968). "Harry Winbush and probably his RMIT architectural class". Picture Victoria. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  17. ↑ "Design Institute of Australia". Design Institute of Australia. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  18. ↑ Blythe, Richard (8 July 1997). "Science enthusiasts: a threat to BeauxArts architectural education in Australia in the 1950s" (PDF). p. 121. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "Full text of "Kalendar Of The Royal Institute Of British Architects 1933-34"". Government of India: Department of Archaeology. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  20. ↑ "National Trust Victoria" (PDF). National Trust of Victoria. 1 February 2016. p. 5. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
  21. ↑ "No place like home" (PDF). The University of Melbourne, Department of Architecture. 1 April 1964. p. 2. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  22. ↑ "Essendon Rotary Club History". Essendon Rotary Club. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  23. ↑ "Rowallan Recreation and Adventure Camp". Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  24. ↑ "The Rotary Club of Essendon, History". Essendon Rotary Club. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
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