Basic Biographical Details

Name: George Alexander Troup
Designation:  
Born: 21 October 1863
Died: 11 October 1941
Bio Notes: George Alexander Troup was born in London on 21 October 1863 to a family of Scottish descent, and was brought up in Aberdeen and educated there at Robert Gordon's College. In 1879 he was articled to Edward Calvert in Edinburgh, moving to John Chesser's office in 1882 and attending classes at the Royal Institution where he was awarded several Queen's Prizes. He spent his holidays making sketching tours of Britain but did not venture further afield until 1884, when he emigrated to New Zealand and found employment in the Survey Department, Otago Province. In 1887 he transferred to the New Zealand Railways Department, becoming chief draughtsman in 1890 and thereafter designing a series of ambitious free Flemish Renaissance railway stations, notably that at Dunedin (1904) which brought him the sobriquet of Gingerbread George. His work for the Railways Department also involved technical experiments, in particular testing of the strengths of local timbers and of reinforced concrete arches. He was elected FRIBA on 3 December 1906, his proposers being Frederick de Jersey Clere, Alfred Atkins, and Thomas and William Turnbull, and was promoted Officer in Charge of the Railways' architectural branch in 1919.

In 1927, two years before his retirement in 1929, he was elected Mayor of Wellington, and he remained in office until 1931. He was active in several spheres of public life as President of the Academy of Fine Arts, President of the Wellington Boys Institute and President of the British and Foreign Bible Society. He was knighted in 1937 and died on 11 October 1941.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 1Wellington, New ZealandBusiness   

Employment and Training

Employers

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 6Edward Calvert18791882Apprentice 
Item 2 of 6John Chesser18821884Assistant 
Item 3 of 6Otago Province Survey Department18841887Assistant(?) 
Item 4 of 6New Zealand Government Railway Department18871890Draughtsman 
Item 5 of 6New Zealand Government Railway Department18901919Chief Draughtsman 
Item 6 of 6New Zealand Government Railway Department19191929(?)Chief ArchitectOfficer in Charge

RIBA

RIBA Proposers

The following individuals proposed this for RIBA membership (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate proposedNotes
Item 1 of 4Alfred Atkins3 December 1906for Fellowship
Item 2 of 4Frederick de Jersey Clere3 December 1906for Fellowship
Item 3 of 4Thomas Turnbull3 December 1906for Fellowship
Item 4 of 4William Turnbull3 December 1906for Fellowship

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 5British Architectural Library, RIBA2001Directory of British Architects 1834-1914   
Item 2 of 5Historic Buildings of New Zealand Historic Buildings of New Zealand, South Island   
Item 3 of 5Historic buildings of New Zealand Historic buildings of New Zealand: North Island   
Item 4 of 5McCoy, E J and Blackman, J G1968Victorian City of New Zealand   
Item 5 of 5Troup, Gordon1982George Troup, architect and engineer   

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this :
 SourceArchive NameSource Catalogue No.Notes
Item 1 of 1RIBA Archive, Victoria & Albert MuseumRIBA Nomination Papers F v18 p41 no1194 (microfilm reel 12)