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Architects

Basic Biographic Details

Alexander Davidson
Architect
Exact Date
Exact Date
01/02/1908
Alexander Davidson was born 17 May 1839, the son of Samuel Davidson of 9 Rose Street, Edinburgh and later of 6 William Street, Edinburgh and of Mary Kennedy. An RSA student, he was recommended to the Trustees' Academy by Walter Carmichael. He entered on 23 June 1856 and left on 30 June in the same year. He was articled to John Henderson in whose office he met and befriended the young George Henderson, also an articled clerk. After Henderson's early death in 1862, Davidson was persuaded by Rev John Cooper, related by marriage to the Davidson family, then on a visit to Edinburgh in mid-1864, to emigrate to Australia to undertake work there for Cooper's congregation. Davidson, accompanied by his young cousin and future wife, Eugenia Cooper Davidson, departed for Australia in the autumn of the same year. (They were married the following year). Within a few months he designed a church for Cooper's Presbyterian congregation at Rokewood in Victoria. After a dispute with his congregation over the payment of his stipend, Cooper left Rokewood, though Davidson remained there, gaining the patronage of local families, in particular Scottish émigrés.

In May 1867 George Henderson arrived in Australia, presumably persuaded by his friend Davidson and by the promise of colonial work. At first he acted as an unpaid associate to Davidson, though before long both Henderson and Davidson were able to send money home to assist their respective families, a number of large commissions coming their way in late 1868 and in early 1869 and the practice moved to Geelong in Victoria. A partnership was formalised in late 1869, with Davidson receiving 2/3 of the profit and the younger partner 1/3. In early 1870 the partners won the important commission of Geelong College in Newtown and in line with stylistic developments in Britain used for the first time 'constructional polychromy'. A venture in the field of speculative building in Geelong was however not a success and a series of unfortunate episodes of losing jobs to other architects and disputes with contractors (relating to a clause written by the practice in their terms of agreement about their right to be the sole judge of quality without arbitration) caused them financial difficulties. Moreover in the early 1870s there was a short depression in the wool industry and some sources of work temporarily dried up.

The first partnership ended in December 1873 and although a new one was formalised in July 1874 with Davidson now receiving 5/9 of the profits, by this time Henderson who had lived with Davidson and his wife since his arrival in Australia found this arrangement a strain. Moreover he was becoming disillusioned with the work. Henderson largely fulfilled the role of office manager and was responsible for the costing of the jobs. It is unclear how much hand he had in design work. Only occasionally did he make site visits. In December 1875 he received an offer of work from William Hay in Edinburgh and the Davidson/Henderson partnership was terminated on less than friendly terms in April 1876, Henderson sailing home later that year.

In the later 1870s Davidson, now trading under the name Alexander Davidson & Co, ran into personal and financial difficulties. Two of his children died of diptheria and he created ill feeling in Geelong when standing for election to the Town Council in Geelong by denouncing another candidate, a rival local architect. After a short-lived association with the Melbourne architect E G Ovey, formed for the construction of a hotel in Collins Street in East Melbourne he announced that he intended to conduct offices at Temple Court in Melbourne as well as at Malop Street in Geelong. A short-lived partnership with George Raymond Johnson in 1881 in the venture to reconstruct the Geelong Exhibition Building was disastrous when he failed to win the contract. A major commission for the Colac Shire Hall commission was postponed. In July 1882 he closed the Geelonmg office and left finally for Melbourne. Between June 1885 and March 1887 he held the appointment of Architect for the Melbourne Tramway Trust. He remained in Melbourne until his death from an asthma attack on 2 January 1908. In his later years he reverted to using the Jacobean style he had used as an apprentice in John Henderson's office though he always retained a passion for Medieval sources and in particular those illustrated by Viollet-le-Duc.

Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this person:

Private Addresses

Private Addresses2 classic

AddressClassDate From CharDate From TypeDate To CharDate To TypeNotes
Brunswick Melbourne AustraliaPrivate
11 Madden Grove, Albert Park Albert Park Melbourne AustraliaPrivate

Employment and Training

The following individuals or organisations employed or trained this person (click on an item to view details):

Employers2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
Alexander Davidson & Co201158In year 1877In year 1908Partner
Davidson & Henderson201150Late 1869s1876/04Partner
John Henderson201110Apprentice

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this person (click on an item to view details):

Employees or Pupils2 classic

NameName LinkDate FromDate ToPositionNotes
J Hill Kays205717After 1884Before 1886Assistant
George Henderson201140In year 1867Late 1869sAssistant

Buildings and Designs

This person was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):

Buildings and Designs2 classic

Building NameDate StartedTown, District or VillageIslandCity or CountyCountryNotes
Rokewood Presbyterian ChurchIn year 1865RokewoodVictoriaAustralia
Rokewood Episcopalian ChurchIn year 1865RokewoodVictoriaAustralia
Kurac-a-Ruc HomesteadIn year 1865RokewoodVictoriaAustraliaAdditions
House, GalaIn year 1866LismoreVictoriaAustralia
WurrockIn year 1867RokewoodVictoriaAustralia
Residence, Barunah Plains StationIn year 1867InverleighVictoriaAustralia
Wesleyan ChurchIn year 1867MortlakeVictoriaAustralia
Kuruc-a-Ruc, Overseer's HouseIn year 1868RokewoodVictoriaAustralia
Common School, OnditIn year 1868OnditVictoriaAustralia
Mechanics InstituteIn year 1868RokewoodVictoriaAustralia
Residence, Watch HillIn year 1868ColacVictoriaAustralia
Victoria Woollen and Cloth Manfacturing CoIn year 1869GeelongVictoriaAustralia
Barwon ParkIn year 1869WinchelseaVictoriaAustralia
National Insurance Company BuildingIn year 1869GeelongVictoriaAustralia
Homestead EilyerIn year 1869Lake BolacVictoriaAustralia

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this person:

Bib ref classic

AuthorTitleDatePublisherPartNotes
Willingham, AllanTwo Scots in Victoria: the architecture of Davidson and Henderson1983

Periodical References

The following periodicals contain references to this person:

Period ref classic

Periodical NamePublisherDate CircEditionNotes
Argus1865/11/25

Archive References

The following archives hold material relating to this person:

Arc ref classic

Archive NameSourceSource Cat NoBuilding IdItem NameNotes
Information sent to DictionaryCourtesy of Mark Turnbull, Clive Lucas Stapleton & Partners, Sydney201154