This is a recording of a talk called Colonial Aspiration & 19th Century Public Building in Australia, by Stuart King recorded on 31st Jan 2024.
This talk is part of the Online Winter Talk Series 2024 called Victorian and Edwardian Architecture in the Wider British World. Follow this link to book all of the talks.
Although the sun has long-since set on the British Empire, its architecture still casts a long shadow. For the 2024 Winter Talk series the Victorian Society will be visiting Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, Malaysia and New Zealand, with a number of the lectures coming from those countries themselves. A range of themes or positions will be discussed, for the architecture of the colonisers to the legacy they left behind to the manner in which the foreign architecture was adapted and adopted by the indigenous peoples who understood the nature of the climate and materials of their own countries.
Colonial Aspiration and Nineteenth Century Public Building in Australia
by Stuart King, University of Melbourne
During the Victorian era the Australian colonies were progressively granted responsible government gaining autonomy over their public works programs. It was a significant period of population growth, urban expansion and civic building. Gold rushes, notably in the Colony of Victoria in the early 1850s, provided the means for ambitious architecture, and set a high bar for neighbouring colonies establishing their economic and cultural infrastructure and identities. This talk discusses approaches to nineteenth-century public building in the Australian colonies.
Dr Stuart King is a senior lecturer in architectural design and history at the University of Melbourne. He is a member of the University’s Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage (ACAHUCH) and undertakes research in Australian architectural history, with a focus on the nineteenth century. He is a past editor of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) journal Fabrications: JSAHANZ (2014-2017) and past SAHANZ President (2011-13).
After booking a ticket, you will be given access to the recording of the event. Please ignore the event date in the listings.
This event helps raise funds for The Victorian Society - the only charity dedicated to fighting for our Victorian and Edwardian heritage. Join us today and safeguard our unique cultural heritage for future generations! For further information, click here.
The Victorian Society is an IHBC recognised CPD provider.
