The first registered architect in the State of Victoria was Arthur Edgar Dainton (1873-1948), listed in the Victorian Government Gazette on 27 June 1923 as part of the first cohort of 33 registered under the new Act.
Dainton was not a particularly well-known or prolific architect in Melbourne, nor did he attain prominence by being a member of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects. At the time of his registration, he had been the in-house architect for the National Bank of Australasia for four years, completing regional bank projects, including those at Trafalgar (1920), Tocumwal (1920) and Edenhope (1923). However, his journey to practise in Melbourne was not straightforward.
Dainton was born in Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, England. He was articled to London architect John Samuel Alder (1848-1919) (whose practice was focused on churches) between 1890-93, concurrently taking classes at the South Kensington Schools. At that time, a four-year period of articles, supplemented by suitable technical classes, was the standard training in architecture, so Dainton was considered fully qualified at the end of his articled tenure.
Dainton then sought new opportunities. He went to South Africa c1893, likely drawn by the economic possibilities of the region, as recent gold discoveries ensured that it was one of the few places enjoying prosperity in the face of the 1891-92 Depression. There he joined a burgeoning number of architects emigrating to the southern African colonies, a significant proportion of whom came from Australia. Dainton first worked in Cape Town for John Parker, then with William Leck in Johannesburg. After some travel in the region, he settled in Natal, where he was appointed clerk and assistant draughtsman in the Natal Public Works Department in 1897. There, he completed a series of public buildings in Pietermaritzburg, including schools, courts and a museum. He was promoted in 1901 to the post of architect in the PWD, which he held until he was retrenched in 1908 due to a depression. In 1904-5, he was a member of the Natal Institute of Architects governing council.
Dainton had taken a period of unpaid leave in 1900, returning to England, where he married, before heading back to Natal. Economic conditions must have been weakening, as in 1906 he travelled to Winnipeg, Canada, via London, in the company of Australian architect Arthur Floyd Trebilco (1872-1921), who had likewise relocated to South Africa. Both were likely scouting future opportunities, but nothing came of it. In 1910, he went to Buenos Aires, probably for the same reason, before returning to England.
In 1911, he travelled to Melbourne, possibly encouraged by Trebilco who had by then returned to his home state. By 1915, Dainton was working as an architectural draughtsman at the City of Melbourne, before joining the National Bank of Australasia as architect in 1918.
Dainton’s post-registration career was modest. He won a competition to make alterations and improvements to Sandringham Town Hall in 1926, but thereafter appeared to focus on contracting repairs and improvements to various public buildings around the state by tender, until the Great Depression, which put an end to his career.
Many journeyman architects like Dainton travelled or emigrated in the search for better opportunities, encouraged by economic booms and busts.
Prepared by Professor Julie Willis of the University of Melbourne
Updated