The centenary of architectural registration in Victoria is an important milestone in the history of the profession. Since the passing of the first Architects’ Registration Act in 1922, both the profession and the State have undergone dramatic change. Registration was on the collective mind of the profession from at least 1887 and here, the efforts leading up to the passing of the Act, and its subsequent changes in response to changing contexts are detailed. The parallel development and formalisation of architectural education with registration is also significant. While the Architects Registration Board of Victoria (ARBV) – the body overseeing the administration of the Act and maintenance of the register of architects – was initially dependent on the structures and location of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects, it has increasingly forged a truly independent position.
From its outset, the registration of architects in Victoria enabled a wide range of practitioners to officially be listed as architects, regardless of their location, social standing, gender or background. Here we include a series of biographical portraits that document a series of firsts: the first registered architect, Arthur Dainton; the first registered regional architect, Harry Hopkins; the first female registered architect, Vera Lane; the first culturally and linguistically diverse architects, Joseph Plottel and Mee How Ah Mouy; the first registered firm of architects, Young Lehmann; and one of the earliest known registered Indigenous architect, Jefa Greenaway. A lack of clear and direct evidence made it difficult to identify the first registered LGBTQIA+ architect and the first registered architect living with a disability, but there were gay and lesbian architects working in Melbourne from at least the 1920s, if not much earlier. Similarly, there were architects with disabilities acquired through wartime service working from the 1920s, as well as architects known to live with significant hearing impairment.
The stories that are revealed by these biographies – architects who are not always well-known in the annals of history – are a fascinating snapshot of the profession and its changing contexts.
A brief history of the Board
The passing of the Architects’ Act in 1922 meant both the establishment of a procedure and maintenance of a register of architects, and a governance structure to oversee it.
The registration acts
The history of registration of architects in Victoria starts much earlier than the passing of its first Act in 1922.
Architectural education and registration in Victoria
From the very start, the question of registration for architects in Victoria was considered alongside that of architectural education.
Arthur Edgar Dainton
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.
Vera Lane
Vera Pearse Lane (1896-1979) became the first woman to be registered as an architect in Victoria, when she was the fourteenth candidate registered under the Act in June 1923.
Harry Hopkins
Harry Hopkins (1857-1929) was the seventh architect registered in Victoria, and the first architect registered whose practice was based in regional Victoria.
Joseph Plottel
Joseph Plottel (1883-1977) was the 73rd registered architect in Victoria. He was descended from Russian Jews, who had likely fled to England as the result of pogroms in 1881-82 and settled in Middlesborough, Yorkshire.
Mee How Ah Mouy
Mee How Ah Mouy (1887-1977) was the 161st architect registered in Victoria, the first person of non-European ancestry.
Young Lehmann (Y2 Architecture)
The first firm of architects registered in Victoria was Young Lehmann & Company on 9 April 1973.
Jefa Greenaway
It is not possible to identify with certainty the first Indigenous Australian architect in Victoria.
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