Mee How Ah Mouy (1887-1977) was the 161st architect registered in Victoria, the first person of non-European ancestry. He was Chinese-Australian, born in Middle Park, Victoria, to émigré parents Louey Ah Mouy and second wife Ang Chuck. Ah Mouy’s father had been born in the Toishan district of the Kwangtung province in China, before emigrating to Singapore, where he trained in carpentry. Louey Ah Mouy then came to Melbourne in 1851, contracted to build houses in South Melbourne, before heading to the Victorian goldfields. Thereafter, he was involved in mining, tea importation, building and development, becoming a wealthy and respected pillar of the community. He was reportedly the first person of Chinese descent to arrive in Victoria, and believed an intercepted letter he sent to a brother in Canton precipitated the rush of Chinese migrants to the Australian goldfields.
Mee How Ah Mouy was thus born into a prosperous family. He attended South Melbourne College, where he excelled in maths and mapping. He then began articles with WAM Blackett, a well-respected Melbourne architect, in 1905 and concurrently studied building construction and architecture at the Working Men’s College (now RMIT University) under Robert Haddon. He won prizes in his second and third year of architecture studies and, at a time when few managed to pass the entire set of subjects, he appeared to do so with ease. Ah Mouy joined the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects as a student member in 1906, and then won two second prizes for measured drawings in RVIA competitions in 1906 and 1907. By mid-1908, he had completed both his articles and studies. In 1909 and 1910, he was the Honorary Secretary of the Victorian Architectural Students’ Society (VASS).
As early as 1904, Ah Mouy drew initial plans for terrace housing for a site owned by his father in Middle Park; the project, with new designs, got underway in 1907. Family connections were also likely behind a commission for a series of shops in Bay Street, North Brighton (1908). Ah Mouy formed a brief partnership with WB Forster in 1910, the only project of which was the Shanghai Café at the Ritz Hotel, Swanston Street.
The young architect enjoyed numerous commissions from both Chinese and Anglo-European clients in his first few years of practice. He designed multiple houses across Middle Park, Malvern and Hawthorn, with a few further afield, such as those in Montrose and Majorca (near Maryborough, for a Chinese client), in styles that are now described as Federation, featuring red brick, timber, and leaded glass. His most significant commission of this period was the design of St Joseph’s School, Otter Street, Collingwood (1912). Concurrently, from 1910 he was employed as a draftsman in the Electrical Engineering branch of the Postmaster-General’s Department of the Commonwealth Public Service.
In 1912, Ah Mouy left Australia for China, along with barrister William Ah Ket, to represent Victorian Chinese in the National Assembly elections. Together, the men had formed the Sino-Australian Association in 1906. Ah Mouy left Melbourne with an impressive array of letters of introduction, including from Blackett, Haddon, RVIA Secretary John Little and John Gawler, who had spent time working in China. He then spent three years in China and Hong Kong, including designing a villa for Yue Yern Yuen in Canton and working for Palmer & Turner between 1913-15. He returned to Melbourne in 1915 and gained employment in the State Engineer’s branch of the PMG. In 1922, Ah Mouy travelled to Hong Kong, having resigned from the PMG and, while overseas, arranged to apply for registration with the ARBV via the auspices of the Secretary of the Victorian Draughtsmen’s Association, SB Vial. Returning in 1923, Ah Mouy set up in private practice and completed a number of residential and church projects through the 1920s and 1930s. He was still undertaking small architecture projects into the 1940s, and eventually relinquished his registration in 1972.
In the mid-1930s, Ah Mouy founded the Young Chinese League, that sought to provide those of Chinese descent with opportunities for social, cultural and sporting activities, for which he was inaugural president and thereafter its treasurer until 1957. Like his father, he was well-respected, giving a lifetime of support for the Chinese-Australian community.
Ah Mouy had extensive interests external to architecture and this was not uncommon at the time. Many combined other activities alongside their architectural practice: for instance, Harry Norris helped establish a car importation business in 1922 that flourished and complemented his many projects for motor garages. Those with other forms of income, such as inherited wealth or business interests, could practice architecture as they pleased. Being an architect also brought powerful social capital to the individual, giving them social status. This meant that architects could maintain an office and their social position, but did not need to rely on practice alone for their income: the maintenance of registration was thus more than just a licence to practice as an architect, but part of a social identity that often extended long after their last projects.
Prepared by Professor Julie Willis of the University of Melbourne
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