The Australian Review of Books
Review by Elizabeth Ellis, Curator of Pictures at the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
Reprinted by kind permission of the author.
FOUNDATIONS OF GRANDEUR...
THIS BOOK HAS BEEN LONG anticipated by devotees of Australian architectural and social history. The wait has been worthwhile. It is a handsome volume, of a generous quarto size with satisfyingly wide margins and an uncluttered design of simple elegance befitting its subject. Colour plates are gathered at the beginning in a well-chosen and reproduced selection; black and white plates are interspersed throughout the text.
In his research, James Broadbent has mined the archives of public and private collections, unearthing obscure and enlightening references in letters and diaries, and locating many hitherto unknown or forgotten images. All these are impeccably and extensively footnoted.
The evolution and development of architectural style in the colony of NSW from 1788 to 1842 is described in a chronological account. It may come as a surprise to learn that amid the struggle for survival in the fledgling settlement after 1788, matters of aesthetic concern surfaced early in the construction of First Government House. At the end of the period is Aberglasslyn, near Maitland in the Hunter Valley, a grand John Verge-designed house left unfinished after the bankruptcy of the owner in the 1840s depression. Despite the seriousness of The Australian Colonial House as a major reference book, one of its most endearing features is Broadbent's writing style, which is reminiscent of the 19th century, with Austenesque observations on character and just a hint of gossip.
Broadbent traces meticulously the genesis and evolution of Australian design from English pattern books translated into residences for the "gentlemen of the colony"; officials, merchants and professional men. Buildings made the most obvious and unassailable statements about newly acquired possession of land and, sometimes, status. The significance of the emerging built environment therefore had symbolic value for the self-appointed gentry of NSW.
However, the most interesting aspect of The Australian Colonial House is the interweaving of the personalities of architects, owners and builders: governor Lachlan Macquarie's fiery architect, Francis Greenway, abetted by Elizabeth Macquarie, leading his master to ever more ambitious schemes and ever more likely conflict with the British government; civil servants such as Alexander Macleay and Thomas Mitchell, determined to erect antipodean temples in this new paradise; gifted amateurs such as the Scott brothers of Glendon, near Singleton, who were better at breeding racehorses or sketching homestead "castles in the air" than running a property; John Macarthur descending into madness amid an ever-increasing frenzy of building projects.
All these ambitions, go-getting, sometimes refined eccentrics and entrepreneurs come to life in the pages of Broadbent's book. They indicate inter alia that architecture is but one expression of human creativity and frailty, whether in a far-flung outpost of empire or a sophisticated metropolitan centre.
Historically, Broadbent's most significant achievement is to present another view of the decades following the establishment of white settlement in NSW. He provides a counterpoise to the idea that for much of this period the colony was simply a dumping ground for convicts, or a place to get rich quickly for the clever, sharp and unscrupulous. Their houses implied a sense of commitment to this new home in the Southern Hemisphere, even if it was tinged with a strong desire to impress. Indeed, the origins of many present-day attitudes to architecture and society may be traced back to these times.
For anyone interested in our past and how we became as we are, The Australian Colonial House should be bought (ignoring the price), cherished and referred to time and again. It is destined to be a classic.