John Smith Murdoch, born in Glasgow, Scotland, was the chief architect for the Commonwealth of Australia from 1919, responsible for designing many government buildings in Australia. These notably include many of Canberra's first public buildings, such as the Provisional Parliament House (1927), Secretariat Buildings No. 1 and 2 (East and West Blocks) (1927) and several residential hotels necessary for public servants and politicians, the Hotel Kurrajong (1926), Gormon House, and the Hotel Canberra (1924). In Melbourne, his notable works included the Commonwealth Offices in Treasury Place (1912), the former Mail Exchange (1913) on Bourke Street and the former High Court in Little Bourke Street (1926). Murdoch's earlier work in Australia included:
- Canberra's Kingston Power Station, built from 1913-1915. This was decommissioned in the early 1960s, and reopened on 25 May 2007 as Canberra Glassworks, a glass artist studio.[1]
- 12 bungalows built in 1915 for staff of the Royal Australian Navy College, HMAS Creswell, at Jervis Bay, New South Wales. These now have heritage-listing, and were refurbished in 2006-7. [2]
His work in Perth includes the Commonwealth Bank and General Post Office buildings (1923) in Forrest Place. Murdoch was a member of the Masonic order and it is claimed that he incorporated many masonic motifs into his designs.[3]
Gallery of work
 Old Parliament House, Canberra |
 East Block, Canberra |
 Hotel Canberra |
 Former mail exchange, Melbourne |
 GPO, Forrest Place, Perth |
 Commonwealth Bank Building, Forrest Place, Perth |
References
- ^ Transformer: Canberra Glassworks; Construction Tour and Program Launch (media release), accessed 31 May 2007
- ^ Creswell's heritage houses restored, p6 Navy News Vol.50 No.9, 31 May 2007
- ^ John Smith Murdoch, Brisbane, a Wooden Leg, Symbolic Signs, and the OPH Building, Denis Strangman, accessed 31 May 2007
