Albert Purchas

Albert Purchas (1825-1909) was an English-born architect, surveyor, inventor and officer in the Victorian volunteer army who was prominent and prolific in Melbourne, Victoria in the late nineteenth century.

Early life

Albert Purchas was born in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales in 1825, the son of Robert Whittlesey Purchas and Marianne Guyon.

Purchas emigrated to Melbourne in about 1851. He was married on 1 Nov 1854 at St Kilda, Victoria, to Eliza Anne (abt 1825–1869),^[1] the eldest daughter of Robert Swyer, of Kersal, Lancashire. He soon established a private practice in Melbourne as a civil engineer and architect. He obtained a position as contract surveyor under Surveyor-General Robert Hoddle, but disagreed with Hoddle over the line for St Kilda Road, appealing to Governor La Trobe, and successfully getting the road diverted around a prominent hill which eventually became the site of the Shrine of Remembrance.

Albert and Eliza had a large family with 10 children, although several died as children. Their children included Robert Guyon Whittlesey Purchas (6 September 1862 – 4 June 1940); Edith Matilda;^[2] Marian Eliza Purchas (abt 1855-Abt 1875); Claude Albert Guyon Purchas (Abt 1857-); Violet Purchas (Abt 1860-Abt 1875); Beatrice Purchas (abt 1864-1864); Lillian Purchas (Abt 1864-1864); Ethel Annie Purchas (Abt 1865-Abt 1938); Adeline Purchas (Abt 1867-Abt 1867); Elaine Alberta Purchas (Abt 1868-Abt 1891).^[1]

Purchas played a prominent role in public life, serving as a member of the Royal Victoria Yeomanry Corps, and holding the position of Captain in the Victorian Volunteer Force, Officer Commanding the Metropolitan Troop of the Prince of Wales Light Horse.^[3] He was a member of the Acclimatisation society from 1862 1909,^[4] and responsible for laying out the Melbourne Zoological Gardens in Royal Park, Melbourne in 1862, where he also designed the elephant house, other buildings, and laid out the fence.^[5]

Designs and surveys

Purchas produced one of the few published maps and compilations of the early pastoral settlers runs in Victoria in 1853^[6] In the same year he designed the Melbourne General Cemetery and took the role of secretary of the Cemetery Trust from 1852 to 1907. He was also Chairman of the Boroondara General Cemetery Board of Trustees 1867 to 1909,^[3] and had an important role in designing the landscape of the cemetery. He also designed many of the features of the cemetery including the cast iron entrance gates (1889), the rotunda (1890) and the surrounding ornamental brick wall (1895–6), as well as various additions to the original 1860 Cottage in the period 1866–1899 including the clock tower.^[7]

He was vice president of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects for many years, and elected President in 1887. He also was a subscriber to the Philosophical Society of Victoria in 1855, and a member of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria 1857-8.^[8]

Purchas was a keen inventor having applied for a patent for an invention for lighting a railway carriage with gas in 1861,^[9] and won a competition for a model farm complex, in 1862. This unusual design had the dairy either underground or half underground, to keep it cool, with a 'dry lining' around the outside of the sunken portions.^[10]

Architectural practice

Purchas joined his brother-in law Charles R Swyer in the partnership of Purchas & Swyer. Swyer is believed to have been a cousin or other relative. Purchas had his offices at 81 Little Collins;^[11] and later 30 Queens Street; 81 Chancery Lane; 462 Little Collins Street.

Purchas designed St George's Presbyterian Church in Chapel Street, St Kilda (1877–80) and over 140 houses, offices, churches and cemetery buildings in Victoria between 1852 and 1909. Berkely Hall at 11 Princes Street St Kilda is one of his first buildings.^[12] Purchas also designed a number of prominent bank headquarters in Melbourne, many in the Renaissance Revival style.^[13] He also designed the fencing for the Old Colonists Homes in North Fitzroy.^[14]

Several Australian architects obtained experience working in Purchas's office, including South Australian architect Edward Davies (1852-1927),^[15] while another pupil, William Black, became a senior partner in the well-known Cape Town, South Africa partnership of Black & Fagg. During his pupilage to Purchas, Black won several prizes offered by the RVIA, among them the Royal Victoria Institute of Architects' award in December 1885.^[16]

Architectural works

Among Purchas's prolific architectural output were the following buildings:

• Hawthorn Village Plan 1851,^[17]
• Christ Church Anglican Church, Brunswick ^[18]
• Berkeley Hall, 11 Princes Street 1854^[19]
• Christ Church St Kilda, St. 1854-7 ^[20]
• John's Anglican Church, Heidelberg
• Glenara Homestead, Bulla 1857 ^[21]
• Beck's Imperial Hotel, Lyttleton St, Castlemaine, by Purchas & Swyer 1861 ^[22]
• St John's, Malmsbury, Victoria. 1861-66^[23]
• Warehouses of Briscoe & Co;
• Corsewall, Hawthorn, pre 1875^[24]
• Georges store 162-168 Collins St, Melbourne, remodelled 1888.^[25]
• Mutual Insurance Co. offices
• Northern Insurance Co. offices, Collins St West ^[26]
• The United Service Home, Drysdale ^[27]
• St George's Presbyterian Church, East St Kilda, 1877^[28]
• Bank of Australasia, Geelong
• Savings Bank, Melbourne ^[29][30]
• Melbourne Meat Preserving Company Buildings, Van Ness Avenue c1868^[31]
• Barristers’ chambers in Little Collins street 1882^[32]
• St Hilary's Church of England, John and Rowland Streets Kew, 1888.^[33]

Later life and designs

Purchas remained active into his 80s. In 1883 he purchased the Isle of Wight Hotel on Philip Island from John Richardson, possible as a retirement interest or investment.^[34] He was an inventor and around the same time, took out a patent, with Alfred Smith, for fire-proof floors, arches, staircases and other parts of buildings.^[35]

Albert's son, Robert Guyon Whittlesey Purchas (6 September 1862 – 4 June 1940) was also a prominent architect in Australia.

Purchas died in his home in Kew in 1909 and buried at Boroondara Cemetery, Kew. He left an estate of the value of £5,878.^[36]

Purchas was one of several architects who protested the choice of an overseas architect for the design of the Melbourne Cathedral, pointing out the expertise in the profession in victoria and the need for someone aware of local conditions.^[37] He also sat on the examining committees of the Architects Institute and selected pannual student prizewinners.^[38]

Purchase appears to have sometimes been a cantankerous person, in one instance, having taken offense at a railway employee asking to see his ticket, attacked him with his cane, resulting in a summons for failing to produce his ticket and assault.^[39]

References

• O'Neill, Frances. "The making of a professional: Albert Purchas, 1825-1909", unpublished manuscript, n.d.
• Melbourne University Archives PURCHAS AND SWYER, ACCESSION NO 1972.0012 http://gallery.its.unimelb.edu.au/imu/imu.php?request=multimedia&irn=6159