William Hardy Wilson (1881-1955)

William Hardy Wilson was born and educated in Sydney and studied architecture under Harry Kent. Travelling to England in 1905, Wilson befriended the Australian artists Arthur Streeton, George Lambert and Tom Roberts, and travelled on to North America and Europe with fellow architect Stacey Neave.

After returning to Sydney, they established the architectural firm Wilson & Neave. When Neave served in World war 1, Wilson closed the practice and concentrated on his art, including the drawings of many colonial buildings in New South Wales.

Wilson travelled extensively through China, and later England and Europe. In 1922 while in Vienna he oversaw the reproduction of his drawings for his seminal publication Colonial Architecture in New South Wales and Tasmania (1924). This book would inspire great interest in Australia and brought about a Colonial Revival.

Wilson’s final design was a Tea House, was built at Eryldene, Gordon. It was a new style of architecture for Australia, marrying Chinese and European classic styles. Wilson retired to Tasmania in 1930, but continued to be active in the political and artistic scene of Sydney throughout the 1930s and 40s through regular contributions to the Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney Ure Smith’s Art in Australia and The Home.

Wilson’s most notable designs include Eryldene, Gordon (1914) for Professor EG Waterhouse, his own home, Purilia, Wahroonga (1916), Macquarie Cottage, Pymble (1919), and Newington College War Memorial (1920).

Eryldene, Gordon
William Hardy Wilson, 1914
Source: www.eryldene.org.au

Top Image: Façade
Bottom Image: Tea House

Purilia, Wahroonga
William Hardy Wilson, 1916
Source: www.nla.gov.au