W. Gray Young
Encyclopedia
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
architect in the early 20th century, designing buildings such as Knox College
Knox College, Otago
Knox College is a privately run residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in New Zealand, providing accommodation for primarily first and second year students, with a smaller number of postgraduates. The college is set in an landscaped site in Opoho on the opposite side of the...
(Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
), Turnbull House and Elliott House (both Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
). He was president of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1935-6.
Life
Born in OamaruOamaru
Oamaru , the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is 80 kilometres south of Timaru and 120 kilometres north of Dunedin, on the Pacific coast, and State Highway 1 and the railway Main South Line connects it to both...
, the son of a Scottish watchmaker and jewellery retailer, he moved with his family to Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in the 1890s. He attended the Terrace School and Wellington College
Wellington College (New Zealand)
Wellington College is a state secondary school for boys in Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1874 it opened at its present...
, and went on to be articled to the architects Crichton and McKay. He won the competition for Knox College in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
in 1906 when he was only 21 and became an associate of the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) in 1907. He had a succession of partners and a busy practice from 1913. He was judged unfit for military service in the First World War and continued in practice through it. With John Swan he designed Wellington Technical College in 1919. The same year his Scots College building was opened and in 1928 the Wellesley Club which earned him the NZIA gold medal. He designed the new Wellington Railway Station in 1930.
Young was one of the architects invited to work with the government architect designing the prototype state house. A little later he designed a new railway station for Christchurch (Christchurch Railway Station
Christchurch Railway Station
Christchurch railway station is an urban railway station serving the city of Christchurch, in the Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island. It is located on the Main North Line at Addington Junction, and is the only remaining operational passenger railway station in the city, after suburban...
) which wasn't built until 1960. He also designed the Easterfield building at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
in 1951.
As architectural adviser to Knox College, Young presided over its slow elaboration until 1952. Later architects continued to work to realise and elaborate his original idea for decades after his death, an unusual outcome in New Zealand, even for a highly emblematic building.
He was elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1913, served on the executive committee from 1914-35 and was its President from 1934-37.
He was President of the Wellington Rotary Club from 1935-36 but did not care for public life preferring the company of colleagues and a group of yachting friends. He died in Wellington in April 1962.
Sources
- AJ Salmond, Knox College Conservation Plan 2004, Salmond Anderson Ltd., Dunedin, 2003.
Notable works
- Knox CollegeKnox College, OtagoKnox College is a privately run residential college affiliated to the University of Otago in New Zealand, providing accommodation for primarily first and second year students, with a smaller number of postgraduates. The college is set in an landscaped site in Opoho on the opposite side of the...
, Dunedin (1909-1952) - Elliott House, Wellington (1913).
- Scot's College, Wellington (1919).
- Wellington Technical College, Wellington (1919) with John Swan.
- Wellesley Club, Wellington (1928)
- Phoenix Assurance Building (1930)
- Stout Building, Victoria University , Wellington (1930)
- Weir House, Victoria University , Wellington (1933). This was Victoria University’s first hall of residence.
- Wellington Railway StationWellington Railway StationWellington Railway Station is the southern terminus of New Zealand's North Island Main Trunk railway, Wairarapa Line and Johnsonville Line. In terms of number of services and in passenger numbers, it is New Zealand's busiest railway station.-Development:...
(1937) - Kirk Building, Victoria University , Wellington (1938)
- Australian Mutual Provident Society (AMP) Chambers (1950)
- Easterfield Building, Victoria University , Wellington (1957)
- Christchurch Railway StationChristchurch Railway StationChristchurch railway station is an urban railway station serving the city of Christchurch, in the Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island. It is located on the Main North Line at Addington Junction, and is the only remaining operational passenger railway station in the city, after suburban...
(1960) - Elliott House, Wellington
- Turnbull House, Wellington