Arthur Purnell

William Arthur Purnell F.R.A.I.A. (5 January 1878 – 29 June 1964), generally known as Arthur Purnell, and often written as though William were his middle name, was an architect in the State of Victoria, Australia.

Early history

Arthur Purnell was born the eldest son of William Purnell, jun., and his wife Emily, née Keown of Geelong, Victoria. He was educated at McManus Preparatory School, Flinders State School, Geelong College, then studied architecture at Gordon Technical College, and drawing at the Geelong School of Arts. His father and grandfather were partners in Purnell & Sons, builders, and Arthur joined the firm as a draftsman in 1895, then took further studies under C. A. Heyward, a government architect.^[1]

The China years

In 1900 Purnell left for China, and established himself in Canton (modern Guangzhou). In 1904 he teamed up with Charles Souders Paget (1874–1933), a civil engineer from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, as Purnell & Paget. Purnell designed a large number of public buildings and private dwellings in Guangzho, of which a dozen or so are still standing, also several buildings (a Customs house and a cement factory) on Shamian Island, which in those days was largely a British concession.^[2]

Purnell returned to Melbourne in 1910, with an office in the Nicholson Chambers at 101 Swanston Street. He moved to larger premises in Phair’s Buildings at 327 Collins Street. Much of his work during this time and later was for people and businesses of Chinese origin, or contained elements of Chinese design. A notable design of this time was Michael's Corner, built in 1915, which still stands on Elizabeth Street.

Beaver and Purnell

In 1915 he joined with Isidor Beaver at his practice at Altson's Buildings (often mis-spelled "Alston's"), 82 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, on the Collins Street corner. Beaver was a Manchester-born architect who had been in partnership with Edmund Wright in Adelaide and moved to Melbourne to supervise construction of their National Mutual Life building. An early project which may be attributed to Purnell was the Wattle Path Palais de Danse on the Esplanade at St. Kilda.

The Wattle Path Palais de Danse, one of the world's largest dance halls, opened in 1922, architects Beaver & Purnell, though their relative inputs are not yet known. It was the venue for the first all-Australian dance championship. The building became a film studio, Efftee Studios, for Frank W. Thring in December 1933,^[3] before Thring in 1937 abandoned the project.

Businessman Henry Hans "Harry" Kleiner and his wife transformed the "Wattle Path" to an ice rink, and St. Moritz Ice-skating Palais officially opened on 10 March 1939. The Kleiners were sole proprietors until 1953, when they sold the business to J. Gordon and T. Molony, both champion skaters.^[4] The St. Moritz rink operated for over forty years, and finally closed in 1982.

He left the partnership in 1925; Beaver, 19 years his senior, died in 1934.

After Beaver

Purnell moved to offices in the Equitable Building at 314 Collins Street. In 1928 he took Eric Hazel Round and William Alfred Graham as partners in Arthur W. Purnell, Round & Graham, architects and engineers. This partnership appears to have lasted only a year, and it wasn't until 1935 that he took up with Phillip Foster Pearce A.R.A.I.A. as A. W. Purnell & Pearce, still at the same address.^[5] By the time Pearce retired in 1946, their offices were in The Colonial Mutual Life building in Collins Street.^[6]

Works produced during this time include:

• Clifton Springs Golf Club (1926)
• A greyhound-racing track at Tottenham (1927)
• A grandstand at Western Oval (now Whitten Oval) (1929)
• The Olympia Sea Water Swimming Pool at South Melbourne (1937)
• The Rosebud Yacht Club (1939)
• The Olympic Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (1953–1955)

as well as a great number of private residences in a multitude of styles. He had a close working relationship with car dealer Alexander George "Alec" Barlow (1880–1937), for whom he built a home, car showrooms and racing stables.^[7] At one stage Barlow must have had a great need for cash, and sold his Punt Road bungalow to Purnell, who clearly retained a love for Chinese culture, as he rebuilt the roof in the style of a Chinese temple, even to the chimney-top. He lived there the rest of his life.^[8]

Family

William Arthur Purnell married Jane Farrell from Lake Minenia? Monemia?, near Streatham, Victoria in 1908; Joan Margaret Purnell, their only child, married Noel William Dickson in 1939.

References