William

1/01/1882

William (Bill) Lucas was a well-regarded member of the architectural profession in South Australia and, according to his colleague George L. Parker, ‘contributed much to the State not least by his inquiring and fresh approach to problems’ (Page 1986: 183).

Lucas was born in Kensington, London in 1882, with his father, William Lucas, and uncle being well established builders. He served an apprenticeship as a bricklayer and rose to become a foreman bricklayer. From 1907 to 1909 he was a day student of architecture at King's College, London. He then spent the next two years as a student in the office of J.B. Fulton ARIBA whilst attending evening classes at the Royal Academy. Lucas became an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 1912. From 1911 to 1913 he was an assistant to Arthur Stratton FRIBA and then to Lawton R. Ford ARIBA in 1914 (SAIA Roll Book). His initial work was as Assistant Building Surveyor to Soho, London. He came out to Australia in 1914 having met the draper Charles Moore who paid for his return fare. Lucas’ later partner, George L. Parker, believed that Lucas ‘had greatly interested himself in structural design and that Moore had invited him as a consultant in that role’ for his store in Victoria Square, Adelaide (now the Sir Samuel Way Building). He worked in the office of the project architect, Garlick & Jackman, on structural problems and on its fine marble staircase (‘The Official Opening’, Register 1916; Page: 131; Parker, 1966:16).

Parker further recalled that Lucas decided to cash in his return ticket in order to visit other states in Australia, but chose to settle in South Australia. In 1916, he was living in Glenelg and despite his age, enlisted with the 1st AIF (Page: 132; ‘Answering the Call’, 1916: 4). Lucas served in France, finishing as a sergeant in the 5th Pioneer Battalion. Upon his return to Adelaide he commenced private practice. In the 1920s he had offices at the Trustee Building, Grenfell Street, Adelaide. From 1932 he practised from his home at 106 Rose Terrace, Wayville before moving to Goldsbrough House, 172 North Terrace in c.1939, and 44 Grenfell Street in 1946 (Willis, 1998; Sands & McDougall).

Prior to the 1930s Depression, Bill Lucas had taken on Maurice Doley as an articled student. He managed to continue his practice until Doley finished his articles. When commissions became scarce, Lucas closed his practice and turned to growing tobacco at Mount Compass. It was not as profitable as he had hoped and winning the commission for the community hotel at Barmera (c.1932) was a turning point. In 1935, at the age of 53, Lucas married Gwendoline Longmore who was then aged 21. They had no children (Genealogy SA). In 1938 George Parker approached Lucas to take him on as a student, which he did. Parker’s subsequent education was then interrupted for six years by World War Two. This war saw Lucas, who was nearly 60 years of age, join the Royal Australian Engineers, and, as a Major, work on such projects as camps for internees and prisoners of war (Page: 164,182,195). He also spent a short time in the Department of Works (Parker, 1966). From 1940 to 1945 Lucas worked in association with Russell & Yelland on residential and commercial projects in Adelaide and the Riverland (Russell Collection S98, Architecture Museum; McDougall, 2011: 20). He resumed his practice in 1946 with Parker rejoining and then becoming a partner in 1948. From 1950 their office was at 31c King William Street. Despite Lucas’ retirement in 1956, the firm retained his name for some years (Lucas, Parker, Berriman & Lake; Lucas, Parker & Lake). William Lucas died at the Repatriation Hospital, Springbank (now Daw Park) on 3 February 1966 at the age of 83, and his private funeral service was conducted the next day at Centennial Park (Advertiser, 1966: 46).

Lucas became an Associate of the South Australian Institute of Architects in 1930 and a Fellow in 1944. He was a member of the Architects Registration Board for several years and had a keen association with Legacy (Parker, 1966).

From the 1920s, Lucas undertook numerous residential commissions, particularly in Tudor or Cotswold styles, including one on the prestigious Victoria Avenue, Unley Park (Jolly: 54). His attention to detail was such that he developed a hobby of making decorative moulds for pressed cement blocks as substitutes for what would originally have been carved stone window and door surrounds. A photograph of one of his modern Elizabethan style windows was featured in the Advertiser in 1937, as were other aspects of his work during that year (Trove Newspapers Online). In addition he created moulds for spiral brick chimneys and verandah columns which were then used by the brick firm, Hallets (Page: 139). His practical and decorative interests extended to fireplaces and their surrounds, and he published several articles on this topic. In one he suggested a series of coats of arms, including South Australia’s, as a frieze, or the state motto, ‘Faith and Works’ (Advertiser citing an article in The Builder, 1923; Australian Homes and Gardens, 1929: 34). Parker, in 1966, wrote of his houses that, ‘although highly authentic in their detailing, they fitted into the Australian landscape without selfconciousness’.

Lucas also adopted the Art Deco style in the 1930s. A block of flats for the Esplanade at Glenelg, known as Shoreham, was featured in the Mail in 1938, with a sun roof and special sound-proof floors being of particular interest. He undertook commissions for community hotels in the Riverland and Barossa Valley. The Barmera Hotel was opened to great fanfare after some nine years of effort and planning by local people and groups on 10 December 1932 (‘Barmera Hotel Opened’, 1932: 13). The hotel at Nuriootpa replaced a previous structure and was considered ‘a handsome addition to the town’ (‘Attractive Nuriootpa Hotel has many modern features’, 1939: 31). A drawing of the proposed renovations to the Barmera Hotel in 1947 shows Lucas’ facility with the moderne style, and the headline ‘Barmera Community Hotel to be rebuilt when materials available’ references the challenges faced by all in the post-war period (Chronicle 1947: 25). At the opening of the Ashton Cool Store in 1950 by the Premier, Tom Playford, Lucas explained how ‘a shortage of steel rods was overcome by cutting up armor [sic] plate from an army disposal store and how reinforcement for the floors had been found on the airstrips of the Pacific Islands’ (Chronicle 1950: 9).

Lucas’ work appears twice in the State Heritage Register. The first listing refers to the 1916 staircase, stairwells and façade of the Charles Moore Department Store. The second is the fine 1938 Art Deco style Bonney Theatre and Memorial Hall at Barmera.

Alison McDougall

Citation details
McDougall, Alison, ‘Lucas, William’, Architecture Museum, University of South Australia, 2014, Architects of South Australia: [http://www.architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/arch_full.asp?Arch_ID=118]