Stephen Hamilton

14/05/1910

Stephen Hamilton Gilbert was a significant presence in the field of architecture in South Australia through the firm Berry & Gilbert and as Staff Architect to the South Australian Brewing Company, and a leader in the movement to preserve and record the state’s built heritage.

Gilbert was born to David J. and Lilian E. Gilbert on 14 May 1910. He had two siblings, Margaret (1902) and Alfred (1903). At the time of Stephen’s birth, his parents were living in the District of St Leonards, Sydney, New South Wales (New South Wales Registry of Births, Death and Marriages). They later moved to Melbourne where Stephen attended Scotch College (Berry & Gilbert, 1981: 103). He continued his education at Scotch College, Adelaide, in 1922 when his father became Secretary of the recently established News Ltd. He later became General Manager. Lilian Gilbert died in 1925 when Stephen was fifteen years old. His father subsequently moved to Perth in 1932, while Stephen remained in Adelaide (Gilbert to McDougall, 2014).

Gilbert undertook a Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Adelaide and was articled to F. Kenneth Milne in 1930. Upon completion of his articles he worked for various architectural practices and was elected an Associate of the South Australian Chapter of the Royal Institute of Architects in 1933 and a Fellow in 1951 (‘South Australian Chapter’: 157). Gilbert then joined Dean Berry in the mid-1930s. Berry, who had offices in the Trustee Building, 22 Grenfell Street, Adelaide, invited Gilbert to become a partner in 1938. Possibly due to the onset of World War Two, the partnership was not listed in the Sands and McDougall Directory until 1947 (Page 1986: 189; Sands & McDougall 1947: 1240). Berry later described his time with Gilbert as ‘a happy life-long professional and personal association’ (Berry & Gilbert, 1981: 103).

Also in 1938, Brian Polomka began working as a junior draughtsman with Berry & Gilbert. This began a long association between Berry, Gilbert and Polomka (McDougall, 2008). Edgar Barker, Berry’s brother-in-law, was brought into the practice during this period to specialise in the engineering of the buildings. When World War Two broke out all practice members joined the armed services. They closed the office and transferred outstanding jobs to fellow Adelaide architect and World War One veteran George Gavin Lawson (Lustri & Collins, 2008). Gilbert enlisted with the 2/14th Field Regiment on 25 May 1940 at Wayville, South Australia and rose to the rank of Captain. He was mentioned in Dispatches in connection with his sighting of Japanese planes from his gun position which signalled the beginning of the attack on Darwin in February 1942 (Gilbert to McDougall, 2014; World War Two Nominal Roll). The 2/14th Field Regiment was the only major combat unit of the 8th Division not captured as other units had already left for overseas duty (2/14th Field Regiment).

Before recommencing his architectural work in Adelaide in 1946, and less than a month after his discharge from the Army, Stephen Gilbert married Necia Winifred Johansson of Burwood on 5 December 1945 at Strathfield, Sydney. They had three children, David, Mark (Stephen Mark) and Marianne (‘Death Notices’ 1979: 56). David became an architect. He joined the Adelaide-based practice of Lucas, Parker & Lake before traveling, in 1972, to London and Europe during which he developed an appreciation of contemporary architecture and the heritage of historic buildings (Page, 1986: 286). In 1975 he joined his father's practice which was then known as Berry, Gilbert and Polomka and in 1981, when Brian Polomka retired, David Gilbert and Brian Riches became directors of the reconstituted firm of Berry, Polomka, Riches and Gilbert Pty Ltd (Gilbert to McDougall, 2014). In 1986 the practice became part of Woodhead and was completely absorbed by 1988 (Lustri & Collins, 2008). David Gilbert later spent some 14 years in China on behalf of Woodhead (‘Breaking down the bamboo curtain’, 2006: 6; ‘Designs on China’, 2013). His brother Mark became an engineer and established Wallbridge and Gilbert, and Aztec Analysis, both consulting engineering firms based in Adelaide. Marianne (Young), his sister, was a Town Planner who worked as a consultant in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and for the Australian Capital Territory Government in Canberra (Gilbert to McDougall, 2014).

Following World War Two, Berry & Gilbert’s commissions included offices, welfare centres, homes for the aged, hospitals, religious institutions, schools, industrial projects, car parks and warehouses. Included in Stephen Gilbert’s records held at the State Library of South Australia (PRG 1076/5) are plans for residential projects, including his own home in North Adelaide (1963). Among his favourite projects awarded to the practice were the late 1960s reconstruction of the tower of Marble Hill, the former Adelaide Hills summer residence for the Governor of South Australia, and work on Government House, North Terrace, including the modernisation and redecoration of the Royal Suite for Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Adelaide in 1973 (Gilbert to McDougall, 2014).

As well as resuming his partnership with Dean Berry, Gilbert was appointed, in 1946, as the first full-time Staff Architect to the South Australian Brewing Company. There was urgent work to be done on the construction of new and improvements to existing hotels, which led to the Company spending more than £3 million on capital works by February 1956. Rapid expansion coupled with post-war shortages resulted in the Company seeking materials overseas. For example, it sourced steel from Belgium, corrugated iron from France and cement from Japan. One of Gilbert’s designs, described as a ‘star turn in the company’s program of modern hotel development’, was the ‘experimental’ Highway Inn on Anzac Highway, Plympton. Opened in 1955, it had the first drive-in bottle shop in Australia and ‘possibly in the world’. Hailed as a huge success, this innovation was subsequently copied throughout the country. Furthermore, the hotel moved beyond the familiar front bar service and added elegant lounge and dining facilities (Cudmore, 1988: 107).

In 1956 Gilbert designed extensions to the former South Australian Brewing Company’s offices at 222-228 Hindley Street, Adelaide. Designed by F. Kenneth Milne in 1941 and listed on the South Australian State Heritage Register, the City of Adelaide Heritage Survey (1986) cites the building as maintaining a high level of integrity both externally and internally (APHI). In the following decade, the Company saw opportunities for further growth within Adelaide’s expanding suburban areas. It built new hotels, all designed by Staff Architect Gilbert, including the Hendon, Mansfield Park, Lockleys, Warradale, Findon, Marion, Tonsley and Paradise. Others were the Morphett Arms at Glengowrie and the Rose and Crown, Red Lion and Kairwara at Elizabeth. One, the Feathers Hotel at Burnside, an eastern suburb of Adelaide, featured a neo-Georgian façade of which Gilbert was particularly proud.

One of Gilbert’s many challenges was to oversee the maintenance of the Company’s numerous country hotels. In response to changing customer requirements, he devised a lightweight prefabricated bathroom module which was inserted into existing bedrooms without significant structural alteration. He also made a contribution to the decorations on the bank of the Torrens River at the Southwark Brewery, Hindmarsh. Gilbert retired from the Company in 1972, and shortly thereafter became a consultant to Berry, Gilbert and Polomka (Page, 1986; Cudmore, 1988; Gilbert to McDougall, 2014).

In addition to his innovative work, Stephen Gilbert had a deep love of history. In 1961 he was a foundation member the Early Buildings Committee of the National Trust. His wife, Necia, also shared his interest and along with Margaret Sando and Mary Grose, researched buildings on the National Trust’s Register of Historic Buildings for more than 30 years (Cosgrove & Marsden, 2005: 121). Gilbert’s concern ‘developed not only into an ardent advocacy … for preservation but a desire to record [old buildings] before it might be too late’ (Page 1986: 242). He became a self-taught expert photographer and many of his photographs are now housed in the State Library of South Australia’s Pictorial Collection (1959-1978). These were also used to illustrate lectures he presented on colonial architecture. In collaboration with Sir Edward Morgan, he was author of Victorian Adelaide (1968), and Early Adelaide Architecture (1969). Gilbert was also a contributor to a number of publications by the Australian Council of National Trusts: Historic Homesteads of Australia, 1969; Historic Public Buildings of Australia, 1971; Historic Houses of Australia, 1976, and Historic Places of Australia, 1978.

In 1971 when the 1878 Bank of South Australia building in King William Street, Adelaide, was threatened with demolition public outcry ensued. The building was eventually bought by the Dunstan State Government (see John Chappel). Monies raised by the ANZ Building Preservation Trust were used to provide gold leaf for ceiling redecoration and special lighting. Dean Berry was appointed, and in collaboration with Gilbert, supervised the restoration of the building, now known as Edmund Wright House, to its former glory. This episode was ground breaking and marked a significant turning point in community attitudes with regard to the preservation of Adelaide’s architectural heritage (Lustri & Collins, 2008; Cosgrove & Marsden, 2005: 66; Gilbert to McDougall, 2014).

Dean Berry and Stephen Gilbert conducted a study on regional pioneer building techniques for the National Trust of South Australia as part of the National Estate Programme 1975/76 . They subsequently worked together on a booked entitled Pioneer building techniques in South Australia, although Gilbert died before its publication in 1981. On a wider scale, Gilbert was involved in the formation, in 1976, of the Australian committee of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS). He was an active participant in the 1979 ICOMOS meeting at Burra in the mid-north of South Australia during which the Burra Charter was finalised and accepted. The primary aim of the Burra Charter was to ensure that restoration work on buildings was carried out professionally. It was subsequently adopted by many other countries (Brine, 2012; Gilbert to McDougall, 2014).

Gilbert also undertook roles within the wider architectural profession. From October 1956 until the end of 1959, he was a member of the South Australian Institute of Architects’ Standing Committee for Practice Membership and Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Matters. He then transferred to the Finance Committee before becoming Convenor of the Ethics, Membership and RAIA Matters Standing Committee and Junior Vice President at the end of 1962. The latter position existed alongside President and Vice President and appears to have been discontinued in December 1964. Gilbert was a Councillor with the RAIA in 1963-4. From March to September 1966 he was also on the State Board of Architectural Education, after which he appears to have ceased his involvement with the Council and its Committees (South Australian Institute of Architect Bulletins). From 1946 to 1967 Gilbert was a member of the Architects Registration Board of South Australia (Lustri & Collins). In 1963 he became an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (SAIA Bulletin: June 1963).

In his retirement, Gilbert travelled extensively in Italy and visited China in 1975. He was also involved with Legacy, a charity providing services to families of Australian defence personnel. Stephen Gilbert died of a heart attack on 30 October 1979.

Alison McDougall

Acknowledgement: Sincere thanks to David Gilbert, Mark Gilbert and Marianne Young for providing biographical material about their father.

Citation details
McDougall, Alison, 'Gilbert, Stephen', Architecture Museum, University of South Australia, 2014, Architects of South Australia: [http://www.architectsdatabase.unisa.edu.au/arch_full.asp?Arch_ID=127]