Stuart Murray b. 1926

  • Architect
Stuart Murray was a principal of the Sydney architecture practice Ancher Mortlock Murray and Woolley, where his notable building was the University of Newcastle Great Hall (1968). He wrote Elements of Urban Environment (1972) and Contemporary Architecture and Environment (1976).

Stuart Murray (1926–) was educated at Fort Street Boys High School and worked as a draughtsman for Wunderlich during the Second World War (1943-44), then studied architecture at the Sydney Technical College under Henry Pynor, Sydney Ancher and Morton Herman, graduating in 1949 with a Diploma of Architecture (civic design distinction). While a student, he had worked for Walter Burley Griffin and Eric Nichols (1945-47) and with Sydney Ancher (1948-49). From 1949 to 1953, he worked in London for Denis Clarke Hall and Intercon; assisted by a NSW Board of Architects research bursary announced in 1950. In 1953, he joined Ancher as a partner in the firm Ancher Mortlock and Murray, where he worked on a variety of houses and won the Waverley Town Hall design competition in 1957. After Ken Woolley became a further partner in 1964, Murray stayed on with the firm until his retirement in 1976. He became a Fellow of the RAIA in 1966 and designed schemes which won two significant competitions: for the Waverley Town Hall (1958, unbuilt) and the University of Newcastle Great Hall (1968). His academic career included periods as a design tutor with the University of Sydney 1962 and 1974-1978 and he was a member of the university’s faculty from 1965 to 1975. He served on the NSW RAIA Council from 1966-1976. He was the author of two books: Elements of Urban Environment, Sydney 1972 and Contemporary Architecture and Environment, Canberra 1976. He travelled to England and Europe 1951-1952 and South-east Asia, Europe and the Middle East 1972-1973.
Sources
—Ancher Mortlock Murray & Woolley project database under construction by Anne Higham for the NSW RAIA Heritage Committee.
—Emmanuel, Muriel. 1980 and later editions. Contemporary Architects. London: Macmillan.
—Johnson, Paul Alan and Susan Lorne Johnson. 1996 onwards. Interview for their Architects of the Middle Third program. Sydney: University of NSW.
—Saunders, David and Catherine Burke. 1976. Ancher, Mortlock, Murray, Woolley: Sydney Architects 1946-1976. Sydney: Power Institute of Fine Arts, University of Sydney. In the collection of Julie Cracknell.

Writers:

Davina Jackson
Date written:
2015
Last updated:
2015