Coogee Media

Perched atop one of the high points of Waverley Cemetery, is the remarkable square mausoleum granite tomb of James Stuart. When I first noticed its squat regular shape and geometric adornments, I was reminded of the work of the noted architect Walter Burley Griffin, the designer of our national capital Canberra and a student of the notable American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. I didn't need to find out who was the designer of the tomb, influenced by Griffin, because as a short Internet search disclosed, it was in fact the work of Griffin himself.

Waverley Cemetery
Waverley Cemetery would be familiar to millions of people from Sydney and from around the world who have taken the renowned Bondi Beach to Coogee coastal walk. It is on the halfway mark between the two beaches between Bronte and Clovelly beaches. The walk takes you along the coastal fringe on a spectacular raised boardwalk and the cemetery runs on your right (if you are walking towards Coogee), as a vast stretch of monumental headstones and memorials - a city of the dead.

Before we get to James Stuart and his Griffin designed tomb, let's explore a bit about the remarkable couple Walter and Marion Griffin and their works.

Walter Burley & Marion Griffin

Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (1876 to 1937) and his wife Marion Mahony Griffin (1871 to 1961) were students of the renowned American architect and founder of the Prairie Style of Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 - 1959). They worked and met in his practice studio in Oak Park, Chicago, Illinois and became influential and skilled members of the circle of architectural and landscape designers associated with Wright. Mahony and Griffin married in 1911, a partnership that lasted 26 years until Walter Griffin's death in Lucknow in India . Mahony's watercolor perspectives of Griffin's design for Canberra, were instrumental in securing first prize in the international competition for the plan of the city. In 1914 the couple moved to Australia to oversee the building of Canberra. Mahony managed the Sydney office and was responsible for the design of their private commissions. These included the designs for the rural cities of Griffith and Leeton in NSW and the development at Castlecrag in Sydney. Walter Burley Griffin's name is the most often quoted when their work is discussed, but most now see that Griffin and Mahony worked together as indispensforable members of a team. Marion Mahony was Frank Lloyd Wright's first employee, the second architecture graduate from M.I.T. and the first woman in the United States to be licensed as an architect. Walter was invited to design a library for the University of Lucknow in India, and travelled there in September 1935, and soon gained numerous other commissions. Marion arrived in April 1936, and soon took charge of the office, where she oversaw the design of many buildings. Less than a year later, in Feb 1937. Walter died of complications following a gall bladder removal. Mahony would up the office, leaving many projects unbuilt, and returned to Australia. After winding up their affairs in Australia, she returned to the United States, but never practiced architecture again. Walter Burley Griffin's reputation has grown to be one of the best known architects in the world. His work is celebrated with historical plaques throught the United States and Australia. Postage stamps have been issued in his honour, and a Walter Burley Griffin Society continues to study his work.

Oak Park, Chicago, House and Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright
where Walter and Marion Griffin worked and met

Castlecrag
If you would like to travel a bit further afield than locally at Waverley, you could take a drive across the Harbour to Castlecrag on Sydney's north shore to see more examples of the Griffins' work at Castlecrag. A century ago, in November 1921, Walter and Marion Griffin first released lots for sale in the Parapet subdivision at Castlecrag. The Griffins' idea was to build following the contours of the land with houses blending into the natural environment, using blocks of natural rock and flat roofs. They designed 15 houses in the subdivision. Some examples of the Griffins' remaining Castlecrag houses including Fishwick House (1929) and Grant House (1924) are still largely intact with lines reminiscent of their other work, including the Stuart tomb. The Griffins wanted to create an ideal community where town development and architecture blended into the landscape and suited the community. They moved there in 1925 and lived at Castlecrag for over a decade.

Waste Incinerator Designs
The Griffins teamed up with architect Eric Nicholls, in the unlikely venture of designing and building municipal waste incinerators in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere. This worked kept their firm afloat during the hard Depression years.

Nicholls, a Victoria-born architect, started working in Griffin’s Melbourne office in 1921, and was put in charge of the Melbourne part of the business in 1925 when the Griffins moved to Sydney. Towards the end of the Twenties, Griffin and Nicholls began designing incinerators for municipal councils, the first of which was in Essendon in 1929. Over the following years, by which time Nicholls had moved up to Sydney and formed a partnership with Griffin, they designed 12 more of these handsome buildings all over Australia, which helped them stay afloat during the Depression. They continued to work together until Griffin moved to India in 1935. We visited one of few remaining examples of the 13 incinerator buildings they designed at Willoughby, which you can see on the video below:

John Burcham Clamp
The design of the Stuart tomb was executed during a brief partnership with Sydney architect John Burcham Clamp (1869-1931) with the Griffins during their first year in Australia. Clamp is also credited as being part designer of the Stuart Tomb. He was an influential member of Sydney Society until his death in 1941 and as an active Anglican and prominent Freemason, Clamp was building surveyor for the diocese of Sydney, and exercised considerable influence in ecclesiastical architecture of Anglican Sydney during the early 20th century. He was a founder of Cranebrook School and designed a number of its buildings and renovations.

	Clockwise: John Burcham Clamp, Waverley Cemetery from Stuart tomb, 1965 Australian postage stamp, and logo of Walter Burley Griffin Society.

James Stuart James Stuart was only 52 on June 20, 1914 when he died suddenly at his residence, "Gowan Brae", Cavendish Street, Stanmore. At the time was widely known in Sydney's building trade being a founder of the firm of builders and contractors, Stuart Brothers. It was reported that he had suffered a good deal for the past five or six years from heart disease, but he appeared in his usual health on the afternoon of June 20 1914, and attended a theatrical matinee. After dinner, however, he suddenly collapsed. Stuart was one of a family of boys, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Stuart, all of whom worked in the building trade. His most remarkable work was said to have been the roof of the Fisher Library at the Sydney University. Of buildings in the city which were erected under his personal supervision, the Colonial Sugar Company's offices and the Royal Exchange insurance were often mentioned. The firm also built during his time as manager the row of wool stores in Wattle Street, Pyrmont, including Messrs. John Bridge and Company, and Winchcombe, Carson, and Company. Stuart, Griffin and Clamp worked on projects together during 1914, and so it is not surprising that Stuary's former colleagues were chosen to design his last resting place. There was a large gathering at the funeral of James Stuart at Waverley Cemetery on June 22, 1914. In addition to the relatives there was a large representation of the various bodies to which he belonged including the Master Builders' Association and other builders' associations, and the Highland Association. The Institute of Architects was represented by the past president Harry C. Kent and J. Burchum Clamp, one of the designers of his tomb. The president and past presidents of the Master Builders' Association acted as pall-bearers.

James Stuart

References