Community
27 October, 2022
Neo-classical architect
NEW ZEALAND born architect, Mr. Richard Hill, was 38 years of age when he went into practice from the AMP Chambers in Cairns on February 25, 1922.
One of his first clients was a Greek café owner, Mr. George Blessas. The brief was to design six shops in reinforced concrete for a site in Shields Street. The successful tenderer was Mr. T. B. O’Meara.
In March 1923, photographer, A. Chargois, engaged Hill to design new business premises in reinforced concrete for him on Lake Street. Other projects in Lake Street that year included three new residences for private clients and business premises for Messrs. Woodward and Calder.
In 1924 he would work as a joint architect on several projects including the Church of St John in Cairns with Spain and Cosh (Sydney), and the very impressive National Bank of Australasia Limited on the corner of Spence and Lake Streets with Lange L. Powell (Brisbane).
As a solo architect he designed a convent at Babinda, a shop in Spence Street for A. J. Draper, and a Hotel in Innisfail for Mrs. J. Tam Sie. He would be joint architect with H. R. Lawrence and T. M. W. Lordan for the design of a two-storey hotel on the corner of Abbott and Wharf Streets for P. J. Doyle Pty Ltd in September 1925 (the Barrier Reef Hotel).
On October 30, 1925, it was reported that two fine new buildings were on Hill’s drawing board. The first was an imposing three-storey structure with a Neo-classical Greek façade. The other building was for Mr. W. Keeble, also of an attractive decorative design. There would be a shop at ground level with cut-back windows and cantilevered verandah. The façade of the second storey featured two pilasters and a balcony in the centre.
In partnership with Arthur John Henry Taylor from 1927, Hill succeeded in obtaining commissions for the Cairns Masonic Temple on the corner or Minnie and Grafton Streets and in 1929 the new building for Cairns City Council. The imposing structure dominated the streetscape with its classical façade composed of eight Ionic columns flanked by two pilasters.
Hill and Taylor invited tenders for additions to the School of Arts building in 1932. They were also engaged to remodel the interior of the Central Hotel at a cost of £20,000. A feature of the renovation project was the installation of a roof garden. The new lounge and dining room were officially opened with a dinner dance in August 1938.
Sources: TROVE; State Library of Queensland (SLQ); “Designing for the Tropics: The Architectural Legacy of Richard Hill and Arthur Taylor” by L. & P. Griggs, 2018.
