George Henry Male Addison

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George Henry Male Addison

George Henry Male Addison (1857–1922) was an Australian architect and artist. Many of his buildings are now heritage-listed.

Early life

Addison was born on 23 March 1857 in Llanelly, Wales, the son of Edward James Addison, a Wesleyan minister. His father undertook missionary work in West Africa but it damaged his health and he died in 1863; his mother died soon after and Addison was raised by his grandfather in Somerset. He was articled to architect Edmund Isles Hubbard at Rotherham and studied at the Royal Academy in London.

Addison immigrated to South Australia to work on a number of large government projects. After that, he moved to Melbourne and worked for the firm Terry and Oakden, later forming the firm Oakden, Addison and Kemp. There he was one of the founders of the Melbourne Art Society along with John Mather, Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin and other well-known artists.

In 1889, Addison came to Brisbane to build the London Bank of Australia in Queen Street, Brisbane. He liked the climate and decided to stay, working on his own. Later he went into partnership with his son George Frederick Addison. His daughter Lily Isabel Maude Addison worked as a draftswoman and then architect in her father's firm; she was one of the earliest women to practice architecture in Australia.

Works

His works included:

• The Albert Street Uniting Church, Brisbane, built in 1888-89
• The villa Cliveden Mansions, built in 1888 at Spring Hill
• The villa Kirkston, built in 1888-89 at Windsor
• Extensive additions to the villa Stanley Hall at Clayfield, in 1889
• The villa Cumbooquepa, built in 1890 at South Brisbane, now part of Somerville House School
• The Old Museum Building, Brisbane, originally an exhibition building and concert hall built in 1891
• a religious building at All Hallows' School, a heritage-listed school at 547 Ann Street, Fortitude Valley, built in 1915
• buildings at the Eagle Farm Racecourse including the totaliser building, the ticket offices and the latrines, built around 1913-1914

For a number of years, he was in a partnership with Leslie Corrie as Addison and Corrie. Together they designed many prominent Brisbane buildings, including:

• ANZ Bank Building, a heritage-listed bank at 43 Queen Street, Brisbane built in about 1900

Later life

Addison died on 6 February 1922 at the Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Brisbane. He was buried at the Toowong Cemetery.