Sir John Sulman personal and professional papers, including Sulman family papers, 1826-2000

fonds

1826-2000

Textual Records, Clippings, Graphic Materials, Photographs, Architectural and Technical Drawings, Drawings, Watercolours, Ephemera

874424

1.59 metres of textual material (3 boxes and 1 outsize box), includes some photographs and ephemera items
63 architectural drawings (7 folders) - ink, pencil and watercolour
4 drawings (1 folder) - watercolour
4 sketchbooks (182 drawings)
11 slides (1 box) - lantern - 12 x 17 cm
24 negatives (2 boxes) - glass - 12 x 17 cm

Sir John Sulman, architect and town planner, was born in Greenwich, England, in 1849. He was educated at Greenwich Proprietary School and in 1863 passed the Oxford junior examination. While articled to London architect H.R. Newton, he attended classes at the Architectural Association and at the Royal Academy of Arts, winning the Pugin travelling scholarship in 1871. In 1875 he married Sarah Clark Redgate (d. 1888), by whom he had three children, Arthur, Florence and Edith. In 1884 he sold his practice, which had produced over seventy churches and other buildings, and left with his family for Australia, reaching Sydney in 1885. From 1889 to 1908 Sulman practiced with Joseph Porter Power. His commissions included The Armidale School, Women's College at the University of Sydney, the Thomas Walker Convalescent Hospital at Concord and a number of suburban Presbyterian churches. In 1893 he married Annie Elizabeth Masefield by whom he had four children, Geoffrey, Joan, Thomas and Jack.

In 1907 the Daily Telegraph published his series of articles on the need for a town plan for Sydney and on eleven occasions he gave evidence before the royal commission for the improvement of the city of Sydney and its suburbs. In 1908 he retired from active practice but continued his interest in town planning, holding positions as president of the Town Planning Association of New South Wales, chairman of the Town Planning Advisory Board to the Department of Local Government and chairman of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee. He died in 1934.

Reference:
Australian Dictionary of Biography. http://adb.anu.edu.au (accessed 26 April 2017)

Series 01: Sir John Sulman personal papers, including Sulman family papers, 1826-2000
Series 02: Sir John Sulman architectural and other drawings, 1868-ca. 1948
Series 03: Sir John Sulman sketchbooks, 1872-1892
Series 04: Sir John Sulman lantern slides and glass negatives, ca. 1912-1916

Copyright restrictions may apply:
Research & study copies allowed: Applies only to material in which the author has been deceased for more than 50 years
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