Bunning,Walter Ralston (1912 - 1977)Biographical Entry of2

AUSTRALIANDICTIONARY OF BIOGRAPHY- ONLINE EDITION Bunning,Wdlter Ralston (1912 - 19771

BUNNfNG,WALTER RALSTON (1912-1977), architect, town plannerand writer,was bornon 19 May 1912in SouthBrisbane, twin son of GeorgeEdward Bunning, an English-bornpastoralist, and his wife EdwinaMary Huey,n6e Edkins,a Queenslander. Raisedwith five siblingsat Braesidestation, Walter went to the SladeSchool, Wanrick. He studiedart for a yearat EastSydney TechnicalCollege, then worked in the officesof Carlyle Greenwell(Sibyl Morrison's husband) and Stephenson& Meldrumwhile attending Technical College at night. Bunninghelped to producethe architecturestudents' news- sheet,won the Kempmedal on qualifyingin 1933and becamean associateof the collegein 1936.Awarded a travellingscholarship by the Boardof Architectsof New SouthWales, in 1937-39he studiedtown planningat the RegentStreet Polytechnic, London, travelledin Europe,and was employedby architectsin London, Dublinand New York.

An associate(1938) of the Royal lnstituteof BritishArchitects, Bunningreturned to Sydneyano netpeoto form the short-lived w:.1f"-l,R:l.tlonBunning (1912 - 1977)'by unknown ModernArchitectural Reseircn Socibty.He was electedan associate(1s40) of the RoyatAustratiin tnstitute ofArchitects _. Silt:,T,:tl",iJr,?i:i";:1"tt (councillor,New SouthWales chapter,1940-44 and fellow 1951). Ff,iijil'cJr"ction, state ln 194042 he was chief draftsmanwith H. RuskinRowe. During Libraryof Victoria. WorldWar ll Bunningworked as a specialistin camouflage, H38849/S63.[detait]. servedas executiveofficer (1943-45) on the Commonwealth lmageDetails HousingCommission and wrotemuch of its influential1944 report.On 13 April that year at the districtregistrar's office, Paddington,he marrieda divorceeAudrey Gillian Carington-Walters, n6e Edkins;they were to remainchildless. In 1945he was appointedtown plannerunder a Commonwealthscheme to redevelopthe munitionsplant at St Marys as factories.

A tirelesswriter of articleson the futureof housingand town planning,Bunning believed that buildingsshould be designedto suitthe Australianenvironment. He elaboratedhis view in Homesin the Sun (1945).According to RobinBoyd, the bookestablished Bunning as 'thebest knownarchitectural publicist in the country'.In 1945Bunning established a practicein Sydney and twelve monthslater took C. A. Maddeninto partnership.Kevin Smith and Noel Potterjoined Bunning& Maddenin 1960,and Arthur Robb did so in 1969.The firmdesigned many public buildingsin Sydneyand ,and won the competition(1949) for AnzacHouse, ,Sydney. Opened in 1957in CollegeStreet, Anzac House was one of Australia'sfirst curtain-wallbuildings and won the Royallnstitute of BritishArchitects' bronze medal (1958). The firmwas awardedthe Sir JohnSulman medalfor Liner House, Bridge Street, in 1962.Bunning & Maddengained many government and universitycommissions, including Bruce Hall, Australian NationalUniversity (1961), and lnternationalHouse, (1967), but learnedin 1957that it had failedin its bidto designthe SydneyOpera House. Bunning became a staunch criticof Jsrn Utzonand of the operahouse's spiralling cost, claiming in 1966that it wouldbe a second-ratebuilding 'from a functionalpoint of view'.

Forthrightin his criticisms,Bunning accused State governments of beingtoo timid in town planning,and calledfor toughercontrols over land and housingdesign. Like Boyd, he despised the detritusof suburbanAustralia and attackedthe spreadof televisionaerials, advertising hoardingsand the destructionof trees. He abhorredthe dull productsof the State housing 'the commissions,but approved spontaneousoutburst of gay homes'at seasideresorts. One of

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Bunning'smost highly regarded buildings was his own split-levelhouse in RyrieStreet, Mosman (1952),overlooking Quakers Hat Bay.The NationalLibrary of Australia(1968, design approved 1964),said to havebeen inspired by the Parthenonafter his visitto Greece,remains Bunning's best-knownbuilding. As principalarchitect, he interestedhimself in all aspectsof construction and furnishings,including the designof art works,and in 1965visited France to arrangefor the weavingof tapestriesto hang in its foyer.

Bunning'smost importantcontribution to postwarAustralia was to stressthat well-designed housingand town planningwere inextricablylinked. A large,calm, lumbering man, he spent much of his life workingfor governmentcommittees and professionalboards for littleor no payment.Chairman (1945-64) of the Townand CountryPlanning Advisory Committee, he chairedor servedon inquiriesinto Paddington (1968), which he recommendedbe declareda historicalarea, into the locationof an OlympicGames complex (1972-73) and intothe environmentof the MyallLakes (1974). As a foundingmember (197A-77) of the SydneyCove RedevelopmentAuthority, he bore some responsibilityfor plansto build high-risehotels and officeblocks in the Rocks:this schemewas effectivelymodified by the'Green Bans'campaign.

Fondof operaand ballet,Bunning also enjoyed playing the violin,painting, writing, tennis and golf. He livedat BellevueHill and at Mosmanbefore moving to Potts Point,and belongedto the All NationsClub, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Australian Golf Club, the \Mne and Food Society,and the CommonwealthClub, Canberra. Among other positions, he was a member (from 1948)of the Arts Councilof Australia,a trustee(1958) of the Art Galleryof New South Wales (president1974-77), a fellow(1954) of the (Royal)Australian Planning Institute, a councillor(1971) of the Universi$of New SouthWales and a trusteeof the Museumof Applied Arts and Sciences.He was appointedC.M.G. in 1975.Survived by hiswife, he diedof a cerebral tumouron 13 October1977 at EasternSuburbs Hospital and was cremated.

SelectBibliography

R. Boyd,Australia's Home (Melb, 1952); J. Yeomans,The Other Taj Mahal(Lond, 1968); Bunning& Madden,The Work of Bunningand Madden (priv print, Syd, 1970); J. M. Freeland, Architecturein Australia(Syd, 1972); J. Taylor,Australian Architecture Srnce 1960 (Canb, 1990); Architecturein Australia,66, Jan 1978,p 33; RoyalAustralian Planning lnstitute Joumal,16, Feb 1978,p 20;Sydney Moming Herald,28 Apr 1937,31Aug,21 Dec1948, 28 June1953,23,26 Apr1957, 15 May 1958, 28 Apr 1959, 12 May, 12 Dec 1962, 18 June 1964, 1 1 Mar1966, 15 Oct 1977;H. de Berg,interview with (transcript, 1971 , National Library of Australia); WalterBunning papers (National Library of Australia);private information. More on the resources

Author:Peter Spearritt

PrintPublication Details: Peter Spearritt, 'Bunning, Walter Ralston (1912 - 1977\',Australian Dictionaryof Biography,Volume 13, Melbourne University Press, 1993, pp 297-298.

'Bunning, PeterSpearritt, Walter Ralston(1912 - 1977)',Australian EET',ilIl *,",, Dictionaryof Biognphy, Online Edition, nsg{u'ilF$1 $1.,,,,.,, t'l l: l\lll\.i Copyright2006, updatedcontinuously, ISSN 1833-7538,published by AustralianNational University hftp://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A1 30335b. htm

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