Charles Bruce Dellit (7 November 1898 – 21 August 1942) was an Australian architect who pioneered the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

style in Australia. He was generally known as Bruce Dellit. He is known for having designed the

Anzac War Memorial The Anzac Memorial is a heritage-listed war memorial, museum and monument located in Hyde Park South near Liverpool Street in the CBD of Sydney, Australia. The Art Deco monument was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned wi ...

Hyde Park, Sydney Hyde Park, Sydney, is an urban park, of , located in the Sydney central business district, central business district of Sydney, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest public parkland in Aust ...

Early life and education

Dellit was born on 7 November 1898 in Darlington,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Australia. He was the son of Albert Dellit, a furniture manufacturer and Agnes Gertrude Mack. His full siblings were Albert Cormack, Leo Harold and Ena May. As a child, he attended Christian Brothers' College, Waverley.Dellit, Charles Bruce (1898–1942)
Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 2012-03-05. After leaving school, Dellit gained employment with the architect John L. Berry and at 16 he enrolled at the

Sydney Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now part of TAFE NSW, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education institutions. History The Sydney M ...

. From 1919, Dellit studied architecture under Professor Leslie Wilkinson at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

for one day a week.

Career

From 1918 Dellit worked for architects Hall & Prentice in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and, after returning to Sydney, joined Spain & Cosh in 1922. He set up his own practice in 1928. Dellit is most noted for his design of the art deco Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park,

, built to commemorate the

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...

s who fought in the First World War. Dellit won the project in a design competition that attracted over 100 entries.K. S. Inglis
"Sacred Places: War Memorials in the Australian Landscape"
Melbourne University Press (1998), pp. 289-297. Online version retrieved 2012-03-06. He introduced the new fashion for

(more familiar for entertainment buildings) devoid of any classical details and adding a stepped roof. Dellit engaged the sculptor,

Rayner Hoff George Rayner Hoff (27 November 1894 – 19 November 1937) was a British-born sculptor who mainly worked in Australia. He fought in World War I and is chiefly known for his war memorial work, particularly the sculptures on the Anzac War Memori ...

, to create the statues and

bas-reliefs Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

for the monument. Dellit continued to complete several commercial and residential buildings during the 1930s.

Notable works

Kyle House

After beginning his private practice in 1928, Dellit's first major project was Kyle House in Macquarie Place, Sydney. The building, notable for its strong vertical lines and dominating ground floor arch, is considered among the earliest examples of Sydney commercial architecture embracing the Inter-War Art Deco style.

Kinselas Funeral Chapel

Built in 1910 at the present location of

Taylor Square Taylor Square is a public square in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Taylor Square is located beside a major road junction, at the intersection of Bourke, Forbes, Oxford and Flinders Streets. Taylor Square is also on the border of the suburbs ...

Darlinghurst. The original building was converted into an Art Deco style by Dellit after being purchased by funeral director Charles Kinsela in 1932. The building, which is now used as a bar, contains the work of Rayner Hoff and is considered among the best examples of Art Deco "funerary spaces" in Sydney.

Liberty cinema

In 1934 Dellit rebuilt the old Rialto theatre at 232 Pitt Street, close to the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

. Constructed of reinforced concrete in art nouveau style, its foyer featured ''bas-relief'' panels by Rayner Hoff, as well as a bust of William Charles Wentworth. It was rebuilt in the 1970s as the three-screen Greater Union Pitt Centre.

Anzac Memorial

Dellit's Anzac Memorial, within

, is considered to be the "epitome" of pairing of the symmetrical classicism of the Moderne style architecture with Art Deco, decorative embellishments. Dellit's "masterpiece", completed in 1934, is complemented by

's Art Deco sculptures and reliefs depicting the men of the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following United Kingdom of Great Bri ...

Personal life

Dellit married Victoria Clara Millar on 15 October 1921 in

. Children of the marriage were Portia, Albert Victor (known as Victor) and Deirdre. Victor was also a prominent architect. Dellit died from cancer, aged 43, in Hornsby near Sydney, NSW.

References

External links

Brief biography (Sydney Architecture)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dellit, Charles Bruce 1898 births 1942 deaths Architects from Sydney 20th-century Australian architects Deaths from cancer in New South Wales People educated at Waverley College