Elina Emily Mottram, (1903–1996) was an
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
-born
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
trained in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. She was
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 ...
’s first and longest practicing female architect, practicing and establishing her own business in Brisbane from 1924 to 1975. Mottram died at the age of 93 in 1996.
Early life and education
Elina Mottram was born in 1903 in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...
, England as the only child of Arthur Mottram, a building contractor and
stonemason
Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. Stonemasonry is the craft of shaping and arranging stones, often together with mortar and even the ancient lime mortar ...
. She arrived in Brisbane in 1906 with her parents and started school at
Nundah State School.
After finishing her studies at the state school, Mottram then undertook studies in Architecture at the
Brisbane Central Technical College
Brisbane Central Technical College is a heritage-listed technical college at 2 George Street, Brisbane, George Street, Brisbane City, Queensland, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1911 to 1956. It became ...
while simultaneously employed by architect
Francis Richard Hall
Francis Richard Hall (9 February 1862 – 18 March 1939) was an architect in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Many of his works are listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.
Early life
Francis Hall was born on 9 February 1862 in Brisbane, the ...
of Brisbane during the city’s 1920s construction boom.
She graduated with a diploma in Architecture in 1925.
Elina Mottram opened her own practice in an office in the
T&G Building on the corner of Queen Street and Albert Street in Brisbane in April 1924. The Architectural Building Journal of Queensland announced that "Brisbane has at last a lady architect... we trust that she will get her fair share of public support".
Teaching
As well as running her own architectural business, Elina Mottram taught building construction at her
alma mater
Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...
between 1926 and 1928.
Architectural work

In August 1924, the year she opened her practice, Elina Mottram designed a block of four flats at
Moray Street New Farm for her client Frank Elliot and called for the tenders for the constructed building with specific requirements for reinforced concrete.
Elina designed a
Tudor revival style residence for
Zina Beatrice Selwyn Cumbrae-Stewart (an impassioned community worker whose husband
Francis William Sutton Cumbrae-Stewart
Francis William Sutton Cumbrae-Stewart, KC (1865–1938) was a barrister and university professor in Australia.
Early life
Frank Cumbrae-Stewart was born on 27 January 1865 at Riversleigh, Canterbury, New Zealand, son of Francis Edward Stewart ...
later became the registrar of the
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
). Later called the
Scott Street Flats
Scott Street Flats is a heritage-listed apartment block at 2 Scott Street, Kangaroo Point, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Elina Mottram and built to by W B Johnstone. It is also known as Scott House. It was added ...
it is one of the two remaining of Mottram’s architecture that still stands. These units boast of views to the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...
and modern community-friendly walkways that were stylish during the 1920s with its use of wide bay windows and a distinctive view across to the Brisbane’s Custom house.
Elina Mottram also worked as an architect in
Longreach
Longreach is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Longreach Regional Council, which was established in 2008 as a merger of the former Longreach, Ilfracombe, and I ...
from 1926 to 1928 and in
Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite.
The Scottish- ...
from 1928 to 1929.
In Longreach, she designed civic public buildings that include the Masonic Temple, Longreach Motors and the office of Winchcombe Carson Ltd. Evidence of her work also include the remodelling of the
Australian Workers' Union
The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoralism, pastoral and mining industries in the late 1880s and it currently has approximately 80,000 ...
building and the School of Arts.
Her architecture career was stalled during the 1930s depression shortly after Mottram registered as an architect with the
Royal Australian Institute of Architects
The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (abbreviated as RAIA), is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow), ARAIA (Associate Member) an ...
in 1930. During this period, she worked as a postmistress at
Raglan via Rockhampton till 1936.
In partnership with her father, as A & E Mottram, she worked in Rockhampton in 1937 and later in Longreach 1938–1941. During this period, she played the role of foreman of works for her father in support for the first stage of construction of the Longreach Hospital (completed 1940). She was later employed as a draftswoman with the American Army Engineering Office in North Rockhampton in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
After the war, Mottram became the first woman architect to work with the
Queensland Railways
Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger t ...
and designed the
Eagle Junction railway station
Eagle Junction railway station is located on the North Coast railway line, Queensland, North Coast line in Queensland, Australia. It is one of two railway stations serving the Brisbane suburb of Clayfield, the other being Clayfield railway stat ...
.
Other residential commissions by Mottram include a two-storeyed block of flats in Scott Street at Kangaroo Point c1925, a Tudor revival residence for Zina Cumbrae-Stewart overlooking the river, and a residence for Mrs Thurlby on the corner of Winchester and Hants Roads Ascot (now demolished).
Notable projects

Two of Mottram's works are listed on the
Queensland Heritage Register
The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...
:
*
Scott Street Flats
Scott Street Flats is a heritage-listed apartment block at 2 Scott Street, Kangaroo Point, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Elina Mottram and built to by W B Johnstone. It is also known as Scott House. It was added ...
,
Kangaroo Point
*
Monkton Monkton may refer to:
Places
;United Kingdom
*Monkton, Devon, England
*Monkton, Kent, England
*Monkton, Pembroke, Wales
*Monkton, South Ayrshire, Scotland
*Monkton, Tyne and Wear, England
*Monkton, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
;Canada
*Monkton, Ontari ...
(1925),
Corinda
Corinda is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Corinda had a population of 5,555 people.
History
The suburb takes its name from the Corinda railway station, which in turn was likely named after a local cattle sta ...
, Queensland
Of all the buildings designed by Mottram before World War II, only two survive in Brisbane - the Scott Street Flats and
Monkton Monkton may refer to:
Places
;United Kingdom
*Monkton, Devon, England
*Monkton, Kent, England
*Monkton, Pembroke, Wales
*Monkton, South Ayrshire, Scotland
*Monkton, Tyne and Wear, England
*Monkton, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
;Canada
*Monkton, Ontari ...
. Monkton was built in 1925 on Ardoyne Road to the west of Oxley Road at
Corinda
Corinda is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Corinda had a population of 5,555 people.
History
The suburb takes its name from the Corinda railway station, which in turn was likely named after a local cattle sta ...
for William and Margaret Dunlop, who were then only recently married. It was named to commemorate Monkton Farm, William Dunlop's parents' farm which was to the east of Oxley Road.
Monkton has a distinct association to Elina Mottram’s work the survival of the 1925 specifications of works and materials that she used with design. The detailing of the interior joinery such as walls that are lined with v-jointed boards and ceilings of fibre-cement with cover strips are characteristic of Mottram’s domestic work.
See also
*
List of Australian architects
This is a list of Australian architects.
A
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B
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C
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D
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E
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F
''#top ...
*
Women in architecture
Women in architecture have been documented for many centuries, as professional (or amateur) practitioners, educators and clients. Since architecture became organized as a profession in 1857, the number of women in architecture has been low.
At ...
References
External links
Portrait of Elina MottramElina Mottram on Australian Woman RegisterAustralia's pioneering women architectsWoman with plans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mottram, Elina
1903 births
1996 deaths
Australian women architects
Architects from Brisbane
British emigrants to Australia
20th-century Australian women artists
20th-century Australian artists
20th-century Australian architects