Gummer and Ford was an architectural firm founded in 1923 in
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand, by
William Gummer
William Henry Gummer (7 December 1884 – 13 December 1966) was a New Zealand architect.
Gummer was born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1884. He studied architecture at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1909 to 1912 and during that time worked ...
and
Charles Reginald Ford. It was among the country's best-regarded architectural firm of the first half of the 20th century, designing numerous iconic buildings, including the former
National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum in Wellington and the old
Auckland railway station. Eighteen of the company's buildings have been registered as significant historic places by
Heritage New Zealand
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...
. In 2006 an exhibition of their work was staged at
The University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
's
Gus Fisher Gallery
Gus Fisher Gallery is a contemporary art gallery owned and operated by the University of Auckland in Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is loca ...
, and in 2007 the firm was described as 'the best architectural practice of all time in New Zealand'.
History
When the partnership was established between Ford and Gummer, Gummer was already a highly successful architect. In his early 20s he had travelled to England and there worked for
Leonard Stokes
Leonard Aloysius Scott Stokes (1858 – 25 December 1925) was an English architect and artist.
Leonard Stokes was born in Southport (then in Lancashire) in 1858 the son of Scott Nasmyth Stokes, a school inspector. He trained in London and tra ...
and
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memorials ...
. The latter architect, later known mostly for his memorial designs, 'profoundly influenced' Gummer. He was placed third in a 1911 competition to design
Parliament Buildings in London. After returning to New Zealand in 1914 he designed several well-regarded buildings including the
New Zealand Insurance office in Auckland and the
State Fire Insurance building in Wellington.
The partnership between the two men was highly productive. Gummer's biographer in the
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
The ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'' (DNZB) is an encyclopedia or biographical dictionary containing biographies of over 3,000 deceased New Zealanders. It was first published as a series of print volumes from 1990 to 2000, went online ...
attributes this to their complementary skills and personalities. Ford concentrated primarily on managing the practice and dealing with clients, although he also did some design work. Amongst the firm's early successes were Auckland's
Dilworth Building, and the Auckland Railway Station, awarded a
New Zealand Institute of Architects
Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents approximately 90 per cent of registered architects in Aotearoa New Zealand and supports and promotes architecture in ...
(NZIA) gold medal in 1931. The firm had earlier won a gold medal for the
Remuera Public Library in 1928.
Gummer and Ford designed numerous
war memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
s, including the
New Zealand National War Memorial
The National War Memorial of New Zealand is located next to the Dominion Museum building on Buckle Street, in Wellington, the nation's capital. The war memorial was dedicated in 1932 on Anzac Day (25 April) in commemoration of the First World W ...
in Wellington, the
Christchurch Bridge of Remembrance and the Dunedin Cenotaph. Gummer's school buildings include
St Peter's College, Auckland
St Peter's College () is a Catholic church, Catholic secondary school single-sex education, for boys in the Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice tradition, and dedicated to St Peter. It is located in the Auckland CBD, central Auckland area of Graft ...
(1939). They designed the
Massey Memorial
The Massey Memorial is the mausoleum of New Zealand Prime Minister William Massey, at Point Halswell on the Miramar Peninsula, Wellington, New Zealand.
History
Massey was Prime Minister from 1912 to 1925, when he died in office. After his d ...
.
Gummer was responsible for virtually all of the firm's iconic buildings but Ford also contributed significantly to New Zealand architecture and building through his book ''Earthquakes and Building Construction''. He was also influential in the establishment of earthquake safety standards in New Zealand after the
1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake
The 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, also known as the Napier earthquake, occurred in New Zealand at 10:47am on 3 February, killing 256,The exact number of deaths varies according to different sources; the ''New Zealand Listener'' article cited be ...
, and the establishment of a Chair of Architecture at
Auckland University
The University of Auckland (; Māori language, Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public university, public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the Unive ...
.
'Safe as Houses'.
/ref>
Both Gummer and Ford were at various times president of the NZIA.
Image:Dedication of National War Memorial Carillon, Wellington.jpg, New Zealand National War Memorial
Image:Wellington Dominion Museum 01.JPG, Dominion Museum building
Image:Dilworth Building Queen Street Auckland.jpg, Dilworth Building
Image:Auckland Old Railway Station.jpg, Auckland Railway Station
Image:St Peter's College, Auckland; Bro O'Driscoll Building.JPG, St Peter's College, Auckland
Image:Cenotaph, Dunedin, New Zealand2.JPG, Dunedin Cenotaph
Image:Auckland winter gardens.jpg, Auckland Domain Wintergardens
List of notable works
Sources
John Stacpoole, Opening address for 'Past Present: The Visionary Architecture of Gummer and Ford', at the Gus Fisher Gallery, 14 July 2006.
Ian J. Lochhead, 'Gummer, William Henry' in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Mostly about C. Reginald Ford.
University of Auckland's Architecture Archive – BLOCK Building Tour of Gummer and Ford buildings in Auckland
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gummer And Ford
Architecture firms of New Zealand
Companies based in Auckland
New Zealand companies established in 1923
Recipients of the NZIA Gold Medal
Design companies established in 1923
1966 disestablishments in New Zealand