Sir John Wallace Overall, (15 July 1913 – 2 September 2001) was an Australian

Second World War 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 ...

veteran and architect. As inaugural Commissioner of the

National Capital Development Commission The National Capital Authority (NCA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia. Timeline of th ...

from 1957 to 1972, he made a significant contribution to the development of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Early life

Overall was born in

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 ...

, New South Wales, on 15 July 1913. He had humble beginnings and grew up with his sisters in a Masonic home in Sydney. He studied architecture 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Technical College The Sydney Technical College, now part of TAFE NSW, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts.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 ...

in the 1920s.

Second World War

Overall served as an officer in the

Second Australian Imperial Force The Second Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF, or Second AIF) was the volunteer expeditionary force of the Australian Army in the Second World War. It was formed following the declaration of war on Nazi Germany, with an initial strength of one ...

during the Second World War, where he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

for "great courage, devotion and initiative" in 1941 for his service during the early

Western Desert campaign The Western Desert campaign (Desert War) took place in the Sahara Desert, deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main Theater (warfare), theatre in the North African campaign of the Second World War. Military operations began in June 1940 with ...

in North Africa. Overall was awarded a

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to the decoration for his "outstanding leadership and disregard for danger" on 1 September 1942 during the

First Battle of El Alamein The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a battle of the Western Desert campaign of World War II, fought in Egypt between Axis (German and Italian) forces of the Panzer Army Africa—which included the under Field Marshal Erwin ...

. After serving with the 9th Divisional Engineers, in September 1943 he took over command of Australia's first parachute infantry battalion, the 1st Parachute Battalion, and was in command of that unit when they deployed to Singapore at the end of the war.

Architectural career

When he returned to Australia following the war, Overall worked as an architect and in 1952 was made the Chief Government Architect in the Commonwealth Department of Works. In 1957 he was appointed Commissioner of the newly established

(NCDC). In this role Overall made a significant contribution to the development of

up until 1972 and in this regard is known as the "father of Canberra" for implementing Walter Burley Griffin's vision for the city as the founding Commissioner of the NCDC, a position he held for 25 years. Overall was also an advisor to various State Governments and fought vigorously for the protection of the Rocks area in Sydney which was marked for redevelopment. Overall returned to private practice in 1972, where he served on the boards of Lend Lease and CSR Limited. Overall lobbied successive governments for the building of a new parliament house, and in 1977 was asked by

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

, Prime Minister of Australia, to be chairman of the selection committee that chose the winning design for the new building. Overall also became a member of the construction committee of the new Parliament House and he fought vigorously for the integrity of the original design to be maintained when synthetic grass was suggested as a cost-cutting measure by the government of the day for the roof of Parliament House. Today Parliament House has a grass lawn roof as a result of Overall's passion for the integrity of the design to be implemented. He threatened to resign over the issue and lobbied

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...

, then Federal Treasurer to approve the additional funds to complete the building.

Recognition and honours

Overall was awarded the

Royal Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal The Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal is the highest individual award of the Australian Institute of Architects, awarded annually since 1960. The award was created to recognise distinguished service by Australian architects who have: ...

in 1982, and John Overall Offices, the head office of the ACT Planning and Land Management and Overall Avenue in the Canberra suburb of Casey were named in his honour. Overall is now highly regarded as the "father" of Canberra for implementing the Walter Burley Griffin "vision" and transforming Canberra from the "Bush Capital" as it was described as from the 1920s to the 1950s as well as selecting the design for the new Parliament House. The Sir John Overall Award for Urban Design is presented annually by the ACT Chapter of the

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 ...

Personal life

Overall's wife Margaret died in 1988; he dedicated ''Canberra Yesterday and Today'' to her as 'my inspiration and our family's inspiration.' The couple had four sons and, at Overall's death in 2001, eleven grandchildren.Bruce Wright, 'Architect Who Created the Nation's Capital' Sydney Morning Herald, 13 September 2001 p. 42

Notes

References

* Prime Minister of Australia
Press Release
4 September 2001 * Royal Military College of Australia, 1989

Architecture Australia
* Obituary, 2001 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Overall, John 1913 births 2001 deaths Australian colonels Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian Knights Bachelor People from New South Wales Recipients of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal Recipients of the Military Cross