Ruth Lane Poole (born Ruth Johnstone Pollexfen; 27 September 1885 – 11 October 1974) was an Irish-Australian furniture and interior designer. She notably designed the original interiors of The Lodge and Yarralumla, the official residences of the prime minister and governor-general of Australia. Lane Poole was born in Ireland, a cousin of poet

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

and his sisters

Lily ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

and Lollie. She came under Lily's guardianship as a teenager and joined the sisters in their

Celtic Revival The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...

efforts at

Dun Emer Press The Dun Emer Press (''fl.'' 1902–1908) was an Irish private press founded in 1902 by Evelyn Gleeson, Elizabeth Yeats and her brother William Butler Yeats, part of the Celtic Revival. It was named after the legendary Emer and evolved into the ...

and Cuala Industries, where she was known for her

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

work. In 1911 she married English-born forester

Charles Lane Poole Charles Edward Lane Poole (16 August 1885 – 22 November 1970) was an English Australian forester who introduced systematic, science-based forestry practices to various parts of the Commonwealth, most notably Australia. Biography Early life a ...

, with whom she had three children. Lane Poole first moved to Australia in 1916, living in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

where her husband was appointed conservator of forests. She returned to Ireland in 1922, but settled in Australia permanently in 1925 when Charles was appointed as an adviser to the federal government. In 1926, Lane Poole was commissioned by the

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

to design the interiors of the residences of the prime minister and governor-general in the new capital city

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

Lane Poole was born on 27 September 1885 in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

, Ireland. She was the third of nine children born to Henrietta () and Frederick Pollexfen. Her father was the brother of

Susan Pollexfen John Butler Yeats RHA (16 March 1839 – 3 February 1922) was an Irish artist and the father of W. B. Yeats, Lily Yeats, Elizabeth Corbett "Lollie" Yeats and Jack Butler Yeats. The National Gallery of Ireland holds a number of his portraits i ...

, mother of Irish poet

. In 1900, Lane Poole's parents separated and she became a

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of her cousin Lily Yeats in London. She returned to Ireland in 1902 with Lily and her sister Lollie, joining them in their promotion of

arts and crafts. She served as an apprentice to Lily in the embroidery section of the

, and later gave lessons at the sisters' Cuala Industries. She continued to design embroideries for Cuala until the early 1920s when she permanently moved to Australia. A collection of her embroidery is held by the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

Marriage and children

In 1911, Lane Poole married English-born forester

, the son of archaeologist

Stanley Lane Poole Stanley Edward Lane-Poole (18 December 1854 – 29 December 1931) was a British orientalist and archaeologist. Biography Lane Poole was Born in London, England, the eldest of three children (two sons and a daughter) of Edward Stanley Poole (1830 ...

. They were married at the chapel of

St Columba's College, Dublin St Columba's College is a co-educational independent day and boarding school founded in 1843 located in Whitechurch, County Dublin, Ireland. Among the founders of the college were Viscount Adare (who later became The 3rd Earl of Dunraven and M ...

, where she was given away by her cousin W. B. Yeats. The first years of their marriage were marked by long periods of separation, as she remained in Ireland while he worked overseas in

British Sierra Leone The Colony and Protectorate of Sierra Leone (informally British Sierra Leone) was the British colonial administration in Sierra Leone from 1808 to 1961, part of the British Empire from the abolitionism era until the decolonisation era. The Crow ...

. The couple had three daughters: Charlotte (born 1913 in London), Mary (born 1918 in Perth), and Phyllis (born 1922 in Ireland).

Australia

In 1916, Lane Poole and her husband moved to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, where he had been appointed conservator of forests. She began to develop an appreciation of Australian native timbers, and in 1920 was tasked with choosing a selection of Western Australian timbers to be presented to Edward, Prince of Wales, on his tour of Western Australia. She returned to Ireland in 1922 with her daughters, again living apart from her husband while he worked in Papua and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. Lane Poole and her daughters returned to Australia in 1925, where her husband had been appointed as Commonwealth Forestry Adviser. They initially lived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, the country's interim capital, where their social circle included architect

Harold Desbrowe-Annear Harold Desbrowe-Annear (16 August 1865 – 22 June 1933) was an influential Australian architect who was at the forefront of the development of the Arts and Crafts movement in the country. During the 1890s he was an instructor in architecture at ...

, philanthropist

Russell Grimwade Sir Wilfrid Russell Grimwade (15 October 1879 – 2 November 1955) was an Australian chemist, botanist, industrialist and philanthropist. He was the son of Frederick Sheppard Grimwade and brother of Harold Grimwade. He was educated at Melbour ...

, and artists

Thea Proctor Alethea Mary Proctor (2 October 1879 – 29 July 1966) was an Australian painter, print maker, designer and teacher who upheld the ideas of 'taste' and 'style'. Biography Proctor was born in Armidale, New South Wales, to William Consett Pr ...

Ethel Spowers Ethel Louise Spowers (11 July 1890 – 5 May 1947) was an Australian artist associated with the Grosvenor School of Modern Art in London. She was especially known for her linocuts, which are included in the collections of major Australian and ...

and

Blamire Young William Blamire Young (9 August 1862 – 14 January 1935), commonly known as Blamire Young, was an English-Australian artist and art critic. He painted primarily in watercolour. Biography Early life Young was born at Londesborough, Yorkshire ...

. Shortly after their arrival, Lane Poole was commissioned to develop a model bedroom for the Arts and Crafts Society of Victoria's annual exhibition at the

Melbourne Town Hall Melbourne Town Hall, often referred to as simply Town Hall, is the administrative seat of the local municipality of the City of Melbourne and the primary offices of the Lord Mayor and city councillors of Melbourne. Located on the northeast co ...

, which was opened by the prime minister's wife

Ethel Bruce Ethel Dunlop Bruce, Viscountess Bruce of Melbourne (née Anderson; 25 May 1879 – 16 March 1967) was the wife of Stanley Bruce, who served as Prime Minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. She was the first prime minister's wife to live at The L ...

. Her model bedroom attracted praise for its "refined period style furniture made in Australian timbers, her sense of colour and her exquisite embroidery", and she was soon invited to contribute to '' Table Talk'' and ''

Home Beautiful Pacific Magazines was a magazine publisher operating in Australia owned by Seven West Media. In March 2020, it was acquired by Bauer Media Australia in April 2020. In June 2020, Mercury Capital acquired Pacific Magazines as part of its purchas ...

''.

Official designer

In March 1926, Lane Poole was appointed by the

National Capital Commission The National Capital Commission (NCC; , CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), including administering most lands and build ...

(NCC) to design the interiors of the new official residences for the

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

and

prime minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

, in time for the planned relocation of federal parliament to the new capital city of

. She was given a budget of £10,000 () for Yarralumla, the governor-general's residence, and a budget of £5,000 () for The Lodge, the prime minister's residence. Lane Poole found the initial budget to be insufficient and lobbied the federal cabinet for additional funding, which agreed only after she threatened to resign. Her own remuneration was set at three

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

per day (), plus a travel allowance. Lane Poole's mandate covered every room in the houses and included design work, such as interior colour schemes and designing furniture, alongside procurement of materials and supervision of furniture-making. She was also responsible for all

napery Napery (from Old French ) is linen used for household purposes, such as table linen. Historically it was the office in a medieval household responsible for the washing and storage of these items. It was headed by a naperer. This office worked cl ...

, glassware and tableware and even finer details such as light switches and

bell pull A bell pull is a woven textile, pull cord, handle, knob, or other object that connects with a bell or bell wire, and which rings a service bell when pulled. Bell pulls may be used to summon workers in homes of people who employ butlers, housema ...

s. In addition to her official role, Lane Poole also worked as an unofficial publicist for the NCC, promoting Canberra in her columns in Melbourne newspapers and journals. Her articles were often illustrated with photographs from government sources.

Later life

Lane Poole was later appointed by the Myer Emporium in Melbourne as a consultant on interior furnishings. She and her family moved to Canberra in 1928, where her husband had been appointed inaugural principal of the

Australian Forestry School The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university and member of the Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition ...

. She did not design again professionally, but was an "ardent promoter of Canberra and took a prominent role in developing the city’s cultural and social life". Lane Poole and her husband developed a friendship with Governor-General Lord Stonehaven and his wife. Lane Poole and her husband retired to Sydney in 1945. She was widowed in 1970 and died on 11 October 1974, aged 89.

Design style and legacy

Blackbirds and peonies cushion cover - detail

Lane Poole's design aesthetic was "grounded in the English traditions of historical period styles, the

Arts and Crafts movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

's rejection of industrialisation and her family associations with leading proponents of the Celtic Revival". She had a strong preference for Australian native timber. Lane Poole's interiors at The Lodge were eventually superseded as prime ministers' wives implemented their own design aesthetics. In the 1980s,

Hazel Hawke Hazel Susan Hawke (née Masterson, 20 July 192923 May 2013) was the first wife of Bob Hawke, the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia. She married him in 1956, and supported him throughout his prime ministership (1983–1991); they divorced in 19 ...

restored some of Lane Poole's original pieces, which had been retained in storage by the federal government. These included a

Beale Beale is an English surname. At the time of the British Census of 1881, its relative frequency was highest in Dorset (6.3 times the British average), followed by Huntingdonshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Warwickshire, Kent and Su ...

baby grand piano commissioned by Lane Poole in

Queensland maple ''Flindersia brayleyana'', commonly known as Queensland maple, maple silkwood or red beech, is a species of tree in the family Rutaceae and is Endemism, endemic to northern Queensland. It has Pinnation, pinnate leaves with between six and ten l ...

. In 2021, the

Canberra Museum and Gallery Canberra Museum and Gallery is an art gallery and museum in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is located in Civic Square, on London Circuit, in Civic in the centre of the city. The gallery was opened on 13 February 1998. The museum house ...

staged an exhibition of her work titled ''Ruth Lane Poole: A Woman of Influence''. The exhibition included furniture from the official residences along with personal items highlighting "the development of Ruth's design philosophy and the legacy of her Irish associations, as well as her love for Australian timbers".

References

Sources

External links

Furniture designs for Prime Minister's Lodge and Government House, Canberra / Ruth Lane Poole
– National Library of Australia {{DEFAULTSORT:Lane Poole, Ruth 1885 births 1974 deaths Irish emigrants to Australia People from Limerick (city) Irish embroiderers Irish furniture designers Australian interior designers Arts and Crafts movement artists Australian furniture designers