Thomas Blair Moncrieff Wightman (1884–1972) was an architect 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 ...

, Australia. A number of his works are now heritage-listed.

Early life

Thomas Blair Moncrieff Wightman was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland in 1884, the son of Robert Anderson Wightman and his wife Jeanie Greenless (née Dunsmore). He trained in Scotland as an architect and arrived in Brisbane at the age of 26. He married Hannah Matkin in 1910 in the All Saints Anglican Church in Spring Hill,

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 ...

. The couple had one daughter, Jean, born 1911.

Career as an architect

On arrival in Brisbane, he first lectured 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 ...

, then was employed by architects Atkinson and McLay in 1912, and was in private practice in Brisbane by 1913 – firstly on his own, then as Wightman and Phillips from 1914 to 1918. From 1919 he practised alone until his retirement . He was a councillor of the

Queensland Institute of Architects The Queensland Institute of Architects was a professional society for architects in Queensland, Australia. It operated from 1888 until 1930, when it became a chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects. History The Queensland Institute of ...

and its president in 1923–24. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

in 1927. Wightman's work was well received in Brisbane, and his residential work is considered to be important in the development of interwar domestic architecture in Queensland. He established a substantial residential practice, and attracted prestigious commissions which permitted design experimentation in adapting the traditional Queensland timber house to meet changing social and functional requirements.

Works

Victoria Flats in Spring Hill (known as Kilroe's Flats at the time of their construction ) are the only purpose-built flats in Brisbane identified as designed by Wightman. In these flats, Wightman employed elements of domestic bungalow style in the tradition of the Queensland high-set house. The verandah spaces in particular are illustrative of changing lifestyles in Brisbane during the interwar period, when verandah widths and designs were being experimented with to permit their use as outdoor living and sleeping "rooms". The flats 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 ...

. Wightman also designed the former

Masonic Temple A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract spiritual goal and the conceptual ritualistic space of a meeting. Development and history I ...

at 149 Brunswick Street,

Fortitude Valley Fortitude Valley (often called "The Valley" by local residents) is an inner suburb of the City of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. In the , Fortitude Valley had a population of 9,708 people. The suburb features two pedestri ...

, which is now listed on the

Brisbane Heritage Register The Brisbane Heritage Register is a heritage register containing a list of culturally-significant places within the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mai ...

Later life

In April 1932, Thomas Wightman was convicted of

income tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduc ...

for the financial year 1925–1926, having understated his income and deducted a number of fictitious expenses. He was fined £100 and ordered to pay double income tax as penalty, with the alternative of six months in prison. His wife died unexpectedly on 7 August 1932 in a private hospital in

Toowong Toowong ( ) is a riverside Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 12,556 people with a median weekly household income of $1,927. Geography Toowong is ...

. He travelled worldwide during 1933—1935, including Japan (where he was concerned about the political situation), South Africa (where he was concerned about the plague of grasshoppers). He also noted a growing preference for buses over trams as a means of public transport in both the United Kingdom and South Africa. He retired to

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 ...

. He died in Sydney on 22 February 1972.New South Wales Index of Deaths: 42226/1972

References

Attribution

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wightman, Thomas Blair Moncrieff Articles incorporating text from the Queensland Heritage Register 20th-century Australian architects 1884 births 1972 deaths Architects from Glasgow Scottish emigrants to Australia Scottish people convicted of tax crimes