Francis Drummond Stewart

Francis Drummond Stewart was a draughtsman for the Fletcher Construction Company and later became their main architect. He was born in Southland and was educated at the University of Otago and Auckland University College. He worked initially for H. McDowell Smith in Dunedin and from 1926 to 1936 he was staff architect for Fletcher Construction Co. During this time he designed the Station Hotel, Auckland; Nimmo’s Building (1929), Hamilton Chambers (1929) and Brandon House (1931), Wellington; and, in conjunction with Herbert Hall, the Chateau Tongariro (1928).After leaving Fletcher’s Stewart joined the Housing Department (later incorporated into the Ministry of Works) in 1937 and held various senior positions over the years. In 1942 he was appointed Officer of Works and Camouflage for the New Zealand Army. In that position he was responsible for the camouflaging of all army units in New Zealand and, later, personal camouflage for soldiers. He designed pre-fabricated buildings for use in the Pacific, a task he later described as his biggest during the war. He was appointed Assistant Government Architect in 1952 and held this position until his retirement in 1968. He was acting Government Architect for several months in 1966. Stewart was admitted as an Associate of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1936, and was elected a Fellow in 1958. He was a member of the Clerk of Works Registration Board and a member of the Timber Preservation Authority.
 
Sources: 
Mew, Geoff & Adrian Humphris. “Raupo to Deco: Wellington Styles and Architects 1840 – 1940” (Wellington: Steel Roberts Aotearoa, 2014) 
NZHPT Glossary
NZ Institute of Architects Journal, Vol.36, no.2. 1969;
“St Luke’s Church (Presbyterian),” Heritage New Zealand website accessed July 2015 http://www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/647
WCC Heritage Inventory 2001