Llewellyn Edwin Williams

Llewellyn Williams was born in Newtown, NSW, Australia. His parents, Edwin and Sarah, arrived in Australia in 1882 from Derbyshire, England. Edwin, originally Welsh, was trained as a master stone mason. He did well enough in Australia to become an architect by 1900. Llewellyn followed his father’s career path, and studied architecture in France and England.

In 1916 Llewellyn emigrated with his wife from Sydney to Wellington, where he joined Wellington architect Frederick de Jersey Clere in partnership. With Clere he designed a number of fine buildings, among the best of which was St Mary of the Angels Church (1921), as well as St Barnabas Church, Khandallah, and St Andrew’s on The Terrace. At this time he taught at the Banks Commercial College, Wellington, with another prominent Wellington architect, C.H. Mitchell.

From 1923, Williams practised on his own designing a number of prominent buildings, including Druids Chambers cnr Woodward Street and Lambton Quay (1923), part of Kircaldie and Stains (1924), Todd Motors Building, Courtenay Place (1926), Kelvin Chambers, The Terrace (1927), Civic Chambers, Cuba St (1927), and Chevening House, Salamanca Road Kelburn (1929). He was also responsible for the design of many new theatres around the country, including the De Luxe (now the Embassy) Theatre in Wellington (1924), The Regent (1926) and Kings (1936) cinemas in Wellington (both demolished), and the Avon cinema in Christchurch (1934).

The family moved back to Sydney in c.1940, but moved north to Townsville in 1942 where Williams worked as an architect for the Department of Interior. He returned to Sydney when his eldest son John was shot down over the Middle East and became a prisoner of war; John was killed after participating in the "Great Escape". After the War, Llewellyn returned to Townsville where he continued to work as an architect and branched out into property development until his death in 1967.

 

Sources:

New South Wales Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, No 7973/233.
“Old Shoreline Heritage Trail” (WCC, c.1995)
McCracken, Helen, “Embassy Theatre”, Heritage NZ List Entry, (Wellington: Heritage NZ, 2008)
Mew, Geoff & Adrian Humphris. “Raupo to Deco: Wellington Styles and Architects 1840 – 1940” (Wellington: Steel Roberts Aotearoa, 2014)