Name

Gurnsey, Frederick George

Type

Carver

Biography

Frederick George Gurnsey (1868 - 1953) was born in Wales. He was apprenticed to Harry Hems and Company, a leading ecclesiastical carving firm in Exeter, and worked for them once his apprenticeship was complete. Gurnsey visited New Zealand in 1904-1905 and returned in 1907 when he was appointed as an instructor at the Canterbury College School of Art in Christchurch. At the School of Art he taught carving, modelling, casting, enamelling and metalwork, and was the acting director of the school from September 1917 to April 1920. He resigned in 1923 to become a full-time carver. Gurnsey executed thousands of carvings, in both wood and stone, for churches, civic buildings, public monuments and various private commissions. Some of his more prominent carvings include the reredos in the Christchurch cathedral, his work in the Chapel of St Michael and St George, the carvings on the Bridge of Remembrance in Christchurch (1924), those on the Massey Memorial in Wellington (1930), and those in the Church of the Good Shepherd at Tekapo.(1935). During the Depression Gurnsey diversified into making domestic furniture. He has been described as 'one of the greatest European carvers ever to have worked in New Zealand', although due to his personal modesty and the way in which carving falls somewhere between fine arts and craft, his achievements have, until recently, largely been unrecognised. Confident with carving in both wood and stone, Gurnsey was responsible for many beautiful works, particularly in the South Island.

Name

Wood, Cecil Walter

Type

Architect

Biography

Born in Christchurch, Wood (1878-1947) was articled to the local architect Frederick Strouts between 1894 and 1899. He worked for a short time as a draughtsman with the firm Clarkson and Ballantyne before travelling to England in 1901. Here Wood was exposed to a high quality of architectural design in the Edwardian Free Style, and was employed by two leading Edwardian architects Robert Weir Shultz and Leonard Stokes. In 1907 Wood returned to New Zealand to take up partnership with Samuel Hurst Seager. The partnership lasted for only one year for Wood set up his own practice in 1908. The years 1908-1915 were dominated by domestic commissions, but it was also during this time that he began his association with Christ's College, which included such commissions as Hare Memorial Library (1915), the Memorial Dining Hall (1923-5), Jacob's House (1931) and Open Air Classrooms (1932). During the 1920s Wood's practice began to expand and a Georgian influence can be seen in such works as Weston House Park Terrace (1923-4) and Bishopscourt (1926-7). A short lived partnership in 1927 with R S D Harman allowed Wood to travel to the United States while another in 1937 with Paul Pascoe allowed him to travel to England, Europe and the United States without neglecting his practice. During this second trip he made preparations for the design of St Paul's Anglican Cathedral in Wellington, which was erected after his death. During his life Wood had made a substantial contribution to the architecture of Christchurch, having an enthusiasm for both European and American styles.

Name

Harman, Richard Strachan De Renzy

Type

Architect

Biography

Not to be confused with his uncle R.D. Harman of Collins and Harman, Architects, R.S. Harman (1896-1953) was born and educated in Christchurch where he subsequently became one of the city's most competent ecclesiastical and residential architects. He served his articles with the local firm of Seager and Macleod (1914-16) and also attended classes at the Canterbury College School of Art during this time. After service in France during the First World War, he studied at the Royal College of Art, London before returning to New Zealand in 1920 to rejoin Seager's office. Between 1923 and 1926 Harman was once more in London undertaking further study as well as working for the Ancient Monuments Branch of His Majesty's Office of Works. On his return to Christchurch he entered into a short-lived partnership with Cecil Wood before establishing his own practice in 1928. Harman was closely associated with the Anglican Church throughout his career and almost all of his church designs were commissioned by the Anglican dioceses of Canterbury and Nelson. The Church of the Good Shepherd, Tekapo (1935) and St. John's Cathedral, Napier (1953) are among his most well-known ecclesiastical works, although the latter was not erected until after his death. During the late 1940s he worked as the consulting architect for Christchurch Cathedral, designing the Chapel of St Michael and St George in the south transept in 1949 and the reredos behind the High Altar in 1950. Harman was also an active member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, becoming president of that organisation in 1949.