He Added Lustre To A Name

Newcastle Herald

Monday March 10, 2008

Michelle Harris

A member of a leading establishment family created his own legacy of nurturing, writes Michelle Harris.

OBITUARY

EDWARD JOHN MEREWETHER

Born: May 25, 1923

Died: March 1, 2008

Memorial gathering: Members' Room, Mitchell Wing of the State Library of NSW, from 2.30pm, March 15.

NO doubt as a consequence of his family's rich heritage, Edward John Merewether seemed to have a heightened appreciation of the historical.

Known by his middle name John, he was a member of the clan for which the seaside suburb is named. He was the great grandson of Edward Christopher Merewether, regarded as the founder of the Merewether Estate, and the great grand-nephew of David Scott Mitchell, founder of the Mitchell Library in Sydney.

Late of Killara, he was said to have taken great delight in his family his children and grandchildren as well as his forebears, in whose history he showed a keen interest and which he encouraged others to explore.

But during his life he created his own legacy. He established several scholarships at educational institutions and, with his business partner, left his architectural firm's archives to the library.

Only last year, he created the David Scott Mitchell Fellowship and the Merewether Scholarship at the library, which will soon be offered annually for the study of Australian and NSW history.

Others to benefit from his generosity included The Junction Public School, Merewether High School and Merewether Heights Public School.

Born in Newcastle, he was the first son of Edward Robert Hickson Merewether and Hope Merewether (formerly Docker), and brother of Richard (born 1925).

In 1861 his great grandfather, E. C. Merewether, built on the Burwood Estate the landmark residence The Ridge, later known as Hillcrest.

In 2002, Mr Merewether told The Herald he had vivid childhood memories of local coalmining operations and riding in small coal skips pulled by pit ponies. He attended Broughton School in Newcastle and from 1935 Sydney's Shore School.

It was at a musical event at Shore in 1937 that John first met Tempe Helsham, whom he would later marry.

John was exposed early to the design elements of architecture through his father's work, but his formal introduction to it came in 1941.

He was employed as a student draftsman in his father's architectural firm, Pitt & Merewether, while at Newcastle Technical College.

The following year he joined the AIF, and served in Darwin. During the war, he kept in touch with Tempe, who served as a WAAAF signals operator.

John's daughter, Janet Merewether, recalls the Merewether family moved to Sydney in the early 1940s.

John returned home and completed his Diploma of Architecture at Sydney Technical College and was registered as an architect in 1949. He had worked at the architectural branches of organisations including the Legion of Ex-Servicemen, War Service Homes and Sydney City Council before embarking in 1952 to London, where he worked for the offices of Maxwell Partners, in Soho, and Thomas Mitchell, in Bedford Square.

Tempe also travelled to London and worked as a secretary for architectural firms.

In 1955, John and business partner Ted Bagot established the firm Merewether & Bagot in Sydney's Castlereagh Street.

Clients over the years included the Lorna Hodgkinson Sunshine Home, Nestle{aac}, Wenona and Fletcher Jones.

Three years later he married Tempe. The couple had three children: Ted, in 1960, James, in 1961, and Janet, in 1965.

While architecture was his living, Mr Merewether also showed a strong interest in music and the arts which probably stemmed from the talent of his brother, who attended the London Conservatorium of Music.

"Dad was never a musician but I think that close connection meant he always had an interest in it," Janet Merewether said.

With his wife, he was a supporter with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and also sang in the Lindfield A Cappella Choir from the 1950s to 1970s.

He was a volunteer at the Sydney International Piano Competition, a committee member of the Wahroonga Music Club and Killara Music Club, and a secretary and member of the Art Gallery of NSW Society.

Ms Merewether said that while her father was never intrigued by scholarly pursuits, he found satisfaction in establishing scholarships, including the Richard Merewether Horn Scholarship at the Conservatorium of Music.

"Dad was someone who saw himself as an active doer, rather than someone engaged in study," she said.

"But he had a vision to support students and scholars and was very generous."

He also had a "fond connection" to Newcastle and his family's heritage and enjoyed delving into it through his patronage of the Merewether Historic Society.

Society president Don Harris said Mr Merewether was pleased with members' efforts to piece together the suburb's history and attended many of its meetings.

Despite his family's history, he was very much his own person, Mr Harris said.

"He was very down to earth and direct."

Mitchell librarian Elizabeth Ellis described Mr Merewether as one of the library's best-known volunteers and benefactors.

After donating his firm's archive with Mr Bagot in the mid-1980s, he became a weekly, sometimes daily, visitor at the library which he came regard as "his second home", she wrote in preparation for his upcoming memorial gathering.

". . . the staff got used to his own inimitable blend of forthrightness and humour."

Mr Merewether is survived by his wife, children, and grandchildren Sarah, Ned, May, Rex and Arlo.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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