Fundamental to an examination of the school architecture of William Edmund Kemp (1831-1898) is an understanding of the man and the culture of the colonial society that shaped him. During his lifetime there was a changing imperial relationship between New South Wales and Britain, the introduction of self government (1855) and a movement towards nationhood. As the nineteenth century progressed, the theories of empire and nation building that dominated the British worldview were modified by emerging ideas of colonial difference. There was a general recognition that British people living in the Australian environment had been changed and had developed their own distinctive character. The growing independence of the colony accelerated the development of education, culminating in the New South Wales Public Instruction Act of 1880. Kemp’s position as Architect for Public Schools was established at this time – a position he occupied for sixteen years (1880-1896) during which he designed hundreds of new schools for the colony.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	William Edmund Kemp, colonial society, nationalism
Research Division:	Built Environment and Design
Research Group:	Architecture
Research Field:	Architectural History and Theory
Objective Division:	Cultural Understanding
Objective Group:	Understanding Past Societies
Objective Field:	Understanding Australia's Past
Author:	Orr, K (Professor Kirsten Orr)
ID Code:	107507
Year Published:	2011
Deposited By:	Architecture
Deposited On:	2016-03-17
Last Modified:	2017-11-17
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