ARCHITECT OF FORTUNE
FRANCIS GREENWAY: HIS LIFE AND TIMES, by M. H. Ellis; Angus and Robertson, Australian price 30/-. HAT a man who was sentenced to death for uttering a forged document, reprieved, and then transported
to Australia for 14 years should within a year or two have been working in close association with Governor Macquarie as Government architect in Sydney, is in itself enough to make one rub one’s eyes. But this was only one major happening in the life of Francis Greenway, who to this day holds a place of the highest honour amohg Australian architects. Greenway, who was previously in practice in Bristol, was fortunate in obtaining a letter from Admiral Arthur Philip introducing him to Governor Macquarie, and recommending him for favourable treatment. It was lucky for him, too, that just at that moment Macquarie was desperately in need of a first-class architect. Greenway was put to work without much delay, was allowed to bring his wife and family. out, and before long was behaving in the most lordly and high-handed way possible towards the Governor. Macquarie (a temperate and magnanimous man) held him in check, but allowed him considerable freedom and authority, with, architecturally speaking, the happiest results. Greenway was an extraordinary: char-acter-vain, self-assertive, chock-full of the artistic temperament, yet greatly gifted. The story of his life in New South Wales is just as extraordinary. Mr. Ellis has admirably adapted his style and manner of presentation to his
subject, writing with wit and a pleasant irony. This is a most readable book, and it makes a notable contribution to Australia’s historical record.
A.R.D.
F.
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 769, 15 April 1954, Page 12
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269ARCHITECT OF FORTUNE New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 769, 15 April 1954, Page 12
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