The Women Who Paved the Way

By Wing Chan & Anjuli Selvadurai 

Architecture + Women NZ shines the spotlight on women working in the field of architecture in Aotearoa, so now, we are taking a look through the archives to highlight some of the incredible women who paved the way. 

The aftermath of the Great Depression and the eruption of the Second World War brought fundamental change for women in New Zealand society. Previously, jobs such as nursing and teaching were among the few accepted professional options for women at the time, outside of their established positions as mothers and homemakers. World War II brought forth a turning point for New Zealand women on the homefront, with opportunities of education and work emerging to fill the roles men left behind.¹

The University of Auckland’s School of Architecture was founded in 1917, and in 1926, under the first Professor of Architecture in New Zealand, Cyrill Knight, began offering full time courses. From the early days of the school, women were encouraged to attend classes. However the curriculum was structured around working in a firm during the day and attending classes in the evening. Not many firms were willing to hire women and the evening classes proved challenging for women at the time due to safety and logistical concerns.² As a result, few women attended classes until full time courses became available. Knight publicly encouraged women to attend the school in the New Zealand Herald, stating:

With that motivation, many women attended the School of Architecture during the 1930s, however there were significant drop offs due to the Depression and wartime pressures and few graduated.⁴

The women we are spotlighting attended The University of Auckland’s School of Architecture from the 1930s to the 1940s, at the height of this societal change. Introducing Merle Greenwood, Dorothy Coulthard (née Wills), Mary Edwards, Nancy Northcroft, Marjorie Penty and Mary Clemens de Lisle (née Hay), some of the first women in Aotearoa to graduate as architects. 

Alice Greenwood (known as Merle), was the first woman to graduate from the School of Architecture in 1933. Other women had taken and passed the exams but only as stand-alone papers. Merle was the first to have completed the full course and graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture.⁵

Born in Hobart, Merle’s family moved around the Pacific before settling in Auckland in 1913. Due to Merle’s father’s position as a minister at St. Alban’s Church, she received a scholarship for daughters of the clergy, that enabled her to study at the Auckland School of Architecture.⁶ She began studying in 1927 and graduated in 1933 with a Bachelor of Architecture. Merle’s final thesis design, a group of buildings in the Italian style, was exhibited as part of the School’s annual exhibition. Merle also obtained an associate membership of the Royal British Institute of Architects (RIBA), due to their endorsement and recognition of the Architecture School, upon graduation.⁷

Merle’s graduation was published in the national newspaper titled, “GIRL AS ARCHITECT”, despite being 33 years old upon her graduation.⁸ She was also celebrated at the Lyceum Club at a luncheon with author Jane Mander and Julia Van Bernsteyn Holloway, Auckland’s first female barrister - the event was also featured in the New Zealand Herald.⁹

Graduating in the Depression era meant employment opportunities were limited for Merle. She took up unpaid work at Gummer & Ford in Auckland before working for Horace Massey, helping to design the Heard’s factory in Parnell. In 1935, she found paid work with Basil Crocker in Dannevirke.¹⁰

In 1937 Merle moved to Wellington and became the first woman architect to be employed in New Zealand public service. She was hired as an Architectural Draughtswoman in the Department of Housing Construction and later promoted to Architect. Merle designed state houses for the government, including House 646 which is featured in the book, Beyond the State. In 1943 she was seconded to the Department of Health. Though there are no details on projects during this time, it can be assumed she designed hospitals.¹¹

Merle resigned from the department in 1944 and moved to Melbourne. She married her cousin Robert Sampson, an accountant, and she continued working as an architect, designing her own home in Upwey. Merle and Robert did not have any children, and when Robert died in the early 1960s, Merle returned to New Zealand where she remained until her death in 1990.¹²

Dorothy Mary Coulthard (née. Wills) was the second woman to graduate with a Bachelor of Architecture in New Zealand and the second to be registered as an architect by the NZIA. Born in 1911, Dorothy spent her childhood years in Tauranga and Auckland. Her university records show that Dorothy attended the School of Architecture from 1929-1934, after achieving her matriculation. During her time there, her drawings were featured twice in the school prospectus.¹³

Dorothy graduated in 1934 and moved back to Tauranga where she worked for H L D West, an architect for the borough council. His projects included private projects, such as houses and shops, as well as council buildings. While we do not have too many details of her work, it is likely she contributed to a variety of projects during this time.

In 1936 she applied to be an Associate of the NZIA, becoming the second woman to be registered as an architect by the NZIA. Not long after this, Dorothy moved to the United Kingdom where she immersed herself in the social scene, being presented “at court”, alongside other young New Zealand women in 1937.¹⁴

Dorothy worked in the United Kingdom throughout the war. According to her family she worked for the British Intelligence Service, assessing buildings that were to house scientists and other personnel crucial to the war effort. Dorothy advised on the suitability of the houses and reported any alterations they may require. She may have also conducted assessments of bomb-damaged buildings for the Ministry of Works during this period.¹⁵

Post war, Dorothy remained in the United Kingdom working on housing and welfare projects until she was prompted to move back to New Zealand in 1949 to care for her father. She settled in Wellington where she took up a job at the Ministry of Works in the housing division.¹⁶ One of her prominent projects involved working with Lady Freyberg, the governor general’s wife, to prepare Government House for a visit from King George VI. Thirty-eight tapestries were commissioned for the dining chairs, showing coats of arms of towns and cities.¹⁷ This intricate needlework was carried out by women local to the respective towns. While the King’s trip was ultimately cancelled, the tapestries are still on display in Government House today.

In 1957 Dorothy married James (Jerry) Coulthard, when she was in her mid-forties.The Coulthards did not have any children, and Dorothy continued to work at the Ministry of Works after marriage. She was eventually promoted to senior architect, but census records from this time listed her as either ‘spinster’, ‘housewife’ or ‘married’. Dorothy retired in 1969 after a 20 year career as a public servant.¹⁸ 

In her retirement, Dorothy worked on a family home renovation and was involved in the restoration of St Mary’s Church in Blenheim. She died in 2007, and bequeathed a large fund for public artworks in Marlborough.

Mary Dorothy Edwards was the third woman to graduate from the School of Architecture. Mary was raised in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where her father worked as a mining engineer. She returned to New Zealand after her father’s passing when she was only 17, settling in Dunedin.¹⁹

Mary entered the School of Architecture in 1932 in a class of only 5 students. During her time there, she was awarded the “Amalgamated Brick Prize” for the best design in brick.²⁰ 

When Mary graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1938, New Zealand was still in a Depression era and Mary, like Merle Greenwood, struggled to find paid employment. Opportunities came up for Mary when the reality of a second world war became more apparent. There was an influx of high priority military projects and Mary was hired by the architectural division of the Public Works Department to assist with these projects.²¹

For six years at the Public Works Department, Mary designed and drafted barracks, camps, gunposts, bomb depots, and hospitals for both New Zealand and American armed forces. Mary was practical about the utility of these military projects, describing them as,“not conducive to the imagination” and saying, “there was no time for high class design”.²²

Post-war she remained at the Public Works Department for another 10 years before venturing out. She joined Gummer & Ford, one of the leading architecture firms in Auckland. There, she was part of a team working on commercial projects for State Fire/Government Life. Her coworkers described her as quietly spoken, gentle, and very intelligent and remembered her intricate pencil draughting. After seven years with Gummer & Ford, she worked at the Education Board for two years.²³

Mary returned to the Public Works Department in 1964, which after 1945, merged with the Department of Housing Construction, to form the Ministry of Works, in the housing division and architectural division. Mary remained at the Ministry of Works until her retirement in August 1974, and moved to Nelson where she lived until her death in 1995, aged 86.²⁴ She was a member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Mary is remembered for her long career as a public servant and government architect. When reflecting on her career and work, she remembered, “some nice little bomb depots”, as her favourite designs.

Anna Holmes Northcroft, known as ‘Nancy’, was born in Hamilton on 23 March 1913 to mother Violet Constance (née Mitchell) and father Sir Erima Harvey Northcroft. In 1921, Nancy, along with her older sister, Joan, moved to Auckland as their father took a job in an Auckland firm.²⁶ Nancy attended Sonning School for Girls in Hamilton until the family’s move, she then attended Diocesan School for Girls from 1923 to 1931 where she was Head Prefect and in Neligan House.²⁷ ²⁸ 

From a young age, Nancy’s father encouraged her and her sister to pursue various extra curricular activities as well as academia. However, when Nancy showed an interest in wanting to study law, her father discouraged her, citing that it was not an appropriate occupation for women.

Nancy pursued study at the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture from 1932 to 1939, graduating in 1940, making her the fourth woman to qualify with a Bachelor of Architecture in New Zealand.²⁹ After university, Nancy was awarded a British Council Scholarship which took her to the United Kingdom to study housing in relation to planning in England and Scotland. Nancy left New Zealand to England on a cargo boat, it was an adventurous journey with boats in the same convoy being torpedoed by German submarines.³⁰

Despite interruptions from World War II, Nancy’s time in England saw her working as a principal assistant for the survey of the country estate, Gorhambury, in Hertfordshire. She also directed social and economic surveys of the nearby town of St. Albans. While in London she also joined the Women’s Voluntary Service, and became part of an emergency group that provided support during flying-bomb attacks.³¹

Nancy graduated from the School of Planning and Research for Regional Development in London in 1946, passing her course with distinction. In 1947 she was admitted as an Associate Member of the Town Planning Institute United Kingdom.

Throughout her career, Nancy worked in offices of private architects such as Keith Draffen, as well as in positions on Christchurch City Council (1940-1941) Canterbury Education Board (1941-1942) and Wellington Regional Planning Council (1947). 

In 1949 she took on the role as Town Planning Officer at Christchurch City Council where she remained until 1954, moving to Regional Planning Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Christchurch Regional Planning Authority. She also wrote prolifically for the New Zealand magazine, Home and Building.

In addition to her working career, Nancy also held positions and memberships on a variety of associations such as; President of Victoria League of Canterbury, Young Contingent (1949-1953) President of the Soroptimist Club of Christchurch (1952), Friends of the Te Wai Ponamu Maori Girls School Committee member (since 1952), Public and Social Affairs Committee of the Diocese of Christchurch (since 1957), Vice President of New Zealand Federation of University Women (1956-1957), Canterbury Branch Vice-President of the Christchurch Architectural Association (1956), Vice President of New Zealand Institute of Professional Town and Country Planners (1958) and President (1957) and later Vice-President (1958) of the New Zealand Geographical Society.³² 

By 1963, Nancy went into private practice as a planner alongside Messrs Davie, Lovell-Smith and Partners where she remained until her retirement in 1978.³³ Nancy never married or had children, instead dedicating her life to her career. She died in Christchurch on 31 July, 1980 at just 67 years.³⁴

Nancy helped town planning become recognised as a legitimate profession in New Zealand as it was work previously carried out by surveyors. Much of the layout and charm of Christchurch is thanks to Nancy’s vision and dedicated work as a town planner.

Marjorie Emily Penty was born on 1 April 1914 to mother Margaret Mary and father Frederic Penty and grew up in the Auckland suburb of Remuera. She started at the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture in 1933 and in 1937 received a Senior Scholarship through the University.³⁵ Despite excelling in her studies, Marjorie first graduated with a Diploma in Architecture and did not receive her Bachelor of Architecture until 1947.³⁶

Majorie started work in the office of prominent Auckland architect, Horace Massey in 1941.³⁷ Then, on 8 April 1943, in the midst of World War II, Marjorie enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). Many women joined the newly established WAAFs, conceived to ease personnel shortages and allow more men to serve overseas and in combat. They served first in administrative roles and kitchens, then later in roles such as mechanics and aircrew support.³⁸ Little is known about Marjorie’s time in the WAAFs, however she remained in service until close to the end of World War II.³⁹ She was then taken on at the Public Works department now called the Ministry of Works. She worked at the ministry for 17 years, becoming a Senior Architect after 10 years.⁴⁰

While Penty worked in the general architectural division in Auckland, she also spent years seconded to the Health Department in Wellington. Marjorie spent a period of her career hospital ward planning, as part of the Hospital Design and Evaluation Unit. Alongside Dr T. Lawrie, Nursing officer Miss Mhari McKenzie and administrative officer, Mr W Potaka, Penty and the team carried out studies in wards and public hospitals across Wellington, Hutt and Hawera.⁴¹

In 1969, Penty resigned from her position in the NZIA which she had been registered with since 1942.⁴² Marjorie never married or had children and lived in Wellington until her death on 12 September 1987 at 73 years of age.⁴³ Her working career shows the reality of life during wartime, and the response of many women to pivot and contribute to the war effort.

Mary Clemens de Lisle was born in Auckland in 1922 to mother Gertrude Hay (née McWilliams) and father Gordon Clemens Hay. When Mary was just three years old, her mother tragically died in a drowning accident at Marine Parade in Napier.⁴⁴ Her father then moved to work in Melbourne where his parents lived and Mary remained living in Auckland with her maternal grandparents.⁴⁵ She attended Hilltop School in Khyber Pass for her primary school education then later moved to Diocesan School for Girls, where she was a School Prefect.⁴⁶ During her final years in school she attended a Saturday morning drawing class at Elam School of Fine Arts, which prompted her to consider pursuing university study.

Upon leaving school in 1938, Mary wished to commence study of interior design, however her family dismissed it as an unviable career and she was encouraged to pursue architecture instead.⁴⁷ Mary enrolled in the School of Architecture in 1939, and was a student during the first years of World War II. At this time, the University struggled with low enrollment due to young men being sent overseas to partake in the war effort. This may have worked in Mary’s favour as she was accepted into the course despite her lack of education in physics and practical experience.⁴⁸

Mary was heavily involved in social life during her time at university, organising parties and events, often at her family home. Near the end of her degree, in 1943, Mary contracted meningitis and was too sick to attend her final examinations alongside her classmates. Despite her advocacy efforts to graduate with her class, she was denied. Mary instead graduated the following year in 1944, becoming the fifth woman in New Zealand to graduate with a Bachelor of Architecture.⁴⁹

After qualifying at the University of Auckland, Mary briefly travelled overseas before returning to New Zealand where she took a job with the Ministry of Housing. Throughout her career, she also worked in private practices in both Auckland and Hamilton and in 1945 became an associate member of the NZIA.

Mary met her husband Aubrey Frank de Lisle at university, the couple married in 1950 and had two boys. Mary was also part of the Federation of University Women and Vice-President of the Hamilton branch of the YWCA where she focused on projects to improve the living conditions of young women moving into town to work and live in city hostels.⁵⁰ Throughout her career she also lectured in architecture design.

On April 15th 1969, Mary attended the New Zealand Institute of Architects Conference in Rotorua where she read her paper: A Changing Environment, to the wives of attending architects. In her speech she addressed the audience, 

It is likely Mary’s words inspired the audience of women, drawing attention to the importance of a woman's perspective in art, creativity and their fast developing society. Mary died in Hamilton on 11 January 2012, in her 90th year.⁵²

Despite the outbreak of World War II and pervasive prejudice against women within both the university and architectural space, these women were able to sustain long and fruitful careers. Dorothy Wills, Mary Edwards, Nancy Northcroft, Marjorie Penty and Mary Clemens de Lisle all made a significant impact in their respective careers and in the architectural ecosystem of New Zealand.

Of these six architects, many did not marry or married later in life and Mary Clemens de Lisle was the only one to have had children. Despite the societal expectations of the time, there appears to be a concerted effort among these women to prioritise career over family.  In interviews, it seems many of them were dissatisfied with the work they had done and they never progressed further than senior architect roles.

Many of these women did not consider themselves as groundbreaking or unusual for choosing their career path and often downplayed their achievements. Nonetheless, their presence and persistence have paved the way for the New Zealand women architects that followed. 

Thank you to Sarah Cox, archivist at the Architecture Archive, He Māra Mahara, University of Auckland, who helped collate the primary sources used for this article.

Thank you also to Lynda Simmons for providing original scans and primary sources from the A+W NZ Archives.

Written by Wing Chan and Anjuli Selvadurai