Michael Keniger LFRAIA recalls Hamish Stewart Murison FRAIA (1933 – 2023)
Hamish Murison was a proud Scotsman who excelled at both piano and art. From a young age he accompanied his father, a well-known tenor, on the piano. Hamish eventually followed his artistic side into architecture but continued his love of composing music throughout his life. Ultimately, Hamish chose to spread his wings and set out to build his career here in Queensland in architectural education and related public and professional service.
Hamish Murison was initially appointed as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Architecture at the University of Queensland (UQ) for the period 1967-70 following a background in local government, private practice and teaching in the UK. After a short sojourn back in England teaching at the Leicester College of Art and Design he returned to UQ in 1972 initially as a lecturer and within months was reinstated to the position of Senior Lecturer. He went on to establish a significant career as an architectural academic and as a prominent contributor to the shaping of the profession of architecture through his long-standing membership and related leadership of the Board of Architects of Queensland and associated bodies.
He graduated from the Robert Gordon’s Technical College in Aberdeen in 1951 with a Dip. Arch. Abdn. and subsequently was awarded a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Queensland in 1969 followed by a Master of Architecture (by research) in 1977. At UQ’s Department of Architecture, he taught in the area of architectural technology with an emphasis on structural design, and in professional studies. In his teaching of architectural design, he focussed on the demands of complex buildings with an emphasis on spatial analysis and technical resolution with an aim to guide the path towards professional practice. Over the term of his academic career, he traversed across a range of fields of research including matters to do with structural materials, indigenous construction and architectural education together with urban planning, housing and professional studies.
Hamish was an associate member of the Royal Institute of British Architects from 1959 to 2003 and from 1959 to 1973 he was registered as a member of the Architects Registration Council of the United Kingdom. He was admitted as a Registered Architect in Queensland in 1967 and as an Associate of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) in 1968. In 1977 he was elevated as a Fellow of the RAIA.
During his career at UQ he served in a senior capacity on many committees and in an extensive number of advisory roles. Notably, he served as a member of the Board of the Faculty of Music in 1977 and from 1982 until 1996 together with being appointed as a member of the Faculty of Music Executive Committee from 1988 – 1996. After several terms as Sub-Dean, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning in 1989, a position he held until 1997 when he was appointed as the Deputy Director of Studies of the Faculty of Architecture. In February 1998 he retired from the University of Queensland.
Aside from his many roles and achievements as an academic, Hamish Murison’s career was marked by his absolute dedication to overseeing the proper conduct of members of the architectural profession in Queensland and to the establishment of thorough practices guiding the quality of architectural education within Queensland and beyond. Initially appointed to the Board of Architects of Queensland (BOAQ) on a short-term basis he was appointed in his own right in 1978 until retiring from the office of Chairman of the Board in December 2002. During this lengthy term he used his position to amplify and extend his contributions as a member of the Board by serving as the Chairman of the Education Committee of the BOAQ from 1979-1998, and as Chairman of the Review of Academic Equivalence (RAE) Panel of the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia (AACA) from 1982-2002.
Advancing from these positions he contributed as a member of numerous national committees and panels seeking to strengthen the quality of architectural education in Australia and beyond. These included as the AACA representative at the 1983 meeting in London of the National Council of American Registration Boards (NCARB), and the Architects Registration Council of the United Kingdom (ARCUK). He advanced to become the President of the AACA (1984-85), Chair of the BOAQ Accreditation Panel to Tafe Colleges, 1986-1998, and Chairman of the National assessment panel of the AACA, (1994-2002) amongst other notable roles.
Hamish’s extended representative activity served to enhance Queensland’s standing nationally and internationally by refining the definition of how architectural education might be better interrelated with professional practice. His extensive service on the BOAQ and on the AACA was distinguished by his concern to represent the interests of the community by encouraging higher standards within the profession. Through his efforts the profession grew closer to the ideal of a system of national recognition. One of his initiatives as chair of the BOAQ was the creation of the BOAQ award recognising the “Architect of the Year”. Established in 1994, there were 8 recipients of the award that helped to raise interest generally within the community as to the breadth of the roles of architects – and the role of the BOAQ. Regrettably and despite its promising start, the initiative was dispensed with because of a change of the Act governing the BOAQ in 2009.
Through his teaching and research and his extensive period of dedicated service to the profession through the Board of Architects of Queensland and the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia, Hamish Murison made an exemplary contribution to the furthering of the profession of architecture. His dedication and commitment to his colleagues, to his students and to his friends together with his overarching support of his family earned both affection and respect. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Hamish Murison is survived by his loving wife of 24yrs, Dianne, and his children Stewart, Craig & Gillian. He was a loving stepfather to Dianne’s children Brad, Renaye & Yvette. The blended family has 11 Grandchildren, and 7 Great Grandchildren.
Family and friends are invited to attend the Memorial commemorating Hamish Murison’s life and achievements to be held at 1pm Saturday the 27thJanuary 2024 at the Yeronga Retirement Village, 15 Cansdale Street, Yeronga.
