I was very sad to learn of the death of John Michell, the eccentric ‘Dr Who-like’ author of many books on geomancy and sacred geometry. I corresponded with him when I was doing my Masters on building ceremonies in the early 1980s, inviting him to give a lecture at the University of Minnesota in 1984. When I picked John up at the airport, he had a brown paper bag full of clothes and a suitcase full of books. His lecture at the university was the best … and the worst. He needed a heliograph (?), and when I asked him what that was he said after a moment’s thought, ‘A toaster for books’. And he was absolutely right! The spine of the book he was projecting broke, the extreme heat melted the glue, and the in-built fan blew the pages out of the machine one after the other while he was speaking. It was hilarious! But John wasn’t fazed one bit. He stayed in our tiny one-bedroom flat in Minneapolis for a couple of days, and there were stories galore concerning that. For instance, he slept in the nude, blanket-less, on our sofa, waking very late, while we woke early and had to ‘divert our eyes’ as we tip-toed around him! Then in 1992, when I was doing my PhD and flat broke, I stayed with him for a few day in London (his house was just around the corner from the Portobello Road Market) and he was an extremely gracious host. What a colourful character John was!
Derham Groves
His Wunderkammer
New Orleans
Just back from the Popular Culture Association’s conference in New Orleans. There were two architectural highlights for me. Located on the edge of the city’s warehouse precinct is the Piazza D’Italia (1978), an icon of postmodern architecture. Designed by U.S. architect Charles Moore (water spouts out of his mouth and into the map-of-Italy-shaped fountain), it is a real gem. I also visited New Orlean’s 9th district, which was devastated by hurricane Katrina. If it wasn’t for the admirable efforts of Brad Pitt, whose foundation ‘Make It Right’ is constructing several new houses in the area, I don’t think very much rebuilding would be going on. There are still lots of wrecked and abandoned houses there, which is a bit depressing.
Piazza D’Italia
Reconstructing New Orlean’s 9th District
Kangaroos in the back paddock
Early A.W. Purnell-Designed House For Sale
One of the first houses—if not the first house—designed by Arthur William Purnell is currently for sale for just under $AUS1,000,000. ‘Tarina’ in Newcombe Street, Portalington, was designed and constructed by Purnell & Sons, Arthur’s father’s firm, for Mr. P.M. Browne, in 1896. Arthur began working for Purnell & Sons only the year before. The Bellarine Herald praised the house’s ‘very wide verandah, with its deep roof in Queensland style, which must so greatly add to the comfort of the inmates during the worst days of our too intense summer’. Because ‘Tarina’ was so unlike any of Purnell & Sons’ previous houses, it may very well have been designed by the firm’s ‘new blood’—Arthur. Following are images of the house in 1896 (top) and today:
Francis Birtles & Alec Barlow
A.G. Barlow, the proprietor of Barlow Motors, was one of A.W. Purnell’s best and most interesting clients. In 1926 Barlow Motors sponsored Francis Birtles, an Australian adventurer, and Barlow’s son Alec (a.k.a. Alex), an adventurer in his own right, to drive from Darwin to Melbourne. They did the journey in eight days and 13 hours, a record. Purnell designed houses, showrooms and stables for Barlow, which reflected the businessman’s spectacular rise and tragic fall.
Francis Birtles & Alec Barlow
A.G. Barlow, the proprietor of Barlow Motors, was one of A.W. Purnell’s best and most interesting clients. In 1926 Barlow Motors sponsored Francis Birtles, an Australian adventurer, and Barlow’s son Alec (a.k.a. Alex), an adventurer in his own right, to drive from Darwin to Melbourne. They did the journey in eight days and 13 hours, a record. Purnell designed houses, showrooms and stables for Barlow, which reflected the businessman’s spectacular rise and tragic fall.
Dominick Dunne
Recently we saw the compelling Australian documentary Celebrity: Dominick Dunne. What an amazing life he’s had! Besides experiencing more than his fair share of personal tragedies, knowing ‘everybody’ in Hollywood and covering celebrity trials for Vanity Fair, Dunne also produced the late 1950s-early 1960s TV show Adventures in Paradise starring Gardner McKay as dashing Adam Troy, captain of the schooner ‘Tikki’. It was one of my favourite TV shows as a kid.
Vale Studs Terkel, 1912 – 2008
Australian Hard Boiled Detective Fiction
Australia has many fine mid-20th century hard boiled detective fiction writers: Carter Brown (Alan Yates), Marc Brody (Bill Williams), Larry Kent (various), Eric North (Bernard Cronin), Otto Beeby, and Ian Hamilton, to name just a few. But my favourite is Bant Singer (Charles Shaw). His detective, Denis Aloysius ‘Del’ Delaney, is not only the coolest, but also the most typically Australian.
James Drury, The Virginian
Above: James Drury, star of the popular US TV Western series The Virginian, visited Australia in the 1960s (although I’m not sure exactly what year). When he arrived at Essendon Airport in Melbourne he was greeted by TV personality Panda (left) and TV singer Val Ruff (wife of Geoff Corke, a.k.a. ‘King Corky, King of the Kids’). You couldn’t tote a handgun at an airport like that these days! Below: Mum and me watching The Virginian on Foxtel last Sunday.
