Lily Isabel Maude Addison

Lily Isabel Maude Addison (1885–1968) was a female architect who practised in Queensland, Australia. She practiced at a time when very few women worked as architects.

Personal

Lily Isabel Maude Addison was born on 12 March 1885 at St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria. Lily's last name Maud was documented through the Australian Electoral Rolls (with an "e" added to "Maud). There was possibly a transcription error in the birth record as one of her mother's name being; Emily Alice Maude Addison, was Maude with an "e." According to the Victorian pioneers index 1837-1888 on microfiche, her name verifies that it was recorded as "Maud" although this is also up to speculation as this could have been an inscription error.

Lily lived with her family at Enoggera Terrace, Red Hill, Brisbane, Queensland and was documented being a draftswoman from 1908 to 1921 as well as an architect in 1922, and was also recorded being an architect in the years 1925.

There is no documentation for the years 1923 and 1924 which confirm her profession still being an architect within these two years. In 1921 and 1925 the name "Yeovil" was added to the Enoggera Terrace address where she lived.

Lily moved to Sydney in 1928. Lily was still listed at this address on the 1968 roll but Edith was not. Lily Addison's siblings included; Edward James Addison who became ill in health upon the return on the missioning he had done in West Africa around the time George Henry Male Addison (his son) was an infant. Shortly after this, his mother had also died leaving George an orphan who lived with his grandfather in Somersetshire. This partnership named G.H.M. Addison & Son allowed Lily Addison to participate in an array of works as an assistant architect alongside his brother and father. A lot of the works built from this partnership could give credibility to her contribution from the period of 1919 when G.H.M. Addison & Son was first established until 1928 when Lily Addison retired as well as her contribution to the entry of woman into the industry of Architecture and working in the office.

Lily Addison was the first documented and known woman to have participated and worked in an architects office alongside Beatrice Hutton, who was the first woman to be admitted to an architectural institute when she was accepted in 1916 into the associate of the Queensland Institute of Architects.

Lily Addison's work in the office was predominantly based on the assistant role of her father in the year 1906 who established an architecture firm named G.H.M. Addison & Son. She contributed to the 2.7% of woman architects in Australia throughout the 1950s.

Education

Lily Addison studied Building Construction and History of Architecture at the Brisbane Central Technical College in 1914. With Lily Addison being the first known woman to work in this field of Architecture, there was little work to be acclaimed to her name with gender inequality being a major influence in this.

However, Lily Addison, as a practicing woman architect, did contribute to the entry of women in architecture which followed.

Lily Addison's contribution to women in the architecture industry lasted for over 20 years to 1928. To which after this point she moved to Sydney and focused on religion as a means of seclusion.