William Hardwick

William Burden Hardwick (1860 – 1941), The Encyclopedia of Australian Architecture refers to Hardwick as being "well known for continuing the high standards of design in public buildings established during the gold boom, particularly in hospitals, schools and post offices throughout the state".

Family Hardwick was born in Rylstone, New South Wales, the son of Rebecca (née White) and John William Hardwick (1826 - 1891). In 1852, at the age of 26, his father had migrated to Australia with £1,000. On arrival he travelled the south eastern states and sketched the sites as he went. He established a general store in Rylstone and married in 1856. William Burden was the third of ten children and he took his paternal grandfather's first name as his first name and his maternal grandmother's maiden name as his middle name.

Education and early years

In 1873, at 12 years of age, Hardwick commenced senior education, in Sydney, as a boarding student of Newington College. His older brothers, George and Edward, had started there as boarders two years earlier. The college was then still at Newington House on the Parramatta River and his years at Newington coincided with the Presidency of the Reverend Joseph Horner Fletcher. After leaving school, Hardwick served his articles in architecture in private practice in Victoria and worked in that state until the Australian banking crisis of 1893 when he moved to Western Australia. In 1929, the Point Heathcote Reception Home, later known as Heathcote Hospital, for the treatment of patients with mental illness, was opened to Hardwick's design. He was a Fellow of the Victorian and Western Australian Institutes of Architects.

Workers' Homes Board In 1912, Hardwick was appointed a member of the Workers' Homes Board on its establishment and in 1913 was made chairman. He held that position until his retirement in 1930 during which time the total capital expenditure by the board was £3,000,000 covering about 5,000 homes.

Death On his death in 1941, Hardwick was survived by his widow and five children. His younger brother, Harold Robert Hardwick (1866 - 1935), an architect in Mudgee, New South Wales, predeceased him.