Built by noted artist Theodore Penleigh Boyd, father of architect Robin Boyd. Covered under National Estate, National Trust of Australia (Victoria) Local Significance and Heritage Overlay, Nillumbik Planning Scheme. Published: Nillumbik Now and Then /​ Marguerite Marshall 2008; photographs Alan King with Marguerite Marshall.; p111 The Robins at Warrandyte,* was once home to a member of a famous family and is also one of the first reinforced concrete houses in Victoria. The builder, Theodore Penleigh Boyd, born in 1890, was a talented painter1 noted for his works of the Warrandyte bush. He was the father of architect Robin Boyd, author of the Australian Ugliness and the uncle of painter, Arthur Boyd. Penleigh Boyd’s great grandfather was Sir William A’Beckett, Victoria’s first Chief Justice. Penleigh Boyd is considered by some to be an ‘unsung hero’ overshadowed by more famous members of his family. Mornington Gallery Director Andrea May said many believed Boyd ‘had never received the national acclaim that he deserved’.2 Classified by the National Trust3 and part of the Australian National Heritage,4 The Robins is set well back near the end of Kangaroo Ground – Warrandyte Road, unobserved by passers-by. Built in 1913, The Robins has some Art Nouveau influences and is a descendant of the Queen Anne style. It is covered in stucco and has a prominent attic, which Boyd used as a studio. Some parts of the house are up to 33 centimetres thick and built in part with pisé (rammed earth) and in part with reinforced concrete. Amazingly, Boyd built The Robins without an accessible driveway, and only a narrow track along which he had to cart building materials. The journey was uphill and Boyd terraced the land with Warrandyte rock5 without the aid of machinery. At only 33 years, Boyd was killed in a car accident in 1923. He was buried in Brighton near the home of his parents. Several people have since owned the house, including political journalist, Owen Webster. Boyd was born at Penleigh House, Wiltshire, and studied at Haileybury College, Melbourne and The Hutchins School, Hobart. He attended the Melbourne National Gallery School and in his final year exhibited at the Victorian Artists’ Society. He arrived in London in 1911 and his painting Springtime was hung at the Royal Academy. He painted in several studios in England and then worked in Paris.6 There he met painter Phillips Fox through whom he met artists of the French modern school and also his wife-to-be, Edith Anderson, whom he married in Paris in 1912. After touring France and Italy, the couple returned to Melbourne. In 1913 Boyd held an exhibition and won second prize in the Federal Capital site competition, then the Wynne Prize for landscape in 1914. In 1915 Boyd joined the Australian Imperial Force, and became a sergeant in the Electrical and Mechanical Mining Company. However he was severely gassed at Ypres and invalided to England. In 1918 in London Boyd published Salvage, writing the text and illustrating it with 20 black-and-white ink-sketches of army scenes. Later that year he returned to Melbourne, and, despite suffering from the effects of gas, he held several successful one-man shows, quickly selling his water-colour and oil paintings. In his short career Penleigh Boyd was recognized as one of Australia’s finest landscape painters. He loved colour, having been influenced early by Turner and McCubbin. His works are in all Australian state galleries, the National Collection in Canberra as well as in regional galleries.7 His wife Edith was also an artist having studied at the Slade School, London, and in Paris with Phillips Fox. After her marriage she continued to paint and excelled in drawing. In later years she wrote several dramas, staged by repertory companies, and radio plays for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, in which she took part. She was the model for the beautiful red-haired woman in several of Phillips Fox’s paintings and the family hold three of his portraits of her. *Possibly named after the Aboriginal words warran, meaning ‘object’ and dyte, meaning ‘thrown at’.This collection of almost 130 photos about places and people within the Shire of Nillumbik, an urban and rural municipality in Melbourne's north, contributes to an understanding of the history of the Shire. Published in 2008 immediately prior to the Black Saturday bushfires of February 7, 2009, it documents sites that were impacted, and in some cases destroyed by the fires. It includes photographs taken especially for the publication, creating a unique time capsule representing the Shire in the early 21st century. It remains the most recent comprehenesive publication devoted to the Shire's history connecting local residents to the past. nillumbik now and then (marshall-king) collection, kangaroo ground-warrandyte road, north warrandyte, the robins

Boyd outlines the history of Canberra's design and construction. He argues that Canberra's strength is its planning and axially-based landscaping, but that it lacks the buildings which make the Le Corbusier's Chandigarh interesting. Boyd is highly critical of Chandigarh as an urban environment and concludes that for non-architects, planning and connection to nature is more important than buildings.Original manuscript published as 'Canberra Master Plan: Walter Burley Griffin' in World Architecture 4, John Donat (ed.), Viking Press 1967, pp 202-205.Typewritten (p/copy), quarto, 6 pageswalter burley griffin, canberra, john overall, lake burley griffin, oscar niemeyer, le corbusier, chandigarh, city beautiful, garden city, urban planning, robin boyd, manuscript

Boyd discusses the exhibition buildings in Expo 70, Osaka, saying that they fall into two distinct categories, sophisticated or naive. Boyd is critical that Japan did not present a view of the future, which might have been expected of it. This manuscript was published under the title ‘Expo and Exhibitionism’ in 'Architectural Review 'Vol.148, No.882, August 1970.Original manuscript of article titled ‘Expo and Exhibitionism’ published in 'Architectural Review' Vol.148, No.882, August 1970, pp. 99 -100 & 109 &110.Typewritten (c copy), foolscap, 3 pages. (2 copies)osaka, expo 70, expo 67, archigram, metabolism, japanese architecture, kenzo tange, noriaki kurokawa, takamitsu azuma, sumitomo pavillion, takara pavilion, gas pavillion, yoshizawa ryusei, robin boyd, manuscript, ohm2022, ohm2022_31

This is Suzy Boyd's bed. The beds of both Suzy and Penleigh Boyd (item F086) seem to be made of mountain ash. An advertisement in the Argus (Wed 7 November 1956) by Myer Emporium for the "Meyer Robson" Studio Divan looks to be the same as these beds in Walsh St. This is a new mattress. Suzy's original mattress was 'Royal Slumber Sleeper'.Single bed with timber frame and mattress and sliding timber drawer attachedwalsh st furnishings, robin boyd

This small Clipping has two notices, once from Sydney and one from London, reporting the death of Mr Penleigh Boyd, Robin Boyd's father. He died on 27 November 1923. The Sydney article quotes Mr Sydney Ure Smith , president of the Artist's Society, and Mr Lionel Lindsay, the Australian artist.walsh st library

Boyd's critical commentary about the choice of a non-Australian architect to build the Australian embassy in Brasilia.Original manuscript of an article published in The Australian on 20.02.1965Typewritten (c copy), quarto, 5 pagesaustralian embassy brasilia, brasilia, oscar niemeyer, henrique j mindl, robin boyd, manuscript

This article announces the private funeral of Robin Boyd and gives short tributes from friends and associates.RVIA/Images? on top left in pencilwalsh st library

This article contains an announcement of Robin Boyd's death on and gives a brief summary his recent activities.walsh st library

This article contains an announcement of Robin Boyd's death on and gives a brief summary his recent activities.walsh st library

This describes the feel of a 1961 Robin Boyd designed house, which shows a strong Japanese influence.Illustrated article. (2 copies)Keep for Trish' in blue penwalsh st library

This letter is regarding granting permission to authorise reproducing Robin Boyd-copyright material for scholars and researchers.Typewritten on letterhead

Contract for republication of 'Victorian Modern', signed by Peter Ryan MUP, but this copy not signed by Patricia Boyd.Foolscap, typed, 11 pages

A reply to Boyd's letter acknowledging receipt of his letter of resignation from the Melbourne Beefsteak Club.

This document is a Consent to Construct. It is owned by the Murphy family and were provided to the Robin Boyd Foundation for digitisation.

Boyd forewarns that the article is strong on generalisations and not diplomatic. He writes that Australian architecture is old-fashioned, second-hand, rejects sophisticated world fashion trends, and has under-developed professional pride and determination. In the last few pages, Boyd advocates a code of integrity and goodness in architecture, calling on designers to come together and commit to the code.Original manuscript published in Architecture in Australia, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 454-465.Typewritten (c copy), pencil edits some pages missing, quarto, 26 pagesIncomplete- pages missing, and includes page 8Aaustralian architecture, sydney school, perth architecture, university architecture, code of integrity in architecture, robin boyd, manuscript

Boyd discusses exemplar cases of historical preservation, and many lost opportunities. The task of preserving Australia's historic relics is left to volunteers and amateurs, with notable exception of Nunawading, unlike almost every other countries In other countries, the Government recognises its responsibility and Boyd presents examples. He suggests a model that Australia could follow.Original manuscript of an article published in "The Australian", 23.10.1965Typewritten (c copy), quarto, 9 pagesst matthew's church, francis greenway, robe, ormerod cottages, robe customs house, avoca lodge, andrew hayward newell, preservation, conservation, robin boyd, manuscript

This oil sketch by Donald Laycock is for "Terra Australis", a large (20' X 8') outback desert scene commissioned by Robin Boyd for the Australian Pavilion at Expo 1970. Robin Boyd was the Exhibit Architect of the Australian Pavilions at Expo '70 in Osaka and Expo '67 in Montreal. It is not known what happened to "Terra Australis" after Expo '70.Red toned abstract composition."DL 69" in bottom right corner. Sketch for Terra Australis Exhibition '70" written on canvas around the frame on the rear.donald laycock, expo 70, osaka, robin boyd, walsh st artwork, ohm2022, ohm2022_32

This artwork is thought to have come from Robin Boyd's East Melbourne office after his death in 1971. Robin Boyd was a long time friend of Grahame King and sculptor Inge King and he designed their Warrandyte home and studio in three stages between 1952 and 1964. This artwork may have been a gift from them.Red and black abstract composition.Signature and date on lower right. 3/20grahame king, inge king, robin boyd, walsh st artwork, ohm2022, ohm2022_22

This Beco lamp was designed by Donald Brown, a pre-eminent Australian lighting designer in the '50s and '60s. Robin Boyd often specified BECO lighting, including elsewhere in his own home. This was originally a bedside reading lamp in the upper living room, as seen in the Mark Strizic 1958 photograph in Robin Boyd's book Living in Australia p129.Beco 720 lamp, with black stand base with switch and white glass shadeBrown Evans & Cowalsh st furnishings, robin boyd, ohm2022, ohm2022_25

In 1952-53, Robin Boyd designed the Stegbar ‘Windowall’ - a prefabricated, structural framing/glazing system - to create a wall of windows. These ‘Windowalls’ were used extensively in domestic architecture across Australia from the 1950s to the 1970s. Boyd also designed the factory and showrooms for Stegbar Limited. The Walsh Street Archive holds exterior and interior perspectives of the building. Annual Reportstegbar, windows, walsh st library, windowall

In 1952-53, Robin Boyd designed the Stegbar ‘Windowall’ - a prefabricated, structural framing/glazing system - to create a wall of windows. These ‘Windowalls’ were used extensively in domestic architecture across Australia from the 1950s to the 1970s. Boyd also designed the factory and showrooms for Stegbar Limited. The Walsh Street Archive holds exterior and interior perspectives of the building. Cataloguestegbar, windows, walsh st library, windowall, ohm2022, ohm2022_35

Project: Domain Park from office of Grounds Romberg and Boyd. Perspective of Penthouse. The Domain Park flats (1959-62) were designed by Robin Boyd and were among the first high-rise blocks of ‘luxury’ flats constructed in post-war Melbourne. This exterior perspective highlights the unparalleled views available from the penthouse apartment.Aerial Perspective, Tracing Paperdomain park, robin boyd, ohm2022, ohm2022_14

This letter from RB Silvers, the Editor of Harper's Magazine in New York, is in regards to gathering the illustrations for Boyd's article and also regarding the possibility of the American publication of "The Australian Ugliness". The Harper's article referred to here is Robin Boyd's 'The New Vision in Architecture', Harper's Magazine, Vol.223, No.1334, July 1961, pp.73-81.

A critique of the adaption of American culture in Australian popular culture, where only the worst or silliest things from the US are adopted. Boyd suggests the colonial, unambitious and rigid brand of masculinity that characterises the "Aussie myth" hinders the development of an imaginative and creative social climate that manifests in a superficial appropriation of American culture. Boyd is not critical of US culture itself, in fact he has a great appreciation of US culture. He suggests that the Australian brand of Americanisation is only a superficial commercial exploitation of the American dream. It concludes with Boyd rallying for the development of a unique Australian originality with increasing connections to Asia.Typewritten, pencil edits (pages 22a and 22b added after page 22), quarto, 24 pagesamericanisation, american culture, australian culture, masculinity, cultural myths, australian values, social attitudes, ussr, asia, california, sidney nolan, alan moorehead, patrick white, donald horne, john anderson, robin boyd, manuscript

Robin Boyd was involved in creating several television programmes, as author and presenter. 'Design in Australia' was an eight part series for the ABC television series 'University of the Air'. (Items D184-D193 contain all the manuscripts except part six titled 'Communications'.) In Part 1, Boyd discusses the general framework of the series in which the relationship between an Australian identity and a homogenising cultural force reinforced by technology and mass production is explored. Boyd questions the wholesale acceptance of imported ideas and goods, and instead advocates a critical examination of the Australian design culture, a search of an originality that does not fall into the myths of bush values.This is a draft script for the ABC television program 'University of the Air', subtitled 'Design in Australia', broadcast in 1965. Item D191 is the revised version.Typewritten (c copy), foolscap, 12 pagesuniversity of the air, design in australia, robin boyd, australian design, nationality, national style, manuscript

The Boyds purchased their record player and sound system from Thomas’s in Melbourne. Patricia Boyd (later Davies) was very interested in opera and was later appointed to the Board of the Australian Opera. As Penleigh Boyd wrote in his obituary to his mother: "In 1988, Patricia was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to opera involving many years of voluntary work on the Board of the Australian Opera - work which she greatly enjoyed involving travel, music and meeting many interesting and entertaining people. She was also a Life Member and former President of the National Gallery of Victoria Women's Association." Maria Callas sings great arias from French operas. LP 33RPM vinyl, Catalogue Number: SAXO-2410, Record cover, Plastic sleeve, 1 vinyl disk. Cover notes, Andrew Porter. Cover photo: Luc Fournol, Jours de France. Maria Callas. Conductor: Georges Petre, Orchestra National de la RTFlp, sound recording, opera, ohm2022, ohm2022_9

Robin Boyd’s desk cupboard contained two exercise books (D482.1-D482.2) and assorted articles, essays and other material regarding Sydney Opera House (P1378.01-P1378.36, D179-D181, D479-D480), inserted inside the front cover of Walkabout Magazine July 1966 (P1377). Robin Boyd asked Mandie Eckersley (nee Boyd), his eldest daughter, to research the Sydney Opera House for him in the Mitchell Library, both before and after Utzon left. Robin was writing a book, but was very disillusioned with the way the entire saga unfolded. Mandie Boyd recalls: “It was a huge task because he wanted any mention at all in any publications to be noted. No one else had done it at that stage, not even the clippings service.” This first volume is filled with transcriptions on newspaper articles, editorials and letters to the editor covering the period 1951 to 1962.The Reding Universal Exercise Book, all pages filled (92 pages)Written on front cover: Mandie Eckersley, 20 Dillon St, Paddington, N.S.W. Telephone - 318339, Dec 1962, L01919. In exercise book: all handwritten notes. On back cover: list of numbers, squiggle, and dates "Dec 18 Dec. 23".sydney opera house, jorn utzon, sydney opera house project, ohm2022, ohm2022_24

Boyd's view of the development of Australian architecture's progression over the years and the slowly forming identity of Australian architecture.Typewritten (c copy), quarto, 5 pagesmodern australia, o-y-o (on your own) flats, robin boyd, manuscript