Towards the Dawn: Federation Architecture in Australia, 1890-1915

Federation architecture is often proudly referred to as our ‘national style’. As Australia moved towards Federation and formal separation from the ‘Mother Country’, local architects looked with new eyes at the landscape around them.

Native flora and fauna became popular decorative motifs in domestic architecture and wide verandahs were introduced to cool houses in the Australian heat. It was an exciting reorientation of allegiances.

While one might immediately think of one sort of building as ‘Federation’, perhaps a fine gable-roofed house with the typical unplastered red brick facade and exuberant decorative woodwork in an obviously ‘federation’ suburb, in fact hardly any building constructed in this period fails to display some aspect of the federation style. Even Victorian terraces would often incorporate federation decorative touches.

Across the country the Federation style assumed regional characteristics as the style was adapted to local conditions, tastes, construction materials, and building traditions. Trevor Howells and Michael Nicholson travelled extensively throughout Australia to research the book and to photograph examples of this popular national style.

TOWARDS THE DAWN offers the first complete national survey of Federation architec-ture. To convey the rich regional variety to be found within the Federation style, the most authoritative architectural historians from each State were commissioned to contribute. Over 200 illustrations, including many colour and historic photographs and architects’ drawings, present this extraordinarily prolific style in its full context. As well as architecture, TOWARDS THE DAWN examines the design of interiors, individual buildings and the Federation garden.