Lucy Greenish

Lucy Adelaide Greenish (9 November 1888 – 4 September 1976), also known as Lucy Adelaide Symes, was a New Zealand architect who became the first woman to become a registered architect in New Zealand.

Lucy Greenish
Greenish in the 1910s
Born	Lucy Adelaide Greenish (1888-11-09)9 November 1888 Brisbane, Colony of Queensland
Died	4 September 1976(1976-09-04) (aged 87)[1] Whanganui, New Zealand
Nationality	New Zealand
Other names	Lucy Adelaide Symes
Occupation	Architect
Years active	1909–1927
Known for	First woman registered architect in New Zealand
Children	1

Early life

Lucy Greenish was born in Brisbane, Australia, on 9 November in 1888.^[2] Her father was George William Greenish, an insurance manager, and her mother's maiden name was Margaret Emily Eggar.^[3]: 181 She had two younger siblings: a brother Frank, and sister Dorothy. The family moved from Australia to New Zealand in 1908, but their father George Greenish died shortly after they arrived.^[4] Margaret Greenish established a high school and kindergarten in Karori, based on the teachings of Friedrich Fröbel, the international pioneer of kindergarten concepts.^[5]

Career

In 1909, at the age of 20, Greenish was employed as an apprentice draughtswoman by the Wellington architectural practice Atkins and Bacon.^[6]

In 1912, Greenish prepared the illustrations for an illuminated address presented by the New Zealand Institute of Architects to John Dickson-Poynder, Lord Islington the departing Governor of New Zealand, in recognition of his service as patron.^[7]

She was elected as an associate of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1913. Following the passing of the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) Act in 1913,^[8] Greenish was the only woman to apply for registration,^[4] and was registered as an architect in 1914, becoming the first woman to be a registered architect in New Zealand.^{[3]: 327 [9]} It was unusual at that time for a woman to be a registered architect, and the second woman was not registered for a further 20 years. Greenish subsequently moved to Dunedin, and began working for a local firm.^[9]

Greenish was the first woman in New Zealand to establish her own architectural practice. She announced the opening of her practice in Lower Hutt in August 1927.^[4][10]

The 2022 publication by Wellington-based historian Elizabeth Cox, Making Space: A History of New Zealand Women in Architecture, is dedicated to Lucy Greenish (Symes).^[4]

Personal life

After the death of George Greenish, Lucy, Frank and Dorothy lived together with their mother in Karori until the outbreak of World War I.^[4]

Her brother Frank was also a Wellington architect. He assisted with the development of the NZIA Act in 1913 that enabled the registration of architects, including his sister Lucy, in the following year.^[3]: 181 Their mother Margaret died in 1917.^[11]

Greenish was a capable artist. A news item from December 1911 records that Greenish had painted the scenery for a play as part of the end-of-year break-up function for the school run by her mother.^[5] Her watercolour artwork was included in an art exhibition in 1923 and reviewed in a Dunedin newspaper.^[12][13]

At age 37 she became pregnant, and moved to Australia to have the baby.^[9] Her daughter was adopted in Australia, and Greenish eventually returned to New Zealand in 1926 or early 1927.^[4]

Greenish lived in Taitā for around 20 years,^[4] and remained single until 1945 when she married Henry Symes.^[3]: 327 Symes died at their home in Marton, in November 1949.^[1][14]

Greenish died on 4 September 1976, and her memorial is located at Mount View Cemetery, Marton, New Zealand.^[1]