HW & FB Tompkins
| Company type | Architectural firm |
|---|---|
| Industry | Architecture |
| Founded | 1898 in Melbourne, Australia |
| Founder | Henry (Harry) William Tompkins, Frank Beauchamp Tompkins |
| Headquarters | Melbourne , Australia |
| Products | Architectural design services |
HW & FB Tompkins was an architectural practice established in 1898 in Melbourne, Australia, by siblings Henry (Harry) William (1865–1959) and Frank Beauchamp Tompkins (c1867–1952). Over a span of more than four decades, they emerged as a prominent commercial architecture firm, responsible for designing a wide array of department stores, hotels, clubs, office blocks, and banks—many situated in central Melbourne and still extant today. Their reputation was built on both stylistic creativity and structural advancements, with the expansive Myer Department store on Bourke Street, developed incrementally between 1914 and 1933, standing as a notable example.
Early life
Originally born in England and raised in South Africa, the brothers relocated with their family to Melbourne in 1886 amid the city’s economic expansion. Harry briefly worked under architect Richard Speight and within the Western Australia Public Works Department before returning to Melbourne in 1898 following workforce reductions. Frank accumulated experience at several firms, including a tenure with Nahum Barnet. Upon Harry’s return, the two joined forces to launch their own architectural practice.
Architectural careers
The Tompkins siblings rapidly established themselves by winning a 1898 design competition for the Commercial Travellers Association clubrooms on Flinders Street. This project featured red brick Romanesque architecture—a style that became prevalent among Melbourne’s commercial warehouses over the following decade. Their portfolio soon expanded to include warehouses such as Metcalfe & Barnard (1902) and Borsdorff & Co. (1908), alongside suburban department stores like Dimmeys (1907) and Hoopers Store (1908). During this period, they also undertook commissions for churches and rural pubs.
Between the 1910s and 1940s, both brothers embarked on international study trips, integrating contemporary construction methods and design trends into their projects. Harry’s 1910 journey through Europe and the United States marked a transition toward American-inspired architectural forms. The Centre Way building and arcade (1911) ranked among Melbourne’s earliest steel-framed constructions. By 1913, the Commercial Travellers Association expanded its premises to include a sizeable hotel and adjoining office block featuring steel framing; this development showcased a streamlined aesthetic with English Baroque Revival elements influenced by American 'palazzo' styles.
In 1912, Harry encountered Sidney Myer, who was extending his Bendigo drapery enterprise into Melbourne. Their collaborative tour of the US inspired the seven-story Myer building on Bourke Street (1914), which combined aspects from earlier Tompkins designs and drew influence from San Francisco’s Emporium. The firm continued to oversee Myer expansions over the next twenty years.
Additional significant undertakings encompassed the Colosseum department store for Treadways on Chapel Street (1914), modeled after London’s Selfridges with its Neoclassical revival style that dominated Melbourne’s commercial architecture throughout the 1920s. After World War I, projects included the Herald and Weekly Times Building on Flinders Street, constructed incrementally from 1921 to 1928 with a restrained Neoclassical approach. Other important commissions were the Bank of Australasia (1923), Myer’s Lonsdale Street extension (1926), and National Bank chambers in Geelong (1928). This era also saw them designing Gothic-style churches and private homes.
During the early 1930s, HW & FB Tompkins adopted the Moderne (Art Deco) aesthetic, as demonstrated by the expanded Bourke Street wing of Myer (1933), which featured white 'snowcrete', vertical fluting, and one of Melbourne’s most impressive Art Deco interiors—the Myer Mural Hall. Subsequent Art Deco projects included Diamond House for Dunklings jewellers (1936) and a showroom/warehouse for Australian Glass Manufacturers (1937). Production slowed toward the decade’s end as both founders aged.
Their extensive body of work remains highly visible within Melbourne’s central business district, notably including a trio of adjacent buildings at Russell Street and Flinders Lane that exemplify Romanesque (Metcalfe & Barnard Warehouse, 1902), Art Deco (Pawson House, 1935), and Neoclassical (Bank of Australasia, 1923) architectural styles.
The firm endured through World War II and transformed into Tompkins Shaw & Evans by the 1950s, sustaining its relationship with Myer by designing a glass-enclosed footbridge over Little Bourke Street in 1963. It later evolved into Tompkins MDA group in 2003.
Personal Lives
In 1897, Harry entered into marriage and pursued a career in architecture, becoming a member of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects in 1903. He held the position of president there from 1914 until 1916. Additionally, he presided over the Federal Council of the Architects Institute of Australia between 1918 and 1919. Living in Kew, Harry was actively involved in municipal affairs and served as Mayor from 1918 to 1919. He also designed a proposal for the Kew War Memorial, which was completed in 1925, though this occurred after his mayoral term and following the dismissal of the competition result.
List of major Works
The following compilation is mainly derived from the Victorian Heritage database:
- 1899: Commercial Travellers Association clubrooms on Flinders Street (only the facade remains)
- 1902: Metcalfe & Barnard warehouse located at the intersection of Flinders Lane and Russell Street
- 1904: St Andrews churches in Maffra and Sunbury
- 1907: Lane Centre on Flinders Lane
- 1908: Borsdorff & Co warehouse (currently Tomasetti House) on Flinders Lane
- 1907 & 1918: Dimmey's Store on Swan Street, Richmond
- 1908: Hoopers Store on Sydney Road, Brunswick
- 1909: Paynes Bon Marche on Bourke Street (since demolished)
- 1910: 'Danby' residence for Henry Buck in South Yarra; West Hawthorn Presbyterian Church
- 1912: Centre Way Arcade and adjoining building on Collins Street
- 1913: Commercial Travellers Association Hotel and offices on Flinders Street; Melbourne Steamship Company building on King Street
- 1914: The Canterbury apartments on Canterbury Road (with an additional floor added in 1919); Denyers Building on Swanston Street; Colosseum Department Store on Chapel Street, Prahran
- 1915: St Johns and National Australia Bank buildings on Glenhuntly Road, Elsternwick
- 1921–1928: Herald and Weekly Times Building on Flinders Street
- 1923: Bank of Australasia at the corner of Russell Street and Flinders Lane
- 1924: Yorkshire House on Queen Street
- 1925: London Stores on Bourke Street; Kew War Memorial at Kew Junction
- 1926: Myer expansion on Lonsdale Street (facades remain); St Davids Methodist Church (now Uniting) on Burke Road, Canterbury
- 1927: St Johns church on Mt Alexander Road, Essendon
- 1928: National Bank chambers and offices in Geelong; 'Yarrowee' residence in Lower Plenty; Myer Despatch building on Queensberry Street
- 1933: Enlargement of Myer’s Bourke Street frontage; Mantons store (later Coles) on Bourke Street (facade currently obscured)
- 1935–1937: Facades of Pawson House and Diamond House survive; second Myer Despatch building; Australian Glass Manufacturers facade; Mantons Department Store facade hidden beneath cladding
Tompkins Shaw & Evans
- 1963: Aerial walkway linking Myer buildings (removed in 2010)
- 1968: Ponsford Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)