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Smart, Charles Pyne
Description
Agent TypePerson
IdentifierUMA-AG-000001739Activities & OccupationsArchitectsHistoryCharles P. Smart, son of Francis J. Smart, initially trained in the civil engineering course at the University of Melbourne and briefly worked with the Victorian Railways Department. He joined the architecture firm Smart, Tappin & Peebles, taking his father’s place as a partner following Francis Smart’s death in 1907. The firm had previously produced drawings for the new domed reading room at the Melbourne Public Library (later the State Library Victoria), however the trustees of the Library became nervous about their ability to deliver this project after the deaths of William B. Tappin in 1905 and Francis J. Smart in 1907. In response, Norman Peebles, the former chief draftsman, brought in Charles Smart in 1907 and then Edward A. Bates to form Bates, Peebles & Smart.
Smart’s specialist knowledge of reinforced concrete and his technical expertise was valuable in the design of the dome for the Public Library’s reading room and enabled Bates, Peebles & Smart (and later Bates, Smart & McCutcheon) to include the latest developments in construction in their buildings. Smart was elected a fellow of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects in 1930, and continued as a partner of Bates, Smart & McCutcheon until his death in 1950.
IdentifierUMA-AG-000001739Activities & OccupationsArchitectsHistoryCharles P. Smart, son of Francis J. Smart, initially trained in the civil engineering course at the University of Melbourne and briefly worked with the Victorian Railways Department. He joined the architecture firm Smart, Tappin & Peebles, taking his father’s place as a partner following Francis Smart’s death in 1907. The firm had previously produced drawings for the new domed reading room at the Melbourne Public Library (later the State Library Victoria), however the trustees of the Library became nervous about their ability to deliver this project after the deaths of William B. Tappin in 1905 and Francis J. Smart in 1907. In response, Norman Peebles, the former chief draftsman, brought in Charles Smart in 1907 and then Edward A. Bates to form Bates, Peebles & Smart.Smart’s specialist knowledge of reinforced concrete and his technical expertise was valuable in the design of the dome for the Public Library’s reading room and enabled Bates, Peebles & Smart (and later Bates, Smart & McCutcheon) to include the latest developments in construction in their buildings. Smart was elected a fellow of the Royal Victorian Institute of Architects in 1930, and continued as a partner of Bates, Smart & McCutcheon until his death in 1950.
Dates
Date1882-1950
Description Control
Source of DescriptionGoad, Philip, Bates Smart: 150 Years of Australian Architecture (Fishermans Bend, Vic: Thames & Hudson, 2004), pp. 98, 298.
Professional Relationships
Organisational Relationships
Succeeding OrganisationsBates Smart
Smart, Charles Pyne (1882-1950), [UMA-AG-000001739]. University of Melbourne Archives, accessed 14/07/2026, https://archives.library.unimelb.edu.au/nodes/view/658081