DAVIDSON, John Macdonald (1926-2021)
John was enrolled as a boarder at the College in 1941, starting in Form IVA. He was involved in many aspects of College life from the Glee Club, sport, music, cadets, debating, and House of Guilds. He received multiple house colours for swimming and football. He played the role of Lord Chancellor in the production of ‘Iolanthe’ and Guiseppe Palmieri in the ‘Gondoliers’. For his final year, John was appointed Calvert House Captain and was also a School Prefect.
After school John studied architecture, graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture in April 1950 with Honours in Design. That year he also became an Associate of the Royal Institute of Architects (later becoming a Fellow and then Life Fellow in 1979).
In the early 1950s, John joined the Godfrey and Spowers firm, becoming a Director in 1961. He helped establish a Singapore Office (1970-1980).
The Pegasus and Ad Astra tracked his career over the years, reporting his move overseas in 1952 as a Senior Assistant in the firm of Sir John Burnett Tait and Associates in London. In 1960 he won the Sisalcraft scholarship for 1959. His travel with the scholarship included visits to two new capital cities of particular interest to architects—Brasilia in Brazil and Chandigarh in India. In 1979 it was reported that he was now Federal President of the Australian Institute of Architects.
During the 1980s he was the Australian/Asian representative on the International Council of the Union Internationale des Architectes (UIA), a position he retained for nine years, three of which were as vice president (1984–87). Then in 1985 he was awarded AM for services to Architecture and was made an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. In 1993 he received the Presidents Prize for outstanding contribution to architecture in Victoria.
John married Helen and they have three children, Jane, Angus and Hugo. From 1991-2001 John joined his son Hugo in Catalyst Design Group.
John passed away 29 July 2021, aged 94 years.
Sources: The Age 31 July 2021, Pegasus, Ad Astra, https://www.architecture.com.au/archives/news_media_articles/vale-john-davidson, OGC 1939.