Title

John Colbourn biography

Author

Deirdre Willis

Publication date

23 October 2009

Type

Biography

Language

English

Country of context

Australia

Abstract

John Colbourn was born on 19 December 1910 in Ballarat, where he did architecture at the School of Mines. I believe he did further studies at Melbourne University. He married Kathleen Crotty in 1939 and they lived briefly in Elwood until their new house, that he designed, was completed at 14 Milfay Avenue, Kew. Daughter, Deirdre, was born in 1940 and another daughter, Carolyn, in 1942. He was diagnosed with cancer of the colon in 1944, and spent nine months in St George's Hospital, Kew, before he died on 24 January 1945, aged just 34. A third daughter, Julia, was delivered stillborn a few months after his death.

Colbourn did a limited amount of domestic architecture in partnership with Fred Neuss and Rhys Hopkins. With the outbreak of World War 2, he applied unsuccessfully to train as a pilot, apparently failing the sight test for colour. His war effort was with a group of American architects working on the design of the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Colbourn's work as an artist was a hobby, and centred on watercolours and linocuts, completed during the 1930s and early 1940s. For his short years, he was reasonably prolific. He was also a keen photographer. Many of his watercolours featured water and boats, but the subject matter of his linocuts ranged much more widely. He also did occasional posters and frontispieces for books. On a number of occasions he exhibited jointly with potter Klytie Pate, a number of whose works are also held at the NGA and NGV.