Flamboyant John Bruce creates masonic lodge, Carclew and Electra House on King William Street, Adelaide
Carclew, formerly called Stalheim, was created by John Quinton Bruce in 1901 on Montefiore Hill, North Adelaide.
The Freemasons Grand Lodge (1923) on North Terrace and Electra House (1900) on King William Street were two of the most flamboyant creations of John Quinton Bruce. He also designed notable residences in the Federation style.
Son of a shipmaster and born at sea, Bruce arrived in Adelaide in 1869 and was educated in a private school run by the Rev. William Moore.
In 1880, Bruce was articled to architect E.H. Bayer of Bayer & Withall. He broadened his professional knowledge in 1884 by studying surveying with Evans & Evans, before returning to Bayer & Withall as chief draughtsman. Working as a sole practitioner (1894-1912), he employed Louis Laybourne Smith as a draughtsman. From there, he worked at Bruce, Wooldridge & Harral, then as Bruce & Harral and as an independent practitioner (1916 to 1919)
Bruce designed villas and large residences in Adelaide. These included one at Medindie for Fred Scarfe, another on East Terrace for H.A. Parsons, and Stalheim (1901) on Montefiore Hill, North Adelaide, for Hugh R. Dixson, a parliamentarian and tobacco manufacturer.
Langdon Bonython bought Stalheim in 1908 and renamed it Carclew. Bruce made only one major addition: a single-storey library in the north-west corner.
Bruce won design competitions for the Woodville Institute and for the Citizen’s Life Assurance Building, also known as Electra House, in King William Street, Adelaide. The late-Victorian building has classical design elements.
