Who was H Courtney Archer?

Abstract

Harry Courtney Archer's (1918-2002) article on architecture in New Zealand published in The Architectural Review in 1942 is recognised as part of the rich collection of publications that shaped the discourse about Modern architecture in this country (Clark & Walker 2000). On the face of it, Archer was an unlikely contributor to the discussion on New Zealand's architecture and proselytiser for Modernism: he had lived most of his 23 years to date in small rural towns, before the war, working in his father's flour mill in Rangiora and during the war moving between pacifist rural communities in the South Island. In this paper, I consider Archer's 1942 article, his sole contribution to architectural discourse, in relation to his personal background, asking where and how Archer formed his views and how he came to expound them in the journal the New Zealand architects of his generation acknowledged as "the bible" of contemporary architectural thought. I also analyse his article beyond its brief figuration of the New Zealand timber tradition as "frank" and therefore a source for the local manifestation of Modern architecture, by reflecting on his writing in light of his personal experiences, his avant-garde friends and his commitment to socialist movements.