An Eminent Ancestor: Part 1

Joseph C. M. Cowan: Mason and Architect

In terms of public life, the most prominent of all my ancestors would have to be Dad's maternal grandfather, Joseph Charles Martin Cowan. Joseph was an active member of the community in Ascot Vale, where he was a well respected member of the Freemasons, a successful architect, and served many years on the Essendon council, including one stint as mayor. For Part 1 of his story I will look briefly at his life and career as a mason and an architect. But first, some background.

A portrait of my great-grandfather, Joseph Charles Martin Cowan

Joseph Charles Martin Cowan was born in 1847 to Scottish parents in Barcelona, where his father Robert Walker Cowan was working as an engineer. He was baptised in the neighbourhood of Sant Martí de Provençals. By 1849 the Cowan family was back in Scotland, in the town of Inverkeithing, Fifeshire, which lies just across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh. Within a few years Joseph's father Robert left the family behind to travel to Australia - for what reason and what happened to him from that point remain the biggest mysteries in my research - and in 1861 Joseph's mother Magdalene married another engineer, the much younger John Robertson. In 1863, at the age of 15, Joseph signed a five-year contract to work as a shipbuilder under David Ross in Inverkeithing.

In 1868, Magdalene and John emigrated to Victoria, with their three-year old son Matthew (Magdalene's older brother Henry had migrated to Port Phillip in the late 1840s). However within four months of arriving, in May 1869, John is dead from phthisis at just 30 years of age, leaving Magdalene virtually alone bringing up a small child in a new land. This likely was a major factor in Joseph deciding to reunite with her: in July he boarded the steamship Great Victoria in Liverpool, duly arriving in Melbourne in October 1869.

I have not found a lot of details about Joseph's life through the 1870s but presumably he spent this time training to become and then establishing himself as an architect. One thing we do know is that he is actively involved in freemasonry from early on. In April 1874, there is a notice in The Age for a meeting of the 'Moonee Ponds Lodge', placed by "Joseph C. M. Cowan, Secretary". I'm not sure what happened to that Lodge, but later we find that Joseph was a foundation member of the Gordon Lodge, which was created to serve residents of the Essendon, Moonee Ponds and Ascot Vale areas. This lodge was consecrated on 11 February 1886 with Joseph the 'Inner Guard' (a junior officer who ensures that the entrance within the Lodge is guarded against admittance of non-masons or intruders should they get past the Tyler (outer guard)).

Soon after consecration it was determined that a hall should be built for lodge and other public purposes. Being an architect, Joseph was clearly the man to kick off the job; a company was set up and shares were made available to purchase. The foundation stone was laid at the Maribyrnong Road site on 14 October 1886. Built in 'Tuscan style', of brick and cement on a bluestone base, the building's main hall measured 75ft by 35ft. The hall opened on 13 May 1887 with a grand Masonic Ball attended by the Mayor of Essendon Cr. Jennings, the MLA S. T. Staughton and other local dignitaries. As seen below, the Masonic Hall still stands today at 34 Maribyrnong Rd, Moonee Ponds. In 1891, Joseph would be elected 'Worshipful Master' of the Gordon Lodge, the most senior lodge role a Mason can achieve, responsible for the lodge's smooth running. In this highly respected position he would have presided over many Masonic rituals and functions, all within the building he designed.

Masonic Hall, Moonee Ponds

Freemasons can be members of more than one lodge, and during the time Joseph belonged to the Gordon Lodge, he was also a member of the Yarra Yarra Lodge, which was based in South Melbourne. In fact, as this lodge is one of Melbourne's earliest, it is likely that Joseph had been a member there for many years. In 1888 he was installed as Worshipful Master in the Yarra Yarra Lodge, predating his time in that same role at Gordon Lodge by three years.

The Masonic Hall in Moonee Ponds is probably Joseph Cowan's major architectural legacy, but what else did he help create? The newspapers through the 1880s and 1890s are full of small 'Tenders Wanted' notices placed by Cowan, for the building of various homes (ranging from 'cottages' to 'villas'), and shops in streets throughout Essendon, Moonee Ponds and Ascot Vale, so his services appeared to be in regular demand. He ran his business from a location in Mt Alexander Road, Ascot Vale. By 1897 he was advertising as  'J. C. M. Cowan and Co.' and had employed at least one more architect.

Advert that appeared regularly in the North Melbourne Advertiser from 1888 through the 1890s

A few other specific buildings that Cowan designed are worth mentioning. In 1888 he designed the eagerly anticipated Moonee Ponds Skating Rink in Puckle Street. Measuring 60ft by 120ft and made of corrugated iron, it was built for £1000. A disaster was narrowly averted during its construction, when ropes holding the principals of the roof in place shrunk after rain, causing the rafters to come crashing to the ground (a distance of 35 feet). Had the thirteen workmen not moved to a separate shed to shelter from the from the rain two minutes earlier, lives would certainly have been lost. Cowan did not 'consider the contractor to blame, although a little more supervision might probably have been exercised.' The rink was very popular but had only a short life, being removed around 1901.

Skating Rink, Moonee Ponds, 1888

(from The Stop-Over that Stayed: A History of Essendon by Grant Aldous)

In 1890 the Ascot Vale Fire Brigade commissioned Joseph Cowan to design a tower for their fire station in Ferguson Street at a cost of £200. When complete it was one of the tallest structures in the district, at about 75 feet. The station remained in use until 1926. While Cowan's work was mostly limited to the Essendon area, he did on occasion do work for places further afield. In August 1890 and ad appeared in the Geelong Advertiser for tenders to build the Post Office in Meredith, a town located midway between Geelong and Ballarat.

In 1894, after the "ancient-looking" Junction Hotel of 1869 had been pulled down, Joseph designed its replacement. Although now shops instead of a hotel, the building still stands at the junction of Puckle Street,  Mt Alexander and Ascot Vale Roads.

Former Junction Hotel, 1-7 Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds

Stay tuned for Part 2 when I will focus on Joseph Cowan's life in local government.