David Brokenshire

David Serpell Brokenshire (28 April 1925 – 26 April 2014) was a New Zealand architect and potter.[1]

David Brokenshire
Born
David Serpell Brokenshire

(1925-04-28)28 April 1925
Thames, New Zealand
Died26 April 2014(2014-04-26) (aged 88)
Christchurch, New Zealand
EducationAuckland University College
Known forArchitecture, pottery
Spouse
​
(m. 1954)​

Early life and family

Born in Thames on 28 April 1925, Brokenshire was the son of Albert Thomas Brokenshire, a plumber, and Elvira Margaret Brokenshire (née Serpell).[2][3][4] He was educated at Thames High School,[5] and entered the RNZAF in 1943,[6] and saw active service in the Pacific,[2] attaining the rank of flying officer in 1945.[7] In 1954 he married Noeline Gourley, an athlete who had represented New Zealand in the 80 m hurdles at the 1950 British Empire Games.[3] The couple went on to have three children.[3]

Architecture
The Hermitage Hotel, Mount Cook Village, with the octagonal "Panorama Room" restaurant on left

In 1946, he began studying architecture at the Auckland University College School of Architecture, graduating in 1951.[3] He worked briefly for the Christchurch City Council before working with Dunedin firm Miller, White and Dunn on buildings at the University of Otago. He then moved to Christchurch-based architects Hall and Mackenzie, where he worked on the new Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook Village, notably designing its octagonal restaurant, and various buildings for the new Ilam campus of the University of Canterbury, including the registry.[2]

Pottery

He started working with pottery in 1951, alongside his wife Noeline, and became a full-time potter in 1979.[8] He began potting by throwing on a wheel but following a workshop with Patricia Perrin in the early 1960s, who was teaching a hammer and anvil technique using large-scale coils, Brokenshire began making work through hand building.[9]: 139  Hand building suited Brokenshire's architectural background, enabling him to build a piece steadily to whatever scale he desired.[9]: 139  Brokenshire also incorporated Māori motifs into his work, including modelling some pieces on Māori anchor stones.[9]: 135, 139 

His work is held in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa,[10] the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu,[11] and the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza, Italy.[1]

Brokenshire served as vice president of the New Zealand Society of Potters, and was an art critic for The Press newspaper in Christchurch from 1980 to 1984.[3]

References
  1. Blumhardt, Doreen (1981). Craft New Zealand: The art of the craftsman. Auckland: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 281. ISBN 0589013432. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014.
  2. Crean, Mike (28 June 2014). "Creativity at artist's core". The Press. p. 14.
  3. Taylor, Alister, ed. (1992). New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 1992. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 36.
  4. "Births". The New Zealand Herald. 2 May 1925. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  5. Taylor, Alister, ed. (2001). "New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001". New Zealand Who's Who, Aotearoa. Auckland: Alister Taylor Publishers: 170. ISSN 1172-9813.
  6. Cape, Peter (1969). Artists and Craftsmen in New Zealand. Auckland, London: Collins. pp. 15–20. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  7. "New Zealand, World War II appointments, promotions, transfers and resignations, 1939–1945". Ancestry.com. 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  8. Elliot, Moyra (4 May 2014). "Obituary - David Brokenshire". Cone Ten and Descending. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  9. Elliott, Moyra; Skinner, Damian (2009). Conetendown : studio pottery in New Zealand, 1945-1980. Auckland: David Bateman Ltd. ISBN 9781869537319.
  10. "Untitled [David Brokenshire, leaf-shaped pot]". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
  11. Milburn, Felicity. "David Brokenshire 1925–2014". Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
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