Eva Buhrich facts for kids

Eva Buhrich (born in 1915, died in 1976) was a talented architect and writer from Germany. She had to leave her home country in the 1930s because of the Nazi government. She moved to Australia and became a well-known expert who wrote about buildings and design.

Biography

Early Life and Education

Eva Buhrich was born in 1915 in Nuremberg, Germany. Her family was Jewish. In 1933, she started studying architecture at a university in Munich.

Life became difficult for Eva because of the Nazi government. This forced her to move to Berlin. There, she continued her studies with a famous architect named Hans Poelzig. Later, she moved to Zurich, Switzerland. She earned her architecture diploma in 1937 from a technical university there.

Eva even won a scholarship to study schools after she graduated. However, World War II was about to begin. Because of this, Eva and her husband, Hugh Buhrich, moved to Australia in 1939. They had met in Munich while studying architecture and got married in 1938.

Moving to Australia

Even though Eva had studied at top universities in Europe, her qualifications were not accepted in Australia. Luckily, Professor Alfred Hook from the University of Sydney helped Eva and Hugh find work. They worked at an architecture firm in Canberra.

In 1940, Eva gave birth to twin sons, Neil and Clive. Soon after, her family moved to Sydney. During this time, many women faced unfair treatment at work. This included getting paid less than men for the same job.

Becoming a Writer and Activist

After working as an architect for a while, Eva Buhrich became a writer and editor in the 1950s. From the 1940s to the 1950s, she wrote for many magazines. These included The Australian Women's Weekly, Woman, Walkabout, and House and Garden. Sometimes, she even used male names for her articles.

Eva wrote a regular column for the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper from 1957 until the late 1960s. She also published a book called Patios and Outdoor Living Areas in 1973.

Eva and her husband, Hugh, played a very important role in saving a special building. This building was the Willoughby Incinerator, designed by Walter Burley Griffin. In 1975, people wanted to knock it down. Eva and Hugh held meetings at their home to create a group called the Walter Burley Griffin Trust (NSW). Eva was the main person leading the effort to save the incinerator. Her campaign worked, and the building was saved!

Eva Buhrich passed away in March 1976 after battling cancer.

Published works