GA038 | Interiors | Private Collections

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The Laurie Collection
John Buxton Laurie and
Imogen Dymphna Laurie
John and Dymphna were both born in
Adelaide: John was born in 1931, the middle
child of Robin and Joan (nee Clark) Laurie.
Dymphna was born in 1934, the youngest of
two daughters of Gerard and Dora Fox (nee
Betchen). The Laurie, Clark and Fox families are
pioneering South Australian families with a rich
Australian history.
Dymphna’s father served in the Australian
Imperial Forces in both World Wars and John’s
father in the Australian Air Force in the second
World War. Like many Australians born in this
era, John and Dymphna’s lives were forged by
the history of WWI, the Great Depression, and
growing up during WWII. John and Dymphna
met at Adelaide University. John studied
Engineering and Dymphna Social Work. Upon
completion of his engineering degree John
went to Montreal, Canada, to work at Dominion
Bridge Company. Dymphna joined him after
finishing her studies and they were married in
Montreal.
They lived in Canada and London before
returning to Sydney, Australia, when John
was offered a position at Maunsell & Partners,
Engineering and Planning Consultants.
Post WWII saw a boom in Australian major
infrastructure projects and John rose to
become Managing Director and then Chairman.
He left Maunsells in 1991 to take up the
position of Chairman of the Citylink Project and
served on the boards of Monash University,
Melbourne Girls Grammar, the Austin Hospital
and others.
Dymphna’s career as a social worker resumed
in 1973, when the family moved to Melbourne.
Her area of interest was in disability services
and she worked at Yooralla, the Equal
Opportunity Board and The Victorian Public
Guardianship & Advocacy Board. In 2006
Dymphna was awarded the Member of the
Order of Australia, in recognition of her services
and advocacy in the disability sector.
John was awarded the Companion of the Order
of Australia in 2003, and the Peter Nichol medal
in 2004, for his contribution to engineering
in Australia and services overseas. His work
in major infrastructure projects took him all
over Australia and the world with Dymphna
accompanying him on many trips.
John and Dymphna enjoyed collecting art
throughout their lives including Australian
indigenous art, modern Australian art and
artworks acquired on their overseas travels.
John worked extensively in Papua New Guinea
in its infrastructure infancy and was fascinated
by the people and culture. The private
collection presented with Gibson’s is a mixture
of artefacts that Dymphna and John inherited
from their respective families and artworks they
collected during their life together.