A progressive figure in New Zealand school design during the mid-twentieth century baby boom, Clifford Muir headed the Otago Education Board’s architectural department through a period of extensive school building. After 36 years in public service, he spent the last phase of his career in private practice.

Clifford Muir was born in Dunedin on 20 June 1904, at his parents’ home in Maryhill Terrace, Mornington. His father, Robert Swan Muir, was a self-employed bootmaker originally from Dalkeith, Scotland, but resident in Dunedin from childhood. His mother, Marion Mossman Muir (née Greig), was born at West Taieri where her father worked mostly as a tailor. Clifford’s only sibling, Doris, was born in 1911.

Cliff, as he was known, attended Mornington School from 1909 to 1917, before studying for two years at Dunedin Technical High School, the secondary division of King Edward Technical College. He was described as a bright pupil and an ‘industrious lad who gives careful attention to all his work’. He showed particular talent in mechanical drawing and workshop classes.

From 1920 to 1924 Muir was apprenticed to G. Simpson & Co., an established Dunedin building firm. Its largest contract during this time was for Arthur Barnett’s new department store in George Street. Meanwhile, Muir took evening classes in carpentry and joinery at the Technical College.

Muir joined the Otago Education Board’s staff as a draughtsman in January 1925. The Board was responsible for the buildings of over 200 primary and district high schools throughout Otago, and for nearly 150 associated teachers’ residences. The architectural staff occasionally carried out work for separately administered state high schools. Muir was initially one of three draughtsmen working under Education Board architect James Rodger, a practical man of kindly manner.

Over half of Otago’s school buildings at this time were Victorian, and increasingly unsuited to modern educational requirements. Many had been constructed during the major building programme of the mid-1870s to 1880s. The Board’s official history describes the 1920s as a ‘remodelling period’, with architectural work mostly limited to alterations and additions. The largest new building complexes were at the rebuilt Caversham and Balclutha Schools, and the new Tainui School.

From 1927 to 1930 Muir continued his studies through evening classes at the Dunedin School of Art, attached to the Technical College. His subjects included drawing, modelling, and painting. W.H. Allen and R.N. Field were the principal art instructors at that time. Some of Muir’s surviving sketches are annotated with an address care of the Dunedin architect and Otago Art Society member Eric Miller.

Muir studied at the School of Architecture, Auckland University College, from 1930 to 1933, including two years of full-time study. The School was the only one of its kind in the country, and from 1931 its qualifications were recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects. Muir would have received instruction from the first professor, Australian Cyril Knight, who combined aspects of the Beaux-Arts teaching tradition with Modernist ideas. The course included studio instruction integrated with university lectures and classes. Muir’s surviving set exercises demonstrate versatility in wide-ranging styles, from Revived Classical through to Streamline Modernism, influenced by Bauhaus.

Muir’s Diploma Thesis was for a boys’ secondary school and the Diploma was conferred in 1934. In February 1936 he was elected an Associate Member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects.

In 1932, Welch had succeeded the retiring James Rodger as Board Architect. Muir was his only assistant. The Great Depression reduced the Board’s building programme to a low point that year, when there was almost no expenditure on either new buildings or maintenance. Funding did not fully recover until 1937.

Projects achieved during the 1930s included the building of Dunedin’s first Intermediate Schools: Dunedin North (in Albany Street) and Macandrew Intermediate. The largest new school was Kings’ High School, opened in 1936. Muir’s role in the design of these buildings is unclear, but he certainly contributed. He was the lead designer of another large project, the Teachers’ Training College complex built on a new Union Street site. A striking Modernist design completed in 1939, it was illustrated in the prestigious English publication, Architectural Review. Unlike the earlier College buildings, it was constructed with both timber framing and cladding as, after the Napier Earthquake, the Education Department had effectively banned the use of brick for educational buildings. This directive was somewhat relaxed from 1940, but timber remained the material of choice for educational buildings in the decades that followed. The Training College building was destroyed by fire in 1968.

Welch enlisted for military service following the declaration of the Second World War in September 1939. Muir was appointed Acting Architect and held this position for the duration of the conflict. Projects underway, such as the rebuilding of Mosgiel District High School, kept the building programme busy through 1940, but by 1942 there was little expenditure on new buildings. The only new schools begun between 1941 and 1944 were at Stirling and Oamaru South. Welch formally retired at the end of the war and Muir was permanently appointed Board Architect in June 1945.

A new era of school building was on the horizon. An increase in school enrolment occurred even before the post-war baby boom. Birth rates had declined after the First World War but picked up from 1935, reaching a peak in 1947. Despite this, school building activity remained sluggish and the Education Board did not overtake its pre-war annual expenditure until 1949. Many buildings considered to be in a lamentable state twenty years earlier were still in use, often with little alteration. Muir described the effect of some older classrooms as:
‘…almost one of imprisonment; caging the child in cells with high windows (to concentrate attention on the chalkboard?); with “serviceable” tongue and groove boarding on all walls to withstand the impact of small hands and feet; with deep brown dadoes to resist grubby hands and with long backless forms to make a relaxed attitude impossible.’

The largest school completed in the late 1940s was at Kensington, south of the Oval in Dunedin, where an old complex was completely replaced. An equally large project was Stuart House, a women’s hostel at the new Carrington Hall, which housed both Teachers’ College and University of Otago students.

Material shortages further stymied progress. Timber, in particular, was expensive and difficult to procure. In 1948 the Board resorted to milling pine trees on some of its own school properties. Portable huts were built to accommodate single teachers.

Bureaucratic processes were cumbersome. Sketch proposals and working drawings required the approval of not only Board, but also the Education Department and the Dominion Building Controller. The latter described some boards’ proposals for 1948 as ‘bordering on the fantastic’ and severely pruned their lists. The Dunedin City Council and various borough and county councils also had to be satisfied, as they issued and administered building permits.

Through the 1950s, economic conditions improved and shortages eased. Investment in school building greatly increased over the course of the decade, with a sixfold increase over 1940s expenditure. More than 35 Otago schools were either newly established or entirely rebuilt, and over 30 new teachers’ residences were erected. Numerous classroom additions, dental clinics, and other additions were also constructed. This involved extensive travel for Muir. He had the use of large Chevrolet cars, suited to gravel roads in the country, and accommodation was in local hotels.

The Board’s 1957 history described Muir as one of the foremost school architects in New Zealand, with ‘progressive ideas frequently ahead of the Department of Education’s financial provision for school buildings which favours standardisation’. This, it was noted, ‘restricted him in doing anything which he would himself consider outstanding’.

Before the war, common features in school design could be seen throughout the country, but individual education boards did have a degree of design independence. Small schools were typically built to standardised plans, but these differed from region to region. The Canterbury Education Board, for example, preferred open verandahs over the enclosed corridors more usually found in Otago. Larger schools tended to be more bespoke in design.
The National Government elected in 1949 imposed a new standardised classroom design with aims of efficiency and economy. The Dominion Basic Plan of 1951 provided a row of classrooms with a corridor along its south side, and incorporated toilets, cloakrooms, and staffrooms.

Muir referred to the Dominion Plan as a straightjacket, although some refinements were possible. A late example, Rosebank School in Balclutha, added brick patterns that cast ‘enriching shadow’, and incorporated bolder roof planes. The thoughtful siting and orientation of buildings was a particular enthusiasm of Muir’s and many projects benefited from this aspect of his expertise.

A new school building code in 1956 prescribed the reduction of space taken up in corridors, circulation spaces, and ancillary rooms, and a relative increase in teaching space. More planning freedom was allowed within a ‘white lines’ policy that set minimum standards of accommodation and maximum cost per pupil.
Muir described this as an opening to ‘improve schools by better design and greater local freedom,’ and as a ‘challenge to architects to replan within the financial limits and to gain as much as possible from the change by better design’. He wrote that ‘If buildings affect the users it is the hope of those engaged in school design that the measure of lightness and pleasantness achieved might be reflected in the lives of the children’.

For the models block at George Street Normal School (1959), Muir identified the classroom as the basic unit of a school, and the starting point for improvements. He described the project in an article, ‘The “Family” Classroom: An experiment in Otago’, published in Education magazine. He wrote:

‘…the classroom should be a “home” for the children and should express the ideas and feeling of a “family” room. Then the teacher would take his or her rightful place as the head of the family, the whole pattern thus giving a feeling of unity and security to the children. It seems that in the changing society of today the school has to provide more to make up for the loss sustained by the passing of the pioneer home with its social activities and larger family circle. The classroom should therefore be a complete and set contained unit not sharing anything with any other class. In order to express this idea all activities should take place in the classroom or in the family room and under the direct control or supervision of the teacher.’

To achieve the self-containment, Muir gave each classroom its own projecting wing, incorporating lavatories and other ancillary space.

Emerging educational and architectural trends can be seen in other designs made or overseen by Muir. A primary school on a new site at Port Chalmers included generous windows with wide eaves to reduce direct sunlight glare. The scale of the buildings was smaller than a traditional school and intended to be ‘more in character with children’. This was also evident in the entrance to the Dunedin North Intermediate (1956), described in one the Board’s annual reports as illustrating ‘the belief that the height of buildings should not overpower the children who use them’.

At the Lawrence District High School (1957), a ‘prow’ in the centre court thrusted it into the sunshine. Muir likely provided the commentary in an annual report that ‘not only should school buildings be designed to function easily but by trial and judgment of shapes such as these should the search for forms expressing the aims of education and architecture continue’.

Continued budgetary constraints are reflected in a comment about the Dunedin North Intermediate assembly hall (1959): ‘The simplicity of the exterior arises from the desire to use the greatest portion of the limited expenditure on the interior where the children can appreciate it most’.

The extent of work undertaken saw an increase in the size of the Board’s architectural staff to thirteen. Their offices were located in the Education Board buildings in Moray Place, on the site now occupied by the Dunedin Public Library. As Chief Architect, Muir worked in a separate location from the Design Office, which was on the upper level at the rear of the building in an area cleverly altered to include a mezzanine floor. One of the junior draughtsman, Norman Ledgerwood, remembers Cliff as a good person to work for, and someone who encouraged him to pursue an architectural career.

The relationship between the Architectural Office and Management was sometimes fraught, with many challenges in achieving a large quantity of work within a rigid and financially pressured bureaucracy. Muir resigned in July 1961, and although he lost the security of a public service job he had enjoyed for 36 years, he was freed from many of its constraints.

Departure allowed Muir, for the first time, to embark on a career of private practice. He went into partnership with a contemporary, Lance Lowther (1901-1970), who had been chief assistant to Harry McDowell Smith in the 1930s and in independent practice since 1945. Lowther’s designs included the Otago Co-operative Dairy Company factory in Anzac Avenue, which later became the Hocken Library.

The Lowther & Muir partnership designed several private residences, with Muir’s contributions including the Stanton house in Waverley, the Wong house in Stafford Street, and a block of flats in Queen Street. Country homes included ‘Clairdon’ at Kaihiku. Muir was able to make continued use of his education sector connections. He designed additional buildings for the Taieri High School, and a four-storey accommodation block for Carrington Hall.

Over the course of his career, Muir designed three houses for himself and family: a residence in Easther Crescent (1936), another in Belmont Lane (1959), and ‘Birk Cottage’ a holiday home at Wanaka (1953). The latter was a modernist design with a ‘butterfly’ roof – for which he built the timber framed walls in Dunedin. It had a coal range and wetback, with no electricity nor water supply. Muir’s versatile practicality was demonstrated, after the connection of electricity, in his building a purpose-made refrigerator with an insulated, steel shell and internal ice-box, and separate compressor. He also constructed two caravans.

Muir was an active member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects. He served on the Otago Branch committee from 1938 to 1959, including as Chairman from 1953 to 1955. His significant contribution to institute conferences was especially notable and he was supported in this by his wife, Karen.

Cliff Muir had married Karen Schacke Andersen at Caversham Presbyterian Church on 5 January 1938. The daughter of Danish immigrant parents, Karen was born in Invercargill where her father worked as a bricklayer. She had studied at the University of Otago and the Dunedin Teachers’ Training College and was a teacher at Macandrew Road School before her marriage. The Muirs had three sons: Maxwell (born 1940), Alastair (born 1944), and Ashley (born 1946). Tragically, Alastair died at the age of 11 months.

A tall man, Cliff Muir stood at 6 foot 3 inches and was described by many as a ‘gentle giant’. His personal interests included woodworking, tennis, and chess. He was a member of the Athenaeum Chess Club and as a young man participated in local tournaments.

Clifford Muir died from blood cancer at Wakari Hospital, Dunedin, on 12 February 1968, aged 63. Karen Muir survived him by twenty years. Their older surviving son, Maxwell, was a pharmacist. The younger, Ashley, trained as an architect. He was influenced in his choice of career by constant exposure to architectural magazines and books, and what he describes as ‘Cliff making “all sorts of things” and the discussions regarding the design of those “things”.’ Ashley joined Mason & Wales, New Zealand’s oldest architectural practice, in 1970, and became a partner in 1972.

One of Cliff’s four grandchildren, Hamish Muir (born 1978), represents a third generation of architects in the family. Hamish is a Fellow member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, and currently the Director and Owner of Mason & Wales Architects.

The legacy of Clifford Muir can be further seen through the longevity of his school buildings, many of which are still in use some seventy or more years after they were built.

List of principal school projects designed during Clifford Muir’s tenure as Otago Education Board Acting Architect (1939-1945) and Architect (1945-1961).

The year given is the year of completion.

Kurow District High School 1940
Macandrew Intermediate School 1940
Mosgiel District High School 1940
Tarara School 1940
Duntroon School 1941
Stirling School 1942
Maheno School 1946
Naseby School 1946
Oamaru South School 1946
Stuart House (women’s block) at Carrington Hall 1947
Wakari School additions 1947
King’s High School additions 1948
Balclutha School 1949
Becks School 1949
Kensington School 1949
Lovells Flat School 1949
Corstorphine School (stage 1) 1950
Grants Braes School 1950
Roxburgh Hydro School 1950
Wanaka School 1950
Alexandra District High School additions 1951
Kelso School 1951
Oamaru North School 1952
Palmerston District High School (stage 1) 1952
Pine Hill School infant block 1952
Tapanui District High School 1952 (stage 1)
Abbotsford School 1953
Andersons Bay School – four additional classrooms 1953
Mosgiel West School (stage 1) 1953
Bradford School 1954
Corstorphine School (stage 2) 1954
George Street School 1955
Taieri Beach School 1954
Tokomairiro District High School 7-classroom addition 1954
Halfway Bush School (stage 1) 1955
Omarama School 1955
Queens High School 1955 (for Otago High Schools’ Board)
Riselaw Road (Calton Hill) School 1955
Roxburgh District High School 1955
Blacks School 1956
Dunedin North Intermediate School 1956
George Street School infants block 1956
Green Island School 1956
Mosgiel East School 1956
North Taieri School 1956
Arthur Street School 1957 (stage 1)
Halfway Bush School stage 2 1957
Heriot School 1957
Lawrence District High School 1957
Mosgiel West School (stage 2) 1957
Ngapara School 1957
Patearoa School 1957
Pine Hill School three classroom addition 1957
Port Chalmers Kindergarten 1957
Port Chalmers School 1957
Rosebank School 1957
Ocean View School 1958
Ardgowan School 1958
Fernbrook School 1958
Maia School 1958
Queens High School assembly hall and additional classrooms 1958
Waitaki Girls’ High School laboratory block etc. 1958
Berwick School 1959
Dunedin North Intermediate assembly hall 1959
Flag Swamp School 1959
George Street School models block (1959)
Musselburgh School 1959
St Leonards School 1959
Sawyers Bay School additional block 1960
Waipahi School 1960
Arthur Street School stage 2 1961
Brockville School 1961
Dunstan High School 1961
Macraes Moonlight School 1961
Otakou School 1961
Otematata District High School 1961
Palmerston District High School Secondary Block 1961
Reid Park School (stage 1) 1961
Tahuna Intermediate School 1961
Taieri Beach School 1961
Oamaru Intermediate School 1962
Taieri High School additions 1962
Tapanui District High School additions 1962
Waikoikoi School 1962
Waitaki Boys’ High School dormitory block 1962
Waitaki Girls’ High School administration and library block 1962
Caversham School (stage 2) 1963

Selected sources:
Birth, death and marriage registrations.
Cemetery records, Dunedin City Council.
Dunedin Technical High School report, Hocken Collections AG-763-027/028.
Mornington School records, Hocken Collections MS-0905/06.
Annual reports, Otago Education Board records, Hocken Collections AG-294-15.
Contract books, Otago Education Board records, Hocken Collections AG-294-30/12 to 14.
Site books, Otago Education Board records, Hocken Collections MS-5197/094 and 095.
New Zealand Institute of Architects records, Archives New Zealand.
Evening Star 21 June 1945 p.4 (appointment), 12 February 1968 (obituary).
Otago Witness 27 September 1921 p.53 (David Greig).
Garnock-Jones, Alan Peter. ‘Architecture – School Buildings: Primary Schools’ in An Encyclopedia of New Zealand edited by A.H. McLintock (1966). Retrieved 16 Nov 2025 from Primary Schools | Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Gatley, Julia. ‘Back to the South’: Cyril Knight and the modernisation of the Auckland School of Architecture’ in The Journal of Architecture v25 n4 (2020) pp397-418.
Madanovic, Milica. ‘Persisting Beaux-Arts Practices in Architectural Education: History and Theory Teaching at the Auckland School of Architecture, 1927-1969’ in Interstices Journal of Architecture and Related Arts Auckland School Centenary special issue (Sep 2018), pp.9-24.
McDiarmid, Elizabeth: ‘Early Woodside, East Taieri’ (1916), unpublished remiscences. Hocken Collections, MS-0579.
Miller, James McKerrow. The Otago Education Board, 1856-1956: a brief history. Dunedin; Otago Education Board, 1957.
Muir, Clifford. ‘The “Family” Classroom: An experiment in Otago’ in Education, v9 n3 (Apr 1960) pp.80-82.
Muir, Clifford. ‘Schools: Otago Education Board’ in Home and Building, v22 n10 (Mar 1960), pp.25, 107.
Williams, Murray Noel. Building Yesterday’s Schools; An analysis of educational architectural design as practised by the Building Department of the Canterbury Education Board from 1916-1989. PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, 2014.

Acknowledgments:
Special thanks to Ashley Muir, Anna Muir, Hamish Muir, Karl Sasse, Norman Ledgerwood, and David Ojala for information and assistance.

This article was commissioned by Mason & Wales Architects.