Taylor, Florence Mary 1879 - 1969

Florence Mary Taylor was born Florence Mary Parsons in Bedminster, Somerset, England on 29 December 1879. She emigrated with her family to Australia in 1884 and settled in Sydney, New South Wales. In 1899 she began working as a clerk in in the office of the architect and engineer Francis Ernest Stowe (1867-1936) in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. Soon after, she enrolled on an evening class course in architecture at Sydney Technical College. During the course she was articled to Edmund Skelton Garton. In 1904 she became the first woman to complete final year studies in architecture, by which time she had been promoted to chief draughtsperson in Garton's office.

On the completion of her articles she moved to the office of John Burcham Clamp (1869-1931) in Sydney as chief draughtsperson.  In 1907 he nominated for associate membership of the Institute of Architects of New South Wales.  The application was rejected and she was not accepted an associate until 1920, when she became the first woman member of what is now the NSW chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects. She was elected a full member in 1923.  Despite the initial rejection by the Institute of Architects, she built up a thriving practice designing homes in Sydney. 

In April 1907 she married George Augustine Taylor (1872-1928), a craftsman and journalist.  He shared her interest in architecture and engineering and together they founded the Building Publishing Publishing Co. Ltd. Among the many titles they published were Building (1907-1972), Construction (1908-1974) and Australian Engineer (1915-1973), which she edited.  The Taylors were also founding members in 1913 of the Town Planning Association of New South Wales.

Following the sudden death of George Taylor in 1928, she took over the running of their publishing business, maintaining it until her retirement at the age of 81 in 1961.  Many of her architectural designs and town planning schemes appeared in the journals she published, several of which, including a tunnel crossing for Sydney Harbour, have subsequently come to fruition.

Florence Taylor has been described as an "indefatigable founder and joiner". Among the many organisations and societies of which she was a member were the Arts Club, Society of Women Writers, and the Aero Club of New South Wales. She is believed to have been the first woman in Australia to fly in a heavier-than-air craft when, in 1909, she flew a glider built by her husband.

She was elected a Member of the Society of Architects (MSA) in the UK and was admitted a Licentiate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (LRIBA) in 1925. She was also an honorary member of the Australian Institute of Builders and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London.  She died at her home in the Sydney suburb of Potts Point on 13 February 1969. In 2001 she was inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.