1913

In 1913, the Geelong Art Gallery Association confirmed the design for the G M Hitchcock Memorial Art Gallery. Six architectural designs for the proposed gallery were submitted. 

They decided on a £3000 design by prominent Geelong architects, Angus Laird and Thomas Johnston Buchan.

After Angus Laird died in 1936, Buchan founded the firm Buchan, Laird and Buchan with Laird’s son Ewen, and his own son John. The trio designed many Geelong landmarks such as Geelong Hospital, Geelong Grammar School, and Eastern Beach Pavilion. 

Featuring a glazed roof and classical architectural ornamentation, the G M Hitchcock Memorial Gallery is one of the most recognisable spaces within Geelong Gallery. As the first section of the building to be constructed, it endures as a fitting memorial to a Geelong citizen who worked tirelessly for the establishment of Geelong Gallery.