As an architect Ian Molyneux shaped WA’s built heritage practices and as an artist he captured Australia’s landscapes in bold acrylic paintings.
Ian’s parents Donald and Billie (nee Astley Florence Haynes) Molyneux were active in the Cottesloe community and raised Ian and his siblings — older sister Helen and younger brother Robert — in a home on Curtin Avenue. Ian attended Swanbourne Primary School and then John Curtin High School in Fremantle.
Ian attained his associateship in architecture from Perth Technical College and was awarded both the E.G. Cohen Medal and the W.H. Robertson travel grant in 1965.
After marrying Kaye Glover in 1966, the two travelled throughout Europe on the travel grant and their son, Ivan, was born in London in 1967.
They settled in the UK during this time, where Ian was employed by Erno Goldfinger as project architect on a housing scheme for the Greater London Council. He was then employed by T.P. Bennett & Son, London, as project architect for the British Linen Bank head office at Glasgow, a redevelopment scheme in central London, and the central area redevelopment in Manchester.
On his return to Perth, Ian was an associate of R.J. Ferguson and Associates from 1969 to 1971. Ian and Kaye settled in Cottesloe, where their daughter, Claire, was born in 1969.
Ian was a registered architect in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, and a registered builder in WA. He was a fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, serving as WA chapter councillor, vice-president and senior vice-president, and chairing key committees, while examining for the Architects Board of WA for over two decades.
Ian’s interest in the built heritage of Western Australia was presented through numerous articles in The Architect journal from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Ian was the author of Looking Around Perth: A Guide To The Architecture Of Perth And Surrounding Towns, published for the RAIA (WA) in 1981. This landmark work documented Perth’s architectural evolution from early settlement through to the modern movement of the 1970s. It was the first comprehensive record of architecture of the region, and continues to serve as a valuable reference today.
Ian was a member of the National Trust of Western Australia built environment committee from 1975 to 1984. He completed the Bunbury National Estate Study (1978) for the Australian Heritage Commission and was engaged by the City of Subiaco to prepare a report on the heritage significance of the city’s buildings. His Survey Of The National Estate In Subiaco (1985) resulted in the conservation of hundreds of buildings which remain standing today and which give Subiaco its unique character.
As chair of the Heritage Council of Western Australia from 1991 to 1994, Ian played a pivotal role in shaping heritage practices.
As chair of the Heritage Council of Western Australia from 1991 to 1994, Ian played a pivotal role in shaping heritage practices during the council’s formative years. At the end of his tenure, then heritage minister Richard Lewis said that under Ian’s chairmanship, the Heritage Council had developed to the point where it was recognised as WA’s leading heritage body. “Ian deserves the highest recognition for the enormous contribution he has made towards the creation of the Heritage Council during what can only be described as some very difficult formative years,” he said, adding that Ian had worked tirelessly in promoting the importance of the State’s heritage to the wider community.
Ian was also a member of the Aboriginal Cultural Material Committee of the Western Australian Museum from 1993 to 1994 and a heritage planner in the strategic planning unit at the City of Fremantle, 1996 to 1999. Ian was tasked with developing long-term strategic plans for the city at a critical time when many of its heritage buildings were in disrepair. His conservation assessments and recommendations were instrumental in helping preserve much of the character of Fremantle and the cultural assets that were restored and remain in existence today.
Through his private practice, Ian Molyneux & Associates, he completed projects across Perth and the South West in a 50-year career encompassing architectural design, heritage assessments, conservation plans, restoration works and written contributions to numerous journals, books and encyclopedias.
His architectural practice was complemented by skilful paintings, sculptures and drawings, with many of his artworks now held in private collections across Australia. He credited his second wife, Judith (nee Lamb), who he married in 1982, for encouraging him to paint and together they were active in Perth’s artists’ community throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including attending Claremont School of Art. Judith supported Ian by organising several successful exhibitions of his works in Fremantle.
Ian’s health deteriorated in his later years and he passed away in care at North Fremantle on December 1, 2025. He is survived by his brother, Dr Robert Molyneux of Sydney, and daughter Claire.
Ian Molyneux
Architect and artist
Born: Perth, 1943
Died: Fremantle, aged 81
