By Roselyn Fauth - based on obituary from the Aoraki Heritage Archive.
I’ve spent the past few years tracing the Turnbull family — their buildings, their lives, their part in shaping Timaru’s early skyline. I’ve followed their story through streets, plaques, and the city’s old newspapers, building a picture of how one family left such an enduring architectural mark.
But one day, while scrolling through the Aoraki Heritage Archive at the Timaru Library, I came across an obituary clipped from a 1953 newspaper. The headline simply read: “Timaru Community Was Well Served by Mr P. W. Rule.”
Until then, Percy Watts Rule had been just a second name in the partnership of Turnbull & Rule — a quiet presence beside the Turnbull legacy I’d come to know so well. But this obituary was something else entirely. It wasn’t just a list of buildings and titles. It was a portrait of a man who was deeply cultured, endlessly curious, and loved by his community.
The more I read, the more I realised how much of Timaru still bears his touch — and how much of his story has quietly slipped through the cracks of time.
So this is my attempt to put him back in the frame...
Percy Watts Rule was born in Napier on 4 October 1888, the eldest son of Alexander P. and Clara J. Rule, Scottish settlers from Paisley who arrived in Timaru in 1890. Percy attended the Anglican Church, and was educated at Timaru Main School and Timaru Boys’ High School, where he won a Junior Scholarship — a sign of the determination and intellect that would shape his life.
After leaving school, he apprenticed with G. O. Clayton, a local builder. The skills he learned there — attention to craft, a feel for proportion, and respect for materials — would stay with him throughout his architectural career.
In 1907, he joined the office of James S. Turnbull, one of Timaru’s leading architects. Percy started as a junior, rose to first assistant, and in 1919, was made a partner. Together, they formed Turnbull & Rule, a partnership that would define South Canterbury’s interwar architecture.
The Turnbull & Rule Years
Turnbull and Rule were responsible for many of Timaru’s best-known buildings. Their designs blended timeless classical composition with modern sensibility. The pair created schools, churches, and commercial buildings that still anchor the town’s streetscape today.
Their portfolio included:
Timaru Boys’ High School War Memorial Library (1924) — a small but exquisite memorial to 52 Old Boys who lost their lives in WWI.
Temuka Library (1926–27).
St James’ Anglican Church, Franz Josef (1928–31).
The Oxford Building (1924–25), commissioned by David Clarkson Turnbull and now celebrating its 100th year.
By the late 1920s, Percy had become the principal designer within the firm. His architectural voice was assured — clean lines, symmetry, and subtle ornament that carried both dignity and warmth.
The Oxford Building, with its pastel façade, sunrise parapets, and Union Jack motifs, perfectly captured that spirit. It represented optimism after war and hardship — a balance between restraint and celebration.
Though built several years before the 1931 Napier earthquake, the Oxford’s geometric composition and rhythmic ornamentation suggest that Percy was already exploring ideas that would later define New Zealand’s Art Deco era. It’s tempting to think he would have been fascinated by the Napier rebuild — a national conversation about modernism, colour, and renewal that echoed his own instincts.
A Life of Culture and Curiosity
The more I read about Percy, the more it became clear he wasn’t just an architect — he was a collector of beauty in every form. His obituary describes him as “known nationally as an architect and internationally as a connoisseur.”
He loved music, art, natural history, and astronomy. He was an active member of the Timaru Choral Society, and his home was said to be filled with paintings, antiques, and rare books.
In fact, his private collection — known as the Earlham Library — was legendary. It included some of the rarest printed works in New Zealand:
A Koburger Bible (1480) bound in blind-tooled pigskin.
A Bugge Bible (1549) and a Breeches Bible (1602).
A Harrison’s Bible (1562) printed in black letter.
A Fourth Folio Shakespeare, bound in panelled Morocco.
More than 130 editions of The Rubaiyat and over 100 works by Oscar Wilde.
Fifteenth-century illuminated manuscripts with coloured initials and burnished gold.
He also maintained a numismatic cabinet, collecting coins and medals, and created a special section devoted to A. Edward Newton, the famed American bibliophile. Percy even bound many of his own volumes in full-tooled leather — the mark of a true craftsman and lifelong learner.
Family and Home
Percy married Kathleen (Kathie) Rule, and they made their home at 25 Sefton Street in Timaru — a grand residence of over 1,500 square metres of land and a 360 m² house.
It was the kind of home only an architect would design: generous yet unpretentious, beautifully proportioned, and built to last. Their daughter, Hazel Ewing Rule, was born in 1915 and later married the Rev. Harold G. Norris, Vicar of St Peter’s, Riccarton, Christchurch.
Even now, the Sefton Street property still reflects the hallmarks of Percy’s design — well-planned, light-filled, and enduring. The house has since been converted into flats, but its bones remain true to the thoughtful architect who lived there.
Service and Recognition
Percy believed architecture should serve people. His community involvement was extraordinary:
President, South Canterbury Historical Society
Vice-President, Timaru Choral Society
Past-President, Timaru Philatelic Society
Vice-President, New Zealand Numismatic Society
Vice-President, New Zealand Ex Libris Society
Secretary, South Canterbury Art Society
Honorary Architect, Kindergarten Association and Y.W.C.A.
He was also active in the Timaru Beautifying Association, Horticultural Society, Craighead Diocesan School Board, and the South Canterbury Advisory Committee for Adult Education.
Professionally, Percy achieved what few regional architects did. He was a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA), later serving as its Secretary — a role that placed him at the heart of his profession.
In 1939, he received the NZIA Gold Medal, the country’s highest architectural honour, for his design of the Surgical Block at Timaru Hospital — a structure admired for its grace, light, and human scale.
Final Years and Farewell
Percy’s wife Kathleen passed away in 1952, and he followed a year later, on 4 June 1953, aged 64. His funeral was held at St Mary’s Anglican Church, where Archdeacon W. W. Averill spoke of him as “one of Timaru’s most respected and valued citizens.”
The service was attended by civic leaders, colleagues, and friends from every organisation he had supported. Afterward, the cortege travelled to Christchurch, where the Very Rev. Martin Sullivan, Dean of Christchurch, conducted the cremation. Percy’s ashes are not recorded in the Timaru Cemetery, likely resting in Canterbury.
Legacy
By the time of his death, Percy’s architectural signature was woven into Timaru’s identity — from schools and churches to civic landmarks. His designs, whether public or private, reflected the same care, proportion, and subtle beauty that defined his character.
Many South Canterbury families still live in Turnbull & Rule homes — houses that were well thought out, solidly built, and crafted to last. His buildings remind us that architecture, at its best, is both art and service.
As Archdeacon Averill said in his eulogy:
“In his profession as an architect, he has left behind him a contribution to the aesthetic beauty of the community in which he lived, which will serve as a permanent memorial to his imaginative genius and his passion for correctness of detail.”
A century later, that remains true.
My Reflection
Reading through the obituary written at the time, I couldn’t help but feel grateful to the unknown author who so carefully captured his achievements, his kindness, and his love of learning. Their words, preserved today in the Aoraki Heritage Archive, have allowed history hunters like me to rediscover Percy’s life and legacy — and to see the man behind the buildings that still give Timaru its grace and character. The Oxford still stands, bright in the sun — its pastel parapets catching the light, its Union Jacks a nod to the time it was built. The War Memorial Library at Timaru Boys’ High School still inspires quiet respect. And tucked into the hillsides and tree-lined streets of South Canterbury are countless homes shaped by Percy’s hand.
Aren’t we lucky, in Timaru, to have built heritage like this — architecture that reminds us who we are, and of the people like Percy Watts Rule, who helped build it.