Bertrand James Waterhouse OBE, known to his friends and colleagues as B.J., was born in Leeds in 1876 and came to Australia with his family when he was 16 years old. He gained his architectural training at Sydney Technical College under the tutelage of John Sulman. At this time (1892) Waterhouse was articled to the English architect John B. Spencer who designed the Strand Arcade. He subsequently worked in the office of W. L. Vernon, Government Architect, until he entered private practice with J. W. H. Lake in 1907 or 1908. During its first decade of practice, the firm designed many houses in the Neutral Bay-Cremorne-Mosman areas, which was being developed rapidly as a "desirable" harbourside residential locality. His career in domestic architecture was to span some 50 years.
