Alfred Louis Smith and Arthur Ebden Johnson were architects who designed many public buildings of Melbourne in the classical style. Both architects emigrated to Melbourne from London where they had been trained by leading British architects and designers in the execution of the classical style. After meeting each other in the Colonial Architect's Department they opened a private practice connected with the Public Works Department (PWD). Despite the popularity of other architectural styles of the time such as Gothic, Smith and Johnson practiced in a time when the dignity of classical architecture was still considered the right and proper style for town halls, museums, art galleries and post offices. This perception of public buildings coupled with Smith and Johnson's background gave them gr