Muir and Shepherd was an Australian architectural practice established in 1947 by John Muir and Arthur Shepherd with offices in both Ballarat and Melbourne, Victoria. Their projects were predominantly residential buildings. Non-residential work included churches, a funeral parlour and commercial tenancy fitouts. Muir and Shepherd are one of the lesser-known post-war modern Victorian architectural firms. Practice John Muir began practising architecture in his hometown of Ballarat in 1933. Following this he moved to Melbourne and joined the practice of Stephenson & Turner, where he was to become a senior draftsman by the 1940s. Stephenson & Turner's health buildings of the 1930s have been noted as creating the 'foundations for Australian functionalist modernism'. While with the practice Muir was to work on health buildings such as the 'perfectly styled', Maternal and Infant Welfare Pathological Block (1939) at The Royal Women's hospital and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Building (1939) at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Both Muir and Shepherd were to work for this firm. During World War II Arthur Shepherd enlisted with the Australian Army (Royal Australian Engineers) in May 1943 and was discharged in May 1946. In 1945, Muir began preliminary work on a major Ballarat housing development: the Waller Estate. The practice of Muir and Shepherd was subsequently established in 1947. The practice was to remain small. Early employees included Ted Gillies, Richard Allen and James Earle. The firm ceased in 1980. Residential designs Waller estate, Ballarat John Muir was to bring this important project to the newly formed practice. Work on the Waller estate was to last for over a decade, with their Ballarat office servicing the development of this ongoing project. Australia experienced severe housing shortages after World War II. Private housing developments were to become common at this time, and were to profoundly change the pattern of Australian residential development. The Waller estate is said to represent the first and most intact example of housing development built by a private consortium in Ballarat. John Muir and the practice of Muir and Shepherd are attributed to the design of the majority of the houses built by the Waller syndicate within this estate. To create architectural diversity throughout the development Muir was commissioned to design a variety of domestic types. It has been noted that in a number of the firms designs that although the front elevations were similar, the plans differed. Described as post-war suburban, most