Roman Pavlyshyn was born in Western Ukraine on 3rd October 1922. He obtained his degree in architecture in 1946. He married Alexandra Chushak, another Ukrainian, in 1947. The couple decided to join Alexandra’s mother at Mackay where she migrated before the war. They arrived in Mackay in November 1948. Pavlyshyn co-founded the Ukrainian Association of Queensland in 1949. The town planner for Mackay was Dr Karl Langer. Pavlyshyn moved to Brisbane to work for Langer until 1951 when he then commenced work for the Brisbane office of the Commonwealth Works Department. During his time with Langer he passed the University of Queensland’s qualifying examinations in architectural practice and specifications. This allowed him to register with the Queensland Board of Architects and become an Associate of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. In 1958 Pavlyshyn joined the Queensland Department of Works Architectural Branch. Here he designed schools, courts houses, police stations, administrative and research buildings. By 1960 he was Supervising Architect and for eighteen months over 1960-61 was Acting Chief Architect. In 1964 he entered into partnership with Hugh Beck to work to work on the General Motors Holden complex in Acacia Ridge. In July 1966, he re-joined the Queensland Works Department. He played a major role in public building activity including the Annex of Parliament House, the Supreme Court Complex (now demolished), the Government Precinct and the Queensland Cultural Centre. In 1988 Roman Pavlyshyn was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service to architecture and the community.