The Wandering Scholar's Guide to Melbourne - Charles Sowerwine & Alice Garner
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The Wandering Scholar’s
Guide to Melbourne
Charles Sowerwine & Alice GarnerCONTENTS > Part I: General Information About the University and the City The University and its City................................................................................................. 2 The City of Melbourne...................................................................................................... 2 Maps and tourist information............................................................................................. 3 Public transport............................................................................................................... 4 Public transport at the University of Melbourne....................................................................... 6 Public transport to La Trobe and Monash Universities.............................................................. 7 Tips for tourists................................................................................................................ 8 Part II: The University of Melbourne Campus General information....................................................................................................... 11 Architectural background................................................................................................ 11 A walking tour of the University........................................................................................ 12 A walking tour of College Crescent.................................................................................. 22 Map of the Parkville Campus........................................................................................... 24 Map of inner Melbourne................................................................................................. 26 Part III: Enjoying Melbourne Australiana, art and souvenirs.......................................................................................... 27 Bookshops................................................................................................................... 28 Cafés and shopping streets............................................................................................. 30 Entertainment................................................................................................................ 32 Exercise and sport......................................................................................................... 35 Restaurant precincts....................................................................................................... 35 Food and wine stores..................................................................................................... 37 Shopping..................................................................................................................... 38
Part IV: A Dozen Walking Tours of Melbourne Walk 1: A visit to the City............................................................................................... 39 Walk 2: Royal Domain, Government House and Royal Botanic Gardens................................. 43 Walk 3: Victorian Arts Centre and Southbank..................................................................... 46 Walk 4: City Parks, East Melbourne and Parliament House................................................... 48 Walk 5: Royal Exhibition Building, Museum of Victoria, Old Melbourne Gaol, State Library........ 50 Walk 6: The Zoo.......................................................................................................... 53 Walk 7: The Queen Victoria Market................................................................................. 53 Walk 8: St Kilda and Port Phillip Bay................................................................................ 54 Walk 9: Como House................................................................................................... 55 Walk 10: Rippon Lea.................................................................................................... 55 Walk 11: Flagstaff Gardens............................................................................................ 55 Walk 12: Docklands, the Yarra banks, the aquarium and the sports centres............................. 55
INTRODUCTION >
Ten years ago, several colleagues suggested Charles Sowerwine put together his notes for overseas
visitors to Melbourne. The result was the first edition of this guide. You hold the fifth edition in your hands.
For this edition, Dr Alice Garner, who had already done research for the fourth edition, agreed to be
co-author. She has added much valuable new material.
The guide remains what it was in its first incarnation: a short guide to Melbourne for academics visiting
the University, written from a personal point of view, that of academics who work at and live near
the University of Melbourne. Nothing in this guide should be construed as reflecting the views of the
University of Melbourne. It is meant to be subjective and unofficial.
The architectural reflections, which are largely Charles Sowerwine’s views, benefited from two fine
studies, to which we refer the curious reader: Philip Goad, Melbourne Architecture (Sydney: The
Watermark Press, 1999) and George Tibbits, The Planning and Development of the University of
Melbourne (Melbourne: University of Melbourne History of the University Unit, 2000). The reader may
also be interested in Stuart Macintyre and R.J.W. Selleck, A Short History of the University of Melbourne
(Melbourne University Press, 2003).
We thank Helen Davies for arranging for us to use the Victorian Ministry of Transport’s excellent transport
map for our map of inner Melbourne.
Dr Michael Adcock originally conceived the title and helped on bookshops; Naomi Cass and Robyn
Sloggett provided material on the Ian Potter Museum of Art; Marita Smith gave help on Nolan’s Paradise
Garden; Marion Poynter gave general advice on shopping and things to do.
The authors acknnowledge gratefully the assistance of the Cultural and Community Relations Committee
of the University of Melbourne, which made this edition possible. We especially thank the committee
chair, Professor Warren Bebbington, Pro Vice Chancellor (University Relations) and Ormond Professor of
Music, for his support.
We welcome readers’ responses and suggestions.
Charles Sowerwine Alice Garner
Professor of History Fellow in History
The University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne
c.sowerwine@unimelb.edu.au agarner@unimelb.edu.au
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 1PART I: GENERAL INFORMATION >
The University and its City
In 2003 the University celebrated the 150th anniversary
of its founding by Act of the Victorian Parliament. The
University was allocated its present site even as the City
of Melbourne was being planned. To plan a City and a
university in what was hardly more than a frontier town—
it was first settled by Europeans only 20 years before—
was a courageous and visionary act. No wonder the
University chose as its motto postera crescam laude:
‘I shall grow in the esteem of future generations’.
It is to this vision that we owe the University’s good fortune of having a leafy campus inserted in the City.
Walk 700 metres south out of the main entrance on Grattan Street through University Square; in less than
ten minutes you will be at the bustling Queen Victoria Market in the midst of the City. Take a tram—they
leave every minute or two—south along Swanston Street and you will be at the corner of Bourke and
Swanston Streets—the heart of the City—in five minutes. Walk two short blocks east from the campus
and you will be on Lygon Street, with its cafés and parks. Walk two short blocks further east on Grattan
Street and you will come to the Carlton Gardens, in the middle of which sit, cheek by jowl, the
post-modern Museum of Melbourne and the 1880 Royal Exhibition Buildings.
The City of Melbourne
Greater Melbourne has a population of some 3,600,000
people spread across an area reaching 10 kilometres to
the west of the City, 15 kilometres to the north and 30
kilometres to the southeast around Port Phillip Bay. Most
tourism takes place in the City and the inner suburbs.
Melbourne is the capital of Victoria, a colony of Great Britain incorporated into the Federation of
Australia in 1901. The ‘City’, as it is called, or Melbourne proper (postcode 3000), contains the seats
of state government, offices, museums, hotels, entertainment and shopping. The City comprises two and
a half square kilometres bounded on the north by Victoria Street, on the west by Spencer Street, on the
east by Spring Street and on the south by Flinders Street and the Yarra River. Few people live in the City;
despite a recent boom in apartments, its population is only some 11,000.
Within the City, two east–west streets, Collins and Bourke, are the main shopping areas. The main
north–south street, Swanston Street, leads north to the University of Melbourne; going south, it crosses the
Yarra River on Princes Bridge and becomes St Kilda Road. The City grid is aligned with the Yarra River,
while the surrounding grid is on a strict north–south alignment. The difference (about 17°)
produces unexpected triangular parks where the two grids intersect along Victoria Street.
2 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to MelbourneAcross Princes Bridge is Southbank. There you will find, on the left (east), the King’s Domain, in which
is located the Royal Botanic Gardens, and, on the right, the Victorian Arts Centre, a complex which
comprises the National Gallery of Victoria, the State Theatre and Hamer Hall, previously known as the
Melbourne Concert Hall. Behind the Arts Centre, overlooking the river, you will find Southgate (a dining,
shopping and entertainment complex) and the Crown Casino complex.
Around the city are the ‘inner suburbs’, those that were settled before electric rail transport took the middle
classes south and east across the river to more undulating landscapes and better soil. The inner suburbs
extend in a radius of about 10 kilometres around the City and have a population of about half a million.
They constitute an urban environment—a series of neighbourhoods more than separate suburbs—served
by trams and buses, in which largely intact 19th-century terrace (or row) houses predominate, together
with apartment blocks and more recent terrace housing (townhouses). They are often centred on
traditional shopping strips or key intersections (junctions). For the visitor, the most relevant inner suburbs
are Parkville and Carlton, which adjoin the campus, Brunswick (north of Parkville), Fitzroy (east of
Carlton), and South Melbourne, St Kilda and South Yarra to the south.
Maps and tourist information
Maps of Melbourne and tourist information are available
at the Melbourne Visitor Centre, Federation Square, at the
corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets (ph: 9658 9658);
limited service is available from a booth in the Bourke
Street Mall (near Swanston Street). The maps available are
adequate for short term visitors.
The University of Melbourne Information Centre is located
on Swanston Street, near the Melbourne University Tram
Terminus, just north of Faraday Street. It offers campus
guides as well as information about courses available at
the University.
Information Victoria, 356 Collins Street (between Elizabeth and Queen Streets), is a state-run
organisation which stocks a comprehensive collection of maps, guides, histories, photograph books, etc.
The University Bookroom, located on the ground floor of the Baillieu Library, displays maps and guides
near the front desk.
The Melway is a large street directory that provides excellent maps of all greater Melbourne as well
as general information. It is essential if you’re spending more than a week or two in Melbourne.
It is available from most newsagents and bookshops. Online street maps can be found at
http://www.street-directory.com.au
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 3Motoring information is available from the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), 360 Bourke
Street (just west of Elizabeth Street). Automobile club members from other states and countries enjoy
reciprocal benefits. The RACV supplies a free map of Melbourne and suburbs. It includes the University of
Melbourne, but no public transport information.
Public transport
A dense tram network covers most streets in the City and
the inner suburbs. Buses supplement the tram network.
Virtually all tourist destinations are served by trams. Tram
stops are numbered going up from the City, except for
Swanston Street trams, which are numbered from the
Melbourne University Tram Terminus (stop 1). Numbers
are indicated at the bottom of signs at stops. Pull the stop
cord (it may seem like an emergency cord!) or press the
red button on a pole to signal to the driver to let you off at
the next stop. In newer trams, a thick glass partition makes
communication with the driver difficult; you may need to
ask other passengers for advice or help, if you need it.
(Melbourne once boasted hundreds of wonderful tram
conductors; locals feel their absence keenly).
A free ‘City Circle’ loop for tourists (and locals!) operates every day (except Good Friday and Christmas
Day) from 10am to 6pm (10am–9pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in summer). It travels around
the City in both directions at ten-minute intervals, running on La Trobe, Harbour Esplanade (Docklands),
Flinders and Spring Streets. The trams are authentic 1920s models, but their livery is modern. There
is also a free City Tourist Shuttle (bus) to key attractions around inner Melbourne, going as far as the
Melbourne Museum and Lygon Street. As with the City Circle tram, you can hop on at any stop. The
Shuttle runs every 15 minutes between 10am and 4pm. Stops include Melbourne University, Queen
Victoria Market, Southbank and the Shrine of Remembrance. (Pick up a brochure at the Melbourne
Visitors’ Centre in Federation Square).
An extensive rail network covers most suburbs. It operates from Flinders and Southern Cross (formerly
Spencer Street) Stations and from the three underground stations of the City Loop: Parliament, Melbourne
Central and Flagstaff. Comfortable trains (though slow by European standards), departing from Southern
Cross Station, provide service to larger country towns, including the marvellous Victorian provincial cities
of Ballarat and Bendigo, and Geelong, the gateway to the West Coast.
The City and Suburbs Fares and Travel Guide includes maps of the train and tram networks and is
available free from the Met Shop, Melbourne Town Hall (on Swanston Street between Little Collins and
Collins Streets). The Metshop and some other outlets selling Metcards also sell the Melbourne Public
Transport Map at $2.
4 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to MelbourneFor information on metropolitan transport services, telephone 13 1638 between 6am and midnight or
use the public transport web site: . For reservations and information on
trains within Victoria, telephone 13 6196 between 6am and midnight. For reservations and information
on interstate trains, telephone 13 2232 or 13 21 47 between 7am and 9pm.
Tickets (officially called ‘Metcards’), good for two hours or for the day (or for short one-way trips in the
City only), can be purchased on trams through machines which require coins but do give change. Train
stations, milk bars and newsagents also carry weekly and monthly tickets as well as the more economical
ten two-hour and daily tickets: look for the red and white ‘Metcard’ flag. Metcards are good on all
trains, trams and buses. Remember always to validate your ticket (slide it into turnstile on entering the
train station, or inside the little green machine on the tram or bus) when you get onto and change public
transport vehicles, even if you have an all-day or weekly card. Zone 1 Metcards cover the whole area
served by the tram network, except for the furthest reaches of the No. 75 and 86 trams.
• T wo-hour Zone 1 Metcards ($3.20 or $26.70 for ten) are valid for two hours from the next hour
on the hour after you validate the ticket on boarding your first tram (using the small green machine).
Thus a ticket validated any time from 9 to 9.59am is good until 12pm (the two hours start at 10pm);
a ticket validated from 10 to 10.59am is good until 1pm (the two hours start at 11pm). Two-hour
tickets validated from 6pm are a bargain: they are good for the entire evening. Public transport runs
until just after midnight.
• aily Zone 1 Metcards ($6.10 or $26.70 for a packet of five) or weekly ($26.70) represent better
D
value for tourists.
• ity Savers are one-way tickets for use within the Central Business District, ending at Melbourne
C
University. These are only worthwhile if you do not intend to make a return trip on the same day.
From late 2007, a new smart card system called ‘Myki’ will be introduced.
For more info: http://metlinkmelbourne.com.au
Taxis can be found at ranks in the City (a very handy one is at Flinders Street Station on Swanston Street)
or hailed on the street if their sign is illuminated. Phone bookings usually work well. To phone: 131 008
(Silver Top) or 131 755 (Embassy). Most accept major credit cards.
Ferries shuttle between Princes Walk (below Federation Square) and Southgate, the Aquarium, Crown
Casino, Melbourne Exhibition Centre (the new one), Yarra’s Edge, Victoria Harbour and NewQuay
and Waterfront City. This service runs from November to mid-April, every 30 minutes 11am–5pm on
weekdays, 10am–8pm on weekends and public holidays. An adult day pass costs $9, purchased on
the vessel or at the Melbourne Visitors Centre at Fed Square.
Melbourne River Cruises (ph: 8610 2600) and Williamstown Ferries (ph: 9506 4144 or 9682 9555)
offer trips to the picturesque seaside suburb of Williamstown; on weekdays, they depart from Southgate
Crown, and on weekend and public holidays, from St Kilda.
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 5Penguin Waters sunset cruise takes you down the Yarra to a Penguin colony in the bay daily from
Southbank berth one. Call 9386 8488 for departure times and bookings.
Public transport at the University of Melbourne
Swanston Street trams run every minute or two between the University and the City. (Swanston Street is
the main north–south street in the City and the eastern boundary of the campus.)
• F rom the City, Nos 1 and 8 continue north past the University. All other Swanston Street trams
normally finish their journey at the Melbourne University Terminus (stop 1). They are marked
‘University’.
• F rom the University, all trams going south on Swanston Street continue through the City, cross Princes
Bridge and go at least as far as the Arts Centre.
Trams on Royal Parade, the western boundary of the campus, offer slightly less frequent service to the
City. Royal Parade becomes Elizabeth Street in the City.
• F rom the City, take the No. 19 tram on Elizabeth Street to stop 10 (Grattan Street), 11
(Conservatorium of Music), or 12 (Tin Alley, which separates the University from the residential
colleges).
• F rom the University, all trams going south on Royal Parade continue on Elizabeth Street and
terminate at Flinders Street in the City.
Lygon Street buses (200–207) run along Lygon Street; they originate at the corner of Hardware and
Lonsdale Streets, City, run east on Lonsdale, north up Lygon Street and turn east at Elgin Street, going on
to cross Brunswick Street, Smith Street and Kew Junction.
Grattan Street buses (No. 402) run along Grattan Street, between the University and University
Square; they go west through North Melbourne and the village-like inner suburb of Kensington (en
route to Footscray) and east to the Carlton Gardens, terminating at St Vincent’s Hospital, near the tram
interchange at Victoria Parade and Brunswick Street, Fitzroy.
6 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to MelbournePublic Transport to La Trobe and Monash Universities
La Trobe University’s main campus at Bundoora makes an architectural statement: it is a harmonious
complex in Australian suburban vernacular. It is a pleasant drive 15 kilometres north of the City. Taxis will
take about 25 minutes.
• uses from the City. The Zone 1 Metcard is valid for all. The No. 350 bus is probably the first
B
choice. It gets you to the LaTrobe campus in 45 minutes from the corner of Bourke and Russell
Streets, the No. 250 bus in an hour. Both run half-hourly from Garden City and the Casino, then
on Flinders Street to Russell Street, on Russell north to Bourke Street, east on Bourke and then north
on Exhibition Street (which becomes Rathdowne Street). At La Trobe, buses stop at the David Myers
Building (humanities and social sciences) and then at the main science complex.
• T ram from the City. The No. 86 tram runs along Bourke Street in the City, passes beside the
Exhibition Building, heads east on Gertrude and north on Smith Street, Fitzroy, and skirts the outer
perimeter of the La Trobe campus. The full trip takes between 45 minutes and an hour.
• us from the University.Walk east on Grattan, Faraday or Elgin Streets two blocks past Lygon Street
B
to Rathdowne Street. Do not cross Rathdowne Street; go to the No. 250 bus stop on this (west) side
of Rathdowne Street. Allow 45 minutes from Elgin and Rathdowne Streets.
Monash University’s main campus at Clayton is some 20 kilometres south-east of the City and involves a
30-minute drive along the Monash Freeway, longer when traffic is heavy, which is often the case. Access
to the freeway is by City Link, which is not free: you need an e-tag or a day-pass. Call 13 2629 or see
.
Public transport to Monash University involves train plus bus. It requires only a Zone 1 Metcard. Take
a Dandenong–Cranbourne–Pakenham line train from the City to Huntingdale Station. From there, take
the No. 630 bus marked ‘Monash University’, which leaves from the north side of the station, across the
road. Buses meet at least every other train. Service is better during the morning peak and from 2pm to
6pm, but less frequent between 10am and 2pm and in the evening. Count about 45 minutes from the
City, longer outside peak hours.
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 7Tips for tourists
Cameras and photographic equipment are sold in
several specialised stores in the City, on the western side
of Elizabeth Street in the block between Lonsdale and
Bourke Streets. These shops provide advice, repairs, and
duty-free sales.
Chemists (drug stores) are located in the Union Building
of the campus, on Lygon Street, and on Elgin Street
between Lygon and Rathdowne Streets; some of these
are open till 9pm. There are several at the top end of
Collins Street (near Spring Street) and on Swanston
Street, opposite RMIT and opposite the Town Hall (this is
open till 8pm).
Doctors can be found under ‘Medical Practitioners’ in the Yellow Pages. You normally see a General
Practitioner (GP) first; she or he may refer you to a specialist. Most doctors’ after-hours phone messages
give the telephone number for locums, who will make house calls.
Emergency out-patient service near the University is available at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (corner
Grattan Street and Royal Parade, across the road from the Medical Faculty). The Royal Children’s
Hospital is on Flemington Road, near the corner of Gatehouse Street, Parkville, a short walk from the
University.
Emergency services (ambulance, fire and police) are available by dialling 000.
Floors are numbered European style: the first floor is one flight up from the ground floor.
Metric measures are used in Australia, as in most countries (except of course the US) and in this guide.
One metre = 39 inches.
One kilometre = 5⁄8 of a mile.
Celsius (or Centigrade) degrees are 9⁄5 of Fahrenheit degrees; 0°C is the freezing point of water,
100°C the boiling point. It is easy to move from one to the other if you start at freezing and go up by
5s and 9s:
0°C 32°F
5°C 41°F
10°C 50°F
15°C 59°F
20°C 68°F
25°C 77°F
30°C 86°F
35°C 95°F
40°C 104°F
8 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to MelbourneElectricity in Australia is 240 volts AC, 50 cycle. Most hotels have provision for 110 volts AC in their
rooms.
The left side is not only the side on which Australians drive, but at least in theory that on which they
walk. If there is any order on crowded City footpaths, it is often to be found by walking on the left. Lane
swimming in pools is on the left too.
Pay phones in phone boxes usually operate by coins or prepaid cards, available in milk bars (see
page 10), kiosks and newsagents. Coin phones can also be found in shops (red, blue or gold phones).
Americans will be relieved not to have worry about choosing carriers: just insert the card and dial the
number. To make an international call, dial 0011 followed by the country code, area code and the
telephone number. If you want to buy a local SIM card for your mobile (cell) phone, you will find a
selection of phone shops along Swanston St in the City.
Public toilets are generally clean and not too difficult to find. In public buildings, including the University,
they may be located on staircase landings. Most towns have bearable toilets in their park or shopping
centre. Most petrol stations have reasonable facilities.
Coffee nomenclature in Australia:
• short black—espresso
• long black—black coffee, big cup or glass
• flat white—coffee with cold milk, usually served in a cup
• caffè latte—espresso with steamed, lightly frothed hot milk, always served in a glass
• cappuccino—half espresso, half steamed, frothed hot milk; more froth than a latte; served in a cup
• macchiato—espresso stained or ‘marked’ with a dash of cold milk and froth; served in a glass
• mokka—caffè latte with chocolate
• and of course, for toddlers, the babycino—warm frothed milk sprinkled with chocolate
Note: some chain coffee shops have introduced the American-style choice of sizes; most Italian-style
cafés only offer the one size which equates to an American ‘small’ or ‘regular’.
Tipping is less common than in North America, but not included in bills as in Europe. Taxis do not expect
tips, but are delighted if you leave the change. In restaurants where you pay at your seat, tips up to 10%
have become usual, especially at more up-market establishments. In cafés and wherever you pay at the
till, tips are increasingly welcome but still not expected.
Vernacular Australian is generally used only in more intimate registers than the visitor will encounter.
Australians tend to shorten words and terminate them with -o (‘arvo’: afternoon) or -y (‘Chrissy prezzy’:
Christmas present). These usages are part of Australia’s working-class and rural heritage. They are giving
way under the pressures of globalisation and American entertainment. So, like all colonial peoples,
Australians are more familiar with American as well as British vocabulary than Brits or Americans are
with ours. You may be asked what team you barrack for; to ‘root’ has only its sexual meaning. We
say booking and chemist more often than reservation and pharmacy. A cell phone is called a ‘mobile’.
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 9Young people are beginning to say ‘cookie’ instead of ‘biscuit’ and ‘elevator’ instead of ‘lift’; chips are both hot, fried potatoes, as in UK usage, and (just to confuse you) also cold crisps in a packet. Note that McDonalds require their employees to speak of ‘French fries’ and some people now use that term for up-market, slimmer (hot) chips. If someone offers you a cuppa, expect a cup of tea or coffee; time for a cuppa is a coffee break. A hotel is a pub or bar, as well as a place with rooms for lodging. A milk bar is a shop licensed to sell milk; now small, general-purpose stores selling beverages, bread, magazines, newspapers, Metcards and phone cards; this usage is disappearing as franchised 7-11 stores replace locally-owned milk bars. ‘Ta’ is a colloquial ‘thank you’. 10 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne
Part II: The University
of Melbourne Campus >
General information
The University of Melbourne was founded by Act of
Parliament in 1853, two years after the University of
Sydney, making Melbourne the second oldest university
in Australia. The foundation stone of the first building, the
Old Quadrangle, was laid in April 1854 (see the walking
tour of the campus, page 15). When the University was
founded, 10 hectares (25 acres) of land on the north
edge of the City were set aside for its campus. Today the
campus has doubled to more than 20 hectares. Major
University buildings are located off the campus as well,
east of Swanston Street and south of Grattan Street as
far as Queensberry Street. The University has more than
42,000 students and 6500 staff, most located on the
Parkville campus.
The Parkville campus is a short walk from the City. The main entrance to the University, Gate No. 10
on Grattan Street, faces the City across University Square, a park originally planned to connect the
University with the City. The unfortunate buildings recently constructed around University Square block the
vista, but you can still get a sense of the University’s link with the City by walking south on Leicester Street
or on Barry Street, which joins Leicester. About 700 metres from the University you emerge at Victoria
Square, opposite the Queen Victoria Market. Walking the same distance south on Swanston Street from
Grattan Street brings you to the City Baths, RMIT and the State Library of Victoria (see Walk 5, page 52).
Architectural background
Gothic style characterised most campus architecture
in the first 90 years. Joseph Reed (1823–90) became
University architect in 1858. He was the most celebrated
architect of 19th-century Melbourne, responsible either
alone or in various partnerships for many major Melbourne
buildings. He envisaged a neo-Gothic campus, but lack
of funds prevented much construction until the 1880s,
when his partners designed several brick Gothic buildings;
unfortunately, the depression of the 1890s curtailed
construction again. In the 20th century, Gothic remained
the architecture of choice, reflected above all in Old Arts,
a 1920s construction whose clock tower has become the
University’s most recognisable icon, although in the 1920s
a number of red brick buildings also appeared, reflecting
a more modern, utilitarian aesthetic.
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 11The modernist aesthetic had a brief triumph after World War II. In the 1960s, rapidly expanding
enrolments led to a number of cliché-ridden buildings, boxes of cream brick with concrete banding.
Many in the University community began to demand that more attention be paid to architectural issues.
The first effort to respond to this criticism was the appointment of Sir Roy Grounds (1905–81) as architect
of the John Medley Building, a crucial site at the main entrance. Grounds was a leader of the modernist
movement who had broken away from its strict canons. As architect of the Victorian Arts Centre (see
Walk 3), he was then pre-eminent in the profession. Although the John Medley Building disappointed
many, the new outlook did lead to significant change.
A new master plan was approved in 1971 and in 1974 a new landscape plan followed. Serious
attention was now paid to the spaces between buildings. An outstanding team in Property and Buildings
worked to implement the landscape plan. The South Lawn was completely reconceived when the car
park was built underneath it. The car park was used to justify pedestrianising the campus, converting
many unpleasant roads to wide, landscaped walkways. (It is instructive to compare the Parkville campus
to the main Sydney University campus, which never had the benefit of such treatment.) The brick paving,
landscaping and urban furniture used throughout unified the campus. So did a new signage system,
still in use today. These improvements were recognised by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects
(RAIA), which in 1981 judged the result ‘an outstanding example of urban and community design’. In
the 1990s, the University engaged leading architects. They designed extensions which vastly improved
many undistinguished buildings. One of Melbourne’s pre-eminent architects, Daryl Jackson (1937–), was
named University Master Planner in 1997.
A walking tour of the University
The following walking tour is planned to orient the
newcomer and give a sense of the campus as a whole.
Directions are in italics. Options for varying or ending the
tour are in bold.
Begin at the corner of Grattan and Swanston Streets.
The building at the north-west corner was built for studio
and performing arts in the former teachers’ college, now
amalgamated with the University. European languages
have been moved into this building, but its heavy 1960s
exterior remains unchanged. It is hoped that it can be
demolished to open up the view of the splendid 1888
Building. Walk west along Grattan Street.
The 1888 Building, on your right 100 metres from the corner, was the teachers’ college. It was designed
by the Victorian Public Works Department. Thanks to the generosity of paper magnate Richard Pratt,
it was splendidly renovated under the direction of conservation architects Allom Lovell and Associates,
and reopened in 1996. It houses the University’s School of Graduate Studies. At the top of the stairs
12 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourneis the splendid Gryphon Gallery, formerly the examination hall, with a moving stained-glass memorial
to the teachers who died in World War I. If the door is locked, ask at the entrance to see the Gallery.
If you are interested in modern architecture, cross Grattan Street and walk south on Bouverie Street.
Otherwise, continue west along Grattan Street.
The contemporary building on your right, at 207-221 Bouverie Street, houses a number of departments,
including the School of Anthropology, Geography, & Environmental Studies (map ref 379). Designed by
Daryl Jackson and completed in 1993, it shows his transition toward post-modernism and eclecticism.
The stepped back upper level helps keep the building within the broad context of its neighbours while the
use of deep grey for the dramatic fenestration and for the upper level unites the whole. Return to Grattan
Street and continue west.
The Faculty of Engineering (map ref 174–5–6), on your right as you walk west on Grattan Street,
consists of several buildings in various 1960s styles, from pink paneled to concrete brutalist. They are
planted right on the footpath because the master plan in force until 1971, inspired by modernism,
foresaw a wall of such buildings around the perimeter of the campus. Walk west past the Engineering
Buildings to the main entrance to the University (Gate No. 10).
University Square, south of Grattan Street, facing you across Grattan Street from Gate No. 10, was
built to provide a campus for Melbourne University Private, MUP (not to be confused with Melbourne
University Publishing, which uses the same acronym and sits at the corner of Bouverie and Grattan
Streets) and additional space for information technology and engineering. MUP was conceived in an
effort to make up the shortfall from severe cuts which the incoming conservative government made to
public funding of universities in 1996. It was unsuccessful and was liquidated in 2005. In the meantime,
its building space was put to other uses. The Faculty of Law moved to the ten-storey building at the far
(City or south) end of the square. This enabled Philosophy, Classics and Archaeology to move to the
historic Old Quadrangle, which Law had occupied for many years. Brunetti’s café on Faraday Street has
an outpost in the ground floor of the Law Building, where you can stop for a quick caffeine fix.
Looking south from Grattan Street across University Square, you can see how, in the original plan of
the City, University Square was intended to link the campus with the City, an intention which the design
of the new square ignored: the Law Building blocks the vista to the City. Two eight-storey buildings
dominate the west side of the square, to your right. By agreement with the National Trust, the front
portion of the existing terrace houses was preserved. The entire complex was designed by the Melbourne
firm Metier 3, architects of the reconstructed Downtowner Motel, 66 Lygon Street, and local partners in
the renovation of the National Gallery of Victoria (see Walk 3, page 47). The butter-coloured building
on the left side of the square (Leicester Street) is the Melbourne Business School, designed by Daryl
Jackson and completed in 1994. In contrast to the recycled 1960s modernism of the University Square
complex, it attempted a creative solution to the architectural problem of inserting a large, modern
building into the context of 19th-century terrace housing: Jackson mobilised set-backs and blocks to
continue the rhythm of the terrace houses; many think, however, that the complex has dated. To the north
of Grattan Street lies the original campus. Walk west along Grattan Street.
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 13The Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences lies further west on Grattan Street, at the corner of Royal Parade. In 1996–7, a new top level with a highly resolved roof line (designed by Castle, Stevenson and Turner) improved the original building, emphasising its graceful curve. Continue west along Grattan Street to Royal Parade. Opposite the Medical Faculty on the south side of Grattan Street stands a hotel converted from a carpark of modernist design: its glassed-in staircase on the corner is a local landmark. The Royal Melbourne Hospital complex faces you across Royal Parade. It was given a remake by Daryl Jackson in the early 1990s. Jackson’s brief seemed impossible: take a collection of 1940s brick boxes and— on a low budget—make them look like a coherent whole. Jackson used white enamelled steel panels, cream brick and white concrete to help define the new buildings and bind the whole together. The new Royal Women’s Hospital is currently under construction next door. You can take any tram south from the corner of Grattan and Royal Parade to the City (the line terminates at Flinders St Station). Return to the main entrance (Gate No. 10) and enter the campus. The John Medley Building’s twin towers (map ref 191), opened in 1971, are the first sight you encounter. Sir Roy Grounds envisaged two octagonal towers with a medieval feel to create a ceremonial entry to the University. Unfortunately, his design met opposition, which led to the less adventurous building you see before you. The fifth-floor Common Room, bridging the two towers, provides excellent views of the City and the University. It is usually open to the public. The original Engineering Building (map ref 173) is the red brick building you see to the right of the John Medley. Designed by Reed, Tappin and Smart (1899), it has lost its tower and some of its ornamentation to an addition in brighter red brick, but is of interest as a remnant of the 19th-century University. Pass under the John Medley Building, between the two towers, and up the broad stone steps. The South Lawn, on which you are now standing, covers a large underground car park (map ref 195). As you walk alongside the reflecting pool, note the following buildings: Old Arts (map ref 149) faces you on the left. Its iconic clock tower is visible as soon as you reach the top of the stairs to the South Lawn. The main building was designed by the Victorian Public Works Department and constructed between 1919 and 1924. It was faced in sandstone from Kyneton, near Bendigo. The Baillieu Library (map ref 177) is on your left (and down a flight of steps). The original building, completed in 1958, by the architectural firm John FD Scarborough, presents as modernist architecture, distinguished by its front facade of non–load bearing curtain wall in glass and ochre panels with aluminium struts. In fact only the porch is really in this style; the main body of the building is simply a brick box. The foyer still retains its 1950s decoration: note the bas-relief above on the right as you enter. The ground floor was completely renovated in the late 1990s. All that remains of the original style is the semi-circular central staircase, originally meant to float in the open. The Baillieu houses the humanities and social sciences library; most other disciplines are covered by branch libraries. The Baillieu houses 14 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne
a fine collection of rare books, emphasising early Australiana and the explorations of Australia, but also
holds a Middle Eastern manuscript collection and other treasure troves. (For information, go to Special
Collections on the third floor.) The Music Library, Grainger and Prints collections may also be of interest.
Changing exhibits are held on the first floor, just outside the lifts. The library system as a whole vies with
Sydney to be the country’s premier university library. At century’s end, Melbourne held more than 2.3
million volumes and subscribed to 14,000 serials. The University Bookroom moved to the north end of
the Baillieu Building in 2003 in order to allow demolition of its old home, an unfortunate accretion to the
Old Quadrangle.
The Old Quadrangle (map ref 150), in grey stone, lies before you (if you are still up on the South Lawn)
to the right of Old Arts. It was the first building of the University. The north side contained classrooms and
the library while the east and west sides contained apartments for Professors. In 1856, masons working
on the Quadrangle downed tools. They marched to the corner of Victoria and Russell Streets (see Walk
5, page 51) and there resolved not to resume work until they obtained an eight-hour day. They did. The
building is almost certainly the first major construction project completed on that basis. The subsequent
history of the Quadrangle is not so happy. Only in 1930 were cloisters added to the east and west
wings and only in 1970 was the south side of the Quadrangle added, unfortunately without respect for
the original proportions. The Quadrangle housed the Law Faculty for many years. When Law moved to
University Square in 2002, Philosophy, Classics and Archaeology moved into the Quadrangle.
Wilson Hall (map ref 151) is the modernist box in orange
brick to the right of the Quadrangle. Note the copper-
sheathed hump at the back (south) end of Wilson Hall,
which houses the organ. Beneath it is a sunken fernery.
Wilson Hall is the University’s ceremonial space for
conferring of degrees. It abuts the Quadrangle on the
opposite side from Old Arts. (Access is from a plaza east
of the Quadrangle, through the arch at the far right of the
Quadrangle.) The original sumptuous neo-Gothic hall was
designed by Joseph Reed. That building burned down in
1952. The task of replacing it was entrusted to the firm of
Bates, Smart and McCutcheon, successors to Reed and
Barnes. McCutcheon had pioneered the international style in the 1930s; for the new Wilson Hall he
produced a functionalist box. Wilson Hall is distinguished by its ‘four different external facades’ and,
inside, by the four walls of the main hall presenting four entirely different materials, as Philip Goad of the
Architecture Faculty puts it in his Melbourne Architecture. Considered a masterpiece when it opened in
1956, it was deemed insufficiently modernist by critics like Robin Boyd, author of the classic modernist
protest, The Australian Ugliness. Further to your right is the undistinguished Electrical Engineering Building
(map ref 193). Walk north through the Quadrangle. With its beautiful camellias, the Quadrangle is much
in demand for weddings. Note the plaque celebrating the eight-hour day (facing you at the end of the
left, or western, cloister). Turn left and exit through the arch past the plaque.
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 15Cussonia Court, where you now find yourself, derived its name from a large cussonia spicata (or cabbage tree) which shaded the courtyard until it died in 1992 and was replaced by the present specimen. Facing you is the Old Arts Building. Note, around the doorway opposite you, the preparations for a cloister—never built—to replicate the original Quadrangle. Through the arch on the right of Old Arts you will see red brick additions to the north side of the building constructed in 1936–37 and in 1944–45. They were designed to be faced in sandstone, but owing to the University’s perennial lack of funds they were left in brick. On your right, at the north side of the courtyard, is the Old Physics Building, now a conference centre (map ref 128). Designed by Reed, Henderson and Smart (as the partnership had become) and begun in 1891, the facade you see was only completed in 1919. Turn right again and exit Cussonia Court by the small archway to the right as you face the conference centre; continue on the path to the right. The fine neo-Gothic facade of the old Quadrangle is now on your right. Until recently an orange brick pile housing the University Bookroom spoiled this facade, but as part of the celebration of the University’s 150th anniversary in 2003, it was demolished and moved to the northern end of the Baillieu Library. The Quadrangle’s restoration is due to be completed late in 2006. Union House (the Student Union, map ref 130) sits opposite the north facade of the Quadrangle. It is a series of more or less regrettable accretions to the original National Museum, designed by Reed and Barnes in yellow brick Gothic and begun in 1863. In 1910 the building was turned over to the recently formed Student Representative Council. Philip Hudson, architect of the Shrine of Remembrance (see Walk 2, page 44), designed a major addition to the west. Opened in 1938, it gave the building its present bulk. The Union has a number of useful shops. If you want University of Melbourne windcheaters (sweatshirts) and other souvenirs, the ‘Union Shop’ is for you. The Union Theatre on the ground floor hosts student theatre productions. On the first floor, volunteers in the Food Co-Op, which began in the 1970s, sell cheap wholesome food and bulk groceries with minimal packaging. On the second floor you will find the Rowden White Library, a popular haven, where non-academic reading material can be found, music listened to, and DVDs watched. Further along, the George Paton Gallery offers art shows organised by the Student Union. Back outside, continue walking east, with the north facade of the Quadrangle on your right and the Union on your left, and proceed to the Union Lawn, known to students as the ‘concrete lawn’, which opens before you. Looking back at the Union, you can see a fragment of the original Science Museum. The Raymond Priestley Building (map ref 152) is on your right. Designed in 1969 by staff architect Rae Featherstone, who was also responsible for the Redmond Barry Building (see page 19), it is the University’s administrative headquarters, and therefore the site of occasional student protests. The Vice- Chancellor’s offices are on the ninth floor. The Baldwin Spencer Building (1887–90, map ref 113) is on your left, at the north side of the concrete lawn. Reed, Henderson and Smart’s young partner Anketell Henderson was responsible for the design. It was built for and named after the Foundation Professor of Biology, Walter Baldwin Spencer (1860– 16 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne
1929), later an explorer-anthropologist working among the Aboriginal peoples of central Australia.
Baldwin Spencer’s interpretations, though now highly contested, played a major role in bringing the
concept of ‘dreamtime’ into use.
The Old Commerce Building (map ref 132) stands before you across the Union Lawn. It was completed
in 1941 with a facade recycled from an 1856 bank in Collins Street (City) designed by Joseph Reed.
That building was demolished in the 1930s and its facade given to the University. Its incorporation in the
Commerce Building represented a vain hope that the bank might contribute to the cost of its construction.
It has now been integrated into the Architecture faculty. Masson Road runs before you, passing on the
right (south) side of Old Commerce.
Follow Masson Road east past Old Commerce, which will be on your left. The Chemistry Building, on
your right as you walk east on Masson Road, was designed by the Victorian Public Works Department in
1938. It betrays the first steps toward a modernist aesthetic despite its neo-Gothic fenestration.
The Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning (map ref 153/154) lies on your left after Chemistry.
In 1997 McIntyre Partnership added a fifth level and saw-toothed roof in keeping with the spirit of the
building’s original design and in 1999 gave its unprepossessing exterior a facelift with new cladding.
The interior is laid out around a wide passage and an open atrium, making a strong statement of
architectural modernism influenced by Le Corbusier. The new saw-toothed roof is something he would
have loved. It can best be viewed from the benches around the large oak tree on the left of Masson
Road, just past (east) the building.
A post office is located on the ground floor of the Architecture Building. There is a Commonwealth Bank
at the far (north) end of the passage through the building. Continue east on Masson Road.
The Elisabeth Murdoch Building (map ref 134), before you on the left side of Masson Road, was
designed by Reed, Henderson and Smart. Begun in 1884, additions in 1908 compromised its
appearance: George Tibbits deplores ‘the cramped staircase inserted into the entrance portico’. The
building originally housed the State morgue in the cellar at the north end of the building. It now houses
the School of Fine Arts. It boasts a charming library on the first floor, in the former dissection room; access
is by the exterior staircase (right side) and straight through. Continue east on Masson Road as it becomes
a wide brick path and continue to Swanston Street.
The Ian Potter Museum of Art (map ref 136) is on your
left. The facade, new exhibition space and renovations to
an earlier brick building (now used for offices) are all the
work of Melbourne architect Nonda Katsalidis of Nation
Fender Katsalidis. The Potter, as it is known, won the Royal
Australian Institute of Architects ‘Project of the Year’ award
on its completion in 1999. Bursting through Katsalidis’s
sleek facade is the immense 1993 sculpture, Cultural
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 17Rubble, by the Australian-born sculptor Christine O’Loughlin, now based in Paris. She used fragments of
classical statuary, architecture and pottery cast in white fibreglass from plaster moulds of originals in the
Louvre to evoke the tension between Australia’s European heritage and its future, though the metaphor
might work better with Australiana bursting through a European facade. Enter the Potter through the
Swanston Street entrance.
Inside the Potter, Napier Waller’s immense Leckie Window dominates the three levels of exhibition
space. The window was installed in the old Wilson Hall in 1935. After Wilson Hall burned down, the
window was recovered and restored. The Potter houses the University’s permanent collection, which
has a strong focus on Australian art, from colonial to contemporary, including Aboriginal art. It includes
some notable 19th-century Australian works. William Strutt’s Bushrangers will be of interest to many
visitors, as will the engravings of S.T. Gill, both among the earliest artists practicing in Victoria. The work
of Australian impressionists is represented by important paintings of Rupert Bunny, E. Philips Fox, and
Frederick McCubbin. The Potter maintains a major program of temporary exhibitions and runs a major art
conservation centre. It also holds the Classics and Archaeology Gallery.
Brunetti’s Café provides a branch at the entrance to the Potter, with both indoor and outdoor seating.
(Brunetti’s mothership is on Faraday St, Carlton, just east of Lygon St). Standing outside the Potter, note
the building activity across Swanston Street. The ubiquitous developers Becton are constructing an
immense apartment block for overseas students. There was vociferous opposition to the large scale of this
development from local resident groups, but a modified plan has gone through. This will be known as the
Eastern Precinct of the University.
The McCoy Building (map ref 200, Earth Sciences) faces you further north, on the corner of Elgin Street.
It is joined to the Physics Building by a walkway over Swanston Street.
The Physics Building (map ref 192) was an undistinguished 1960s building, but its Swanston Street
facade has been vastly improved by the dramatic Physics Podium, designed by Castle, Stevenson and
Turner and finished in 1994. Proceed south on Swanston Street.
The University Information Centre is on your right as you proceed south.
The Sidney Myer Asia Centre (map ref 158) is on your
right on the southern corner after Faraday Street and Gate
No. 4 (Monash Road). The building, designed by Nation
Fender Katsalidis, opened in 2001. Katsalidis has here
gone for a starker look than for the Potter, except for the
rust-coloured podium at the corner, which provides a buffer
between the Potter and the Alice Hoy Building on Monash
Road, an unfortunate 1960s brick construction inherited
from the former College of Advanced Education. Walk
through the entrance of the Sidney Myer Asia Centre and
note the splendid water feature designed by Fiona da
Preu, formerly Assistant Director, Buildings and Property.
18 > The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to MelbourneIf you wish to end the walk, you may catch a tram at the tram terminus.
If you wish to visit the colleges, walk back north on Swanston Street and pass under the walkway. Go to
‘A walking tour of College Crescent’ (page 22).
To continue the campus tour, proceed south on Swanston Street past Gate No. 4 (Monash Road), and
enter the Sidney Myer Asia Centre (glass doors on your right past the rust-coloured corner building).
Walk straight through and out the other side, alongside the water feature.
The Alice Hoy Building (map ref 162), on your right, is now the Faculty of Education. At the end of the
water feature, turn right and follow the wide pathway around through the glass doors of the Alice Hoy
Building. You will be on Monash Road.
Wilson Hall faces you if you look left toward the end of Monash Road. This seems to be the view which
the architect intended you to see. Continue north, crossing Monash Road. Jog left and then right onto the
path just past the car park, at the corner of Old Geology (map ref 156—it has an ATM at the corner).
Follow this path north, cross Masson Road and continue north on Spencer Road, following the roadway.
Walk north between the Elisabeth Murdoch Building (to your right) and the Architecture Building (to your
left).
The Physics Building (map ref 192) is on your right after the Elisabeth Murdoch Building. You may walk
up the ramp, over the pleasantly landscaped fountain, through the building, and onto the pedestrian
bridge over Swanston Street, which affords a view of the City and of the Potter’s facade. Items from the
Physics Museum Collection of late 19thc-early 20thc laboratory instruments are on display in the foyer of
the Laby Theatre. Turn back to the base of the ramp and turn right, continuing north.
The Redmond Barry Building (map ref 115) is opposite the ramp. It is an undistinguished high-rise
building in pale orange brick with vertical concrete banding. Opened in 1961, it was designed by
staff architect Rae Featherstone, who was also responsible for the Raymond Priestley Building. It has a
pleasant, faintly Japanese garden on its north side. The tallest building on the campus, it offers good
views from level 12. To the left on exiting the lift is the City; to the right, the colleges (best viewed from
the waiting room of the School of Behavioural Sciences). This is the only trace of a modernist master
plan drawn up in 1948 by Brian Lewis, Foundation Professor of Architecture. He envisaged a campus of
continuous high-rise buildings with large open spaces, a concept similar to Le Corbusier’s famous plan to
rebuild Paris with high-rise towers. Fortunately his plan was never accepted. Continue north a bit further,
past Physics, to Tin Alley. Turn left (west).
The Sports Centre (map ref 103), to your right on the north side of Tin Alley, contains squash courts and
gym. Continue walking west. Up the steps on your right are the sports ovals between the Sports Centre
and the backs of the colleges.
The Wandering Scholar’s Guide to Melbourne > 19You can also read
