The South West Aspect of the Main Hall from Victoria Street, 1880. Reproduced from a watercolour in Museum Victoria's Collection.
Image: Museum Victoria
Source: Museum Victoria
A sustainable conservation project for the Royal Exhibition Building
In most great cities there is a building that epitomises its spirit and history. In Melbourne, it is undoubtedly the Royal Exhibition Building. It stands proudly within the formal beauty of Carlton Gardens. Together they form Australia’s first built World Heritage Site.
Erected for the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880-81, the Royal Exhibition Building was designed by architect Joseph Reed of Reed and Barnes. The landscape and gardens were designed by William Sangster in collaboration with Reed.
This particular site, known as the western forecourt, has undergone many changes over the past 130 years. In 1880 it featured a circular bed and ‘German Kiosk’ which was partly covered in 1888 by a temporary annexe built for the Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition. The circular garden bed was reinstated at the close of the Exhibition in 1889, and remained largely intact until the 1950s when the whole site was covered in asphalt.
Museum Victoria, in collaboration with a number of partners, is now undertaking a major project to restore the 1880 garden layout.
The funding for this project was provided from the Victorian Property Fund on the approval of the Minister for Consumer Affairs.
