The Royal Exhibition Building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was built between 1879 and 1880 as part of a global movement to hold international exhibitions, which took place more than 50 times between 1851 and 1915. The building covers about 26 hectares (64 acres), is 150 meters (490 feet) long, and is surrounded by four city streets. It is located at 9 Nicholson Street in the Carlton Gardens, next to Victoria, Carlton, and Rathdowne Streets, near the northeastern edge of the central business district. The building was constructed to host the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880–81 and later the larger Centennial International Exhibition in 1888. In 1901, it was chosen as the site for the Federation of the Commonwealth of Australia. The building shows how wealthy and proud Melbourne and Victoria were in the 1870s. During the 20th century, parts of the building were damaged by fires and some sections were removed, but the main building, called the Great Hall, remained intact.
On October 1, 1980, Queen Elizabeth II gave the building the title "Royal." The building was restored during the 1990s and in 2004 became the first building in Australia to receive UNESCO World Heritage status. It is one of the last remaining major 19th-century exhibition buildings in the world and the most complete surviving site from the International Exhibition movement (1851–1914). The building is next to the Melbourne Museum and is the largest item in Museum Victoria's collection. Today, the building is used for exhibitions and events and is closely connected to activities at the Melbourne Museum.
History
The city's first exhibition building was built in 1854. It was inspired by The Crystal Palace, a large glass exhibition hall. The building was located at the site of the Melbourne Mint, at the corner of William and Little Lonsdale Streets. It hosted the Melbourne Exhibition of 1854. The building was taken down in 1869 because it fell into poor condition. This made way for a larger building.
The current building was first suggested in November 1877. A committee was formed to prepare a proposal for an international exhibition by 1879. The original plan was to build it in Flinders Park. However, another plan to build it in Carlton Gardens gained support. Flinders Park had the advantage of being near rail lines, including Princes Bridge station and a possible station at Jolimont Yard. Carlton Gardens was seen as a chance to improve the park and create a new landmark near many residents. A budget of 100,000 pounds was proposed for the building. On 27 June 1878, the site was officially chosen as Carlton Gardens. A planned rail connection to the site down Nicholson Street did not happen.
The New Exhibition Bill (1878) passed by parliament allowed 210,000 pounds in government funding, more than double the original budget. A public competition was held in May 1878. Eighteen designs were entered. The winner was Joseph Reed, a local architect, who received 300 pounds. Second place went to Lloyd Tayler, who also designed a domed neoclassical building and was named exhibition commissioner. Third place was given to Peter Matthews, who received 100 pounds.
Reed worked with his partner, Barnes, and designed the Melbourne Town Hall, the State Library of Victoria, and the Baroque-style gardens. The Royal Exhibition Building was the largest project completed by Reed and Barnes. Reed said the building’s design was inspired by many styles. It was made of brick, timber, steel, and slate. The building shows influences from Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic, and Italian Renaissance styles. The dome was modeled after the Florence Cathedral, while the main pavilions were inspired by Rundbogenstil and buildings in Normandy, Caen, and Paris. The building’s scale is similar to the French Beaux Arts style. It has a cross-shaped layout, with long wings extending east and west around the central dome and a shorter wing to the north. The Great Hall was to have an octagonal drum and dome 68 meters high and 18.3 meters wide. It was built using cast iron and timber and had a double shell. Windows in the dome’s drum were designed to let sunlight into the space. The interior included murals and the words "Victoria Welcomes All Nations" under the dome.
Construction began on 2 December 1878. David Mitchell, who also built Scots’ Church and St Patrick’s Cathedral, was the contractor. Mitchell was part of the Royal Agricultural Society and the Builders and Contractors’ Association.
The foundation stone was laid by Victorian governor George Bowen on 19 February 1879. The building was completed in 18 months and opened on 1 October 1880 as the Melbourne International Exhibition. It had a Great Hall covering over 12,000 square meters, with smaller annexes on the north side and temporary galleries in between.
In the 1880s, the building hosted two major exhibitions: the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880 and the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in 1888, which celebrated 100 years of European settlement in Australia. In 1888, electric lights were added for the Centennial Exhibition, making it one of the first exhibitions in the world to be open at night. The interior changed between the two events. In 1880, the walls were left bare and windows and doors were painted green. In 1888, the walls were painted for the first time. The decoration was done by interior designer John Ross Anderson.
The most important event in the building’s history was the opening of the first Parliament of Australia on 9 May 1901, after the Commonwealth of Australia was formed on 1 January 1901. After the official opening, the Federal Parliament moved to the Victorian State Parliament House, while the Victorian Parliament moved to the Exhibition Building for 26 years. The interior was repainted at this time, and this design is still visible today.
On 3 September 1901, the Countess of Hopetoun, wife of the Governor-General, announced the winners of a competition to design the Australian National Flag. A large flag, 5.5 meters by 11 meters, was displayed over the dome.
The building continued to be used for exhibitions. In 1902, it hosted the Australian Federal International Exhibition, and in 1907, the Australian Exhibition of Women’s Work. During the 1919 Spanish flu epidemic, it was used as an influenza hospital.
After being used for exhibitions, the rear annexes were seen as a problem, and the Victorian government did not plan enough money to rebuild them if needed.
The building was left empty in 1927 when the Victorian government returned to Parliament House after the federal government moved to Canberra. As it fell into disrepair, it was called a "White Elephant" by locals in the 1940s. By the 1950s, it was planned to replace it with office buildings. In 1948, a vote by the Melbourne City Council narrowly decided not to demolish the building.
A wing of the building that once housed the Melbourne Aquarium burned down in 1953. It hosted events at the 1956 Summer Olympics, including basketball, weightlifting, wrestling, and fencing. During the 1940s and 1950s, the building was used for weekly dances and held boat shows, car shows, and other industry events. It also hosted State
Current use
The Royal Exhibition Building is still used today as a place for festivals and fairs, such as the Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, and Brickvention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the building was used as a place for giving vaccines, managed by St Vincent's Hospital.
The building also serves as a place where students take tests for the University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne High School, Nossal High School, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, and Suzanne Cory High School.
The Royal Exhibition Building is no longer Melbourne's largest place for showing products or hosting events. The modern replacement is the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, located in Southbank, which is south of the Melbourne central business district.