Royal Exhibition Building

Ben is an assistant curator currently researching the collections of wealthy Melbourne wool merchant and art collector, John Twycross, for an upcoming book and online exhibition. On the weekends, he likes to wander through grand gardens and restore his 1920s State Savings Bank bungalow home.

Returning to Melbourne following an impromptu drive up Mount Macedon, I stopped at Forest Glade, one of the mountain's well-known private gardens that is open to the public. Barely had I gone a few steps through the garden's cast iron gates when I recognised a very familiar sculptural group. I rushed forward and had my suspicions confirmed.

Alfred Jacquemart’s Huntsman and Dogs, cast by Val d’Osne c.1879, in the Forest Glade private gardens on Mount Macedon. The cast was included in the company’s exhibits at the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition.
Image: B. Thomas
Source: B. Thomas  

Huntsman and Dogs, also known as Hunter and Hounds or by its French title, Le chaussuer et les chiens, was originally produced by the noted French sculptor, Henri Alfred Marie Jacquemart (1824-96), often known as Alfred Jacquemart, famed for his realistic representations of animal figures. He studied painting and sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and was a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon from 1847. His reputation as one of France's leading monumental sculptors was recognised in 1870 when he was awarded the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, the country's highest decoration.

Among his many monumental works, Jacquemart also produced a number of sculptures for commercial production, which were cast by the French foundries of Val d'Osne in 'imitation bronze'; a technique of casting in iron that was then coated with a thin surface of copper through electrolysis. Over time, the aging copper developed a green patina giving the appearance of a genuine bronze casting.

Detail of the base of Huntsman and Dogs.
Image: B. Thomas
Source: B. Thomas  

Val d'Osne exhibited Huntsman and Dogs at the 1879 Sydney International Exhibition and the following year at the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition where it was mounted on a stone plinth at the front of the eastern forecourt to the Exhibition Buildings, at the edge of Nicholson Street. Val d'Osne was awarded a silver First Order of Merit for their castings at the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition.

Val d’Osne’s display of decorative castings in the eastern forecourt of the Exhibition Buildings during the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition, with Jacquemart’s Huntsman and Dogs in the foreground of the Nicholson Street entrance.
Source: Museum Victoria  

One cast of Huntsman and Dogs was purchased by the New South Wales government at the conclusion of the Melbourne Exhibition in 1881 for £180; almost $13,000 in today's terms. It was mounted in the gardens surrounding Sydney's exhibition building, the Garden Palace, but was damaged when the Palace burnt down in 1882. It was restored in September 2001 and is now situated in Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens.

The Huntsman and Dogs in the Forest Glade gardens apparently remained installed at the Exhibition Building, but – much like its Sydney counterpart – was badly damaged when the Aquarium situated in the building’s eastern annexe was destroyed in a fire in 1953. Forest Glade’s present owners recount that the sculpture languished for a time at the back of a nursery, until being bought from a Richmond-based art auctioneer after the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires. It now finds a fitting home, nestled amongst its garden bed of maples, greeting visitors to these wonderful gardens.

Natasha works in public relations for IMAX Melbourne and the Royal Exhibition Building.

If you are a car enthusiast, a historian or somebody who takes interest in the evolution of popular culture, you would have found something of interest at Motorclassica, the motor vehicle exhibition held at the Royal Exhibition Building from 21 to 23 October.

The exhibition featured more than 150 veteran, vintage and classic motor vehicles worth more than $100 million. Eighty-six years after the Motor Show first opened at the Royal Exhibition Building, Motorclassica brings an amazing collection of vehicles that are a step back in time.

But for me, the most enjoyable thing about Motorclassica was the story attached to every vehicle brought in for display – some of them outright intriguing. This shiny red 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet is the only one of its kind in Australia and has an interesting history: it was originally owned by a prominent Third Reich Official.

1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet
Image: Natasha Duckett
Source: Museum Victoria  

This 1932 Chrysler Imperial Sedan looks like something out of an old New York Gangster movie, because it could well be! This model was believed to have been owned and driven by the New York gangster, Jack "Legs" Diamond.

1932 Chrysler Imperial Sedan
Image: Natasha Duckett
Source: Museum Victoria  

This 1973 Holden Brock HDT LJ GTR XVI Torana made its first appearance at Bathurst in 1973 and went on to become the stuff of legend with Brock going on to win the 1973 Manufacturer's Championship and the 1974 Touring Car Championship in this car.

1973 Holden Brock HDT LJ GTR XVI Torana
Image: Natasha Duckett
Source: Museum Victoria  

But according to car enthusiast Norbert Probst it is this 1969 Brabham BT28 Formula 3 vehicle that stole the show:

1969 Brabham BT28 Formula 3 vehicle
Image: Natasha Duckett
Source: Museum Victoria  

"Jack Brabham built his own cars, drove them, was his own mechanic. He was the all rounder of Australia. He did it all well," said Mr Probst.

Motor Show at the Royal Exhibition Building, May 1963.
Image: Edwin G. Adamson
Source: Museum Victoria  

Links:

Victorian Hot Rod Show, Royal Exhibition Building, 20-22 January 2012

Since 2008, Melbourne’s architectural gems have thrown open their doors for one weekend a year as part of Melbourne Open House. This year the Royal Exhibition Building is among the 75 theatres, tunnels, halls, houses and more that will welcome visitors on 30 and 31 July, 2011.

Interior of the Great Hall of the Royal Exhibition Building with a view of the decorated dome.
Image: John Broomfield
Source: Museum Victoria

A new interpretive display on the mezzanine level will provide Melbourne Open House crowds with more information as they admire the REB’s magnificent murals and arches. It includes wonderful historical pictures of the life and times of Melbourne’s World Heritage building – photos of it in the glory days of International Exhibitions, through to its many uses during the mid-20th century, its restoration and World Heritage listing in 2004.

A newly produced documentary exploring the recent reconstruction of the 1880’s parterre beds, scroll garden and ‘German’ garden will be shown in the REB theatrette.

Royal Exhibition Building exterior, December 2008.
Source: Museum Victoria

Links:

Melbourne Open House: Royal Exhibition Building

Royal Exhibition Building website

This guest post comes from Nicole Alley, who works in the Webteam. She is a geek at heart who loves taking photos.

I joined the National Trust this year, and recently visited Rippon Lea House & Gardens in Elsternwick. Rippon Lea is a 19th century suburban estate significant for its mansion, garden and outbuildings. And, as I discovered, it has a few connections to our very own Royal Exhibition Building too.

Rippon Lea mansion and the expansive lawn leading to the lake.
Image: Nicole Alley
Source: Nicole Alley

I started my visit with a tour of the mansion, where I noticed a print of the Royal Exhibition Building hanging on a wall. Below it was a black and white print that I also recognised; it's of a painting by Tom Roberts showing the opening of the first Parliament of Australia at the Royal Exhibition Building in 1901.

Top image: Lithograph by C.Troedel & Co of the Royal Exhibition Building in 1880. Bottom image: A print of Tom Roberts' painting of the opening of the first Parliament of Australia, also known as The Big Picture.
Image: Nicole Alley
Source: Nicole Alley

I asked our guide, Jim, what the connection was. He explained that Sir Frederick Thomas Sargood, who created Rippon Lea, attended the opening of Parliament at the Royal Exhibition Building. Jim pointed to a face in the image: "That's him there." I knew Jim hadn't just picked a random face to liven up his story; Roberts was required to include at least 250 recognisable faces in his painting, including members of the new Commonwealth Parliament, and created a sketch with a key to the names. Sargood was a Senator at the time and is listed at number 121.

What's more, Sargood was the Executive Vice-President of the Commission for the 1888 Melbourne Centennial International Exhibition, held at the Royal Exhibition Building. He was largely responsible for bringing out the conductor, Sir Frederick Cowen, at great expense, to establish an orchestra for the exhibition. (This Collections Online theme page explains how significant music was at the exhibition, and to Melbourne life in general.)

After the tour I set out to explore the grounds. With wide lawns, shrubberies, flower beds, shady trees, and cool features like an orchard, lake, boathouse, fernery and lookout tower, it was picturesque and adventurous. Growing up here would've been great – just imagine how long a game of hide and seek would've lasted!

Part of the lake at Rippon Lea Estate. The water is green because it is covered in duckweed.
Image: Nicole Alley
Source: Nicole Alley

There's a windmill too. When Sargood created Rippon Lea, the site wasn't connected to Melbourne's water supply so he devised a sophisticated rainwater collection, irrigation and drainage/recycling system. The windmill pumped the water through underground storage tanks and pipes and ensured the entire estate was self-sustainable. Rippon Lea was later switched across to the main supply, however the National Trust is now in the process of reinstating Sargood's system.

And that's another connection: in February we completed our World Heritage, World Futures project to reinstate the 1880s garden on the Western Forecourt of the Royal Exhibition Building. Before the garden went in, we installed an underground system of tanks and pipes that will collect and distribute rainwater to Carlton Gardens, including the fountains and ponds, and also to the Forest Gallery and Milarri Garden inside Melbourne Museum.

Back at work, I did some further reading and found a few more interesting pieces of shared history between these two grand 19th century sites:

• They were established within a decade of each other: Rippon Lea Estate in 1868-69, and the Royal Exhibition building in 1879-80.
• They were both included in the National Heritage List in 2004. (That same year, the Royal Exhibition Building was also inscribed on the World Heritage List.)
• Both buildings were designed by Joseph Reed of the architectural firm Reed & Barnes.
• Rippon Lea's garden was created in the Gardenesque style, as was Carlton Gardens, where the REB is situated.
• William Sangster designed Carlton Gardens (in conjunction with Joseph Reed); he was also brought in by Sargood to redesign Rippon Lea's garden in 1882.

Links:

Rippon Lea House and Gardens

Royal Exhibition Building

Royal Exhibition Building in Collections Online

“The fountain is fountaining!” announced a colleague last Thursday. He’d passed the French Fountain in the eastern forecourt of the Royal Exhibition Building and noticed that it was flowing for the first time in ages. Years of drought and water restrictions meant the fountain has been out of action. However now that there are over a million litres of water stored in new tanks under the REB’s western forecourt, the fountain can run again.

It was recomissioned for the opening of the newly-completed German Garden, a careful restoration of the original garden that stood on the site for the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880. You’d never know that under the lush lawns and new garden beds – which follow the exact shape of the 1880 design – there’s a massive water tank and network of pipes to collect and distribute rainwater. Not only the gardens around the REB, but also Melbourne Museum’s Forest Gallery and Milarri Garden will benefit from this new sustainable water supply.

The Royal Exhibition Building's completed German Garden in the western forecourt on Rathdowne Street.
Image: Heath Warwick
Source: Museum Victoria

Thursday’s event marked the completion of the 18-month project World Heritage, World Futures. Even as the speeches were underway, people were wandering through the new landscape after so many months of it being hidden behind construction hoardings. Special guests, Minister for Consumer Affairs, the Hon Michael O’Brien, and Margaret Gardner AO, President of the Museums Board of Victoria, snipped the ceremonial purple ribbon and declared the garden open.

Guests at the garden opening. L-R: Dr Patrick Greene, CEO of Museum Victoria; Dr. Anne-Marie Schleich, German Consul General; Professorr Margaret Gardner AO, President of the Museums Board of Victoria; the Hon Michael O’Brien, Minister for Consumer Affairs and the Right Hon the Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.
Image: Heath Warwick
Source: Museum Victoria

Please come and admire the new garden with its restored iron gate, reinstated urns and stately plantings on your next visit to Carlton.

Performers in period costume test out the new garden.
Image: Heath Warwick
Source: Museum Victoria

Links:

World Heritage, World Futures blog

In Melbourne's sizzling 38ºC heat today, the landscaping crew are planting out the Royal Exhibition Building western forecourt. The larger trees - including jacarandas, oaks and araucarias - are already planted. Pots and pots of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina) and other plants have arrived and will go into the ground this week.

Plants arriving in trucks.
Source: Museum Victoria

 Plants in pots lined up near the central circular garden.
Source: Museum Victoria

Landscapers planting out patches of lamb's ear.
Source: Museum Victoria

The landscape architect, Barrie Gallagher from CDA Design Group, used plant catalogues from the 1800s, newspaper reports and early pictures of the site to design a garden that would reflect the original planting. The design is an informal arrangement of plants that would have been common in Victorian-era gardens, including sage, penstemon, flaxes and cabbage trees, within the beds around the formal circular driveway. Wonderful fragrant plants, such as mock orange, daphne and roses, will ensure the western forecourt garden will soon delight our noses as well as our eyes.

Links:

World Heritage, World Futures blog

Video: Recreating the garden

Have you ever looked down at the footpath in Melbourne's CBD and wondered about those 20cm round bronze plaques that seem to lead a trail through the city? Well, they are the path of the Golden Mile Heritage Trail. This walking tour explores Melbourne's buildings, laneways, streets, characters and history from its beginnings through to modern times. And, on a beautiful sunny Melbourne morning last week, I went to discover what it was all about!

The tour started at Federation Square, on the intersection of Swanston and Flinders Streets, one of Melbourne's liveliest spots for over 150 years. Our tour guide set the scene for the rest of the walk, describing the history of the buildings around us. From the 1852 gold rush era St Paul's Cathedral on one corner to the famous Young & Jackson's pub of 1861 opposite; from the Federation era opulence of Flinders Street Station of 1910, to the ultra contemporary public spaces of Federation Square, this intersection provides a physical snapshot of the city's history.

Sandridge Bridge
Image: Nicole Davis
Source: Museum Victoria

We next walked along the Yarra talking about how Melbourne was built up around this spot from its beginnings as an Aboriginal meeting place to the coming of Europeans to today. We chatted about some of the characters in the city's early history, such as John Batman, John Pascoe Fawkner and Robert Hoddle, and how they shaped the city. Our guide also pointed out interesting sites like the outlet for the creek that runs under Elizabeth Street and the Sandridge Bridge. This Bridge was originally a railway bridge and was the line that took immigrant passengers from Port Melbourne to Flinders Street Station before embarking on a new life in Australia. Now a pedestrian bridge, its sculptures and text panels explore the waves of people,from Melbourne's Indigenous inhabitants onward who have crossed the river on this spot.

Immigration Museum was next, where the tour officially starts. I turned tour guide for a few minutes, guiding our guide through the Immigration Discovery Centre and explaining what we do here.

The Travellers, Sandridge Bridge
Image: Nicole Davis
Source: Museum Victoria  Rutherglen House, Highlander Lane
Image: Nicole Davis
Source: Museum Victoria

We then meandered through some of my favourite sites in Melbourne - its laneways! I got to pop my head inside the Mitre Tavern and found out the fascinating history of the Savage Club, plus discovered a new spot I hadn't previously known about and will definitely be popping back to. Rutherglen House is an 1850s bluestone residence/warehouse located on Highlander Lane. Today it's still a private residence!

After our little laneway exploration, we wandered up Collins Street discussing the progress of Marvellous Melbourne and the boom and bust of the 1880s to 1890s. Despite the many modern office blocks that I always feel characterise Collins Street, there are actually a surprising number of buildings from the 1870s to 1900 period that survive. There are some fabulous opulent buildings like the Gothic ANZ bank building on the corner of Elizabeth Street and the adjoining Stock Exchange. I also really enjoyed seeing the way the 1890s Rialto and Winfield buildings have been incorporated into the Intercontinental Hotel and Rialto Towers.

Rialto Building from Collins Street
Image: Nicole Davis
Source: Museum Victoria

The tour ended another hour later with some of Melbourne's famous arcades: the Block Arcade from the 1890s; Howey Place, next to which the famous Cole's Book Arcade was once located; and the controversial Capitol Arcade, developed in the 1960s.

As you can see the tour was densely packed and I could write reams on more of the great stories that our guide had to impart. He was amazingly knowledgeable, gave fabulous detailed accounts, and brought to life Melbourne's history for me. Most of all, he answered my constant questions with good grace and love of his subject. As a student of urban history, it was a fascinating insight and a great opportunity to talk with someone who had an in-depth knowledge of these places. If you want to get to know Melbourne, whether you're a visitor or a local, I highly recommend going on one of these walking tours.

Links:

You can see more images of the tour and find out how to book on the Immigration Museum Website.

From the 1950s to 2009, the western forecourt of the Royal Exhibition Building was an asphalt car park - useful, but hardly befitting the World Heritage classification of the site. Certainly there was no trace of the ornamental garden planted there for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition.

Cue World Heritage, World Futures: a major project that began in October 2009. Funding for this project was provided form the Victorian Property Fund on the approval of the Minister for Consumer Affairs.

The project's three phases: excavation of the site to recover artefacts from the original 1880s garden, installation of an enormous rainwater storage tank, and restoration of the heritage garden and circular drive - are almost complete. 

Landscapers have installed the watering system and are now preparing the ground for planting. Within the next month the project will be finished and a beautiful water-wise garden will return to Rathdowne Street.

This extensive watering system will use the water from the new rainwater storage tank to ensure the garden stay lush and green sustainably.
Source: Museum Victoria

So keep an eye on the final flurry of activity behind those purple hoardings this month; the World Heritage, World Futures blog contains posts on the project's progress from the very beginning if you'd like to know more.

Hoardings around the project building site with a glimpse of the restored circular driveway.
Source: Museum Victoria

Links:

Royal Exhibition Building

World Heritage, World Futures

The cafe at Melbourne Museum is full of staff each morning seeking a caffeine hit at the start of their workday. This morning, web developer Reuben held out a shiny twenty cent piece, delighted. "Look what I got in my change!" 

 Centenary of Federation commemorative twenty cent piece with the Royal Exhibition Building in the background.
Source: Museum Victoria

According to the Royal Australian Mint, this coin was designed by Ryan Douglas Ladd and Mark Aaron Kennedy of Lara Lake Primary School as part of a student design competition. It portrays our own Royal Exhibition Building which hosted the opening of the first Commonwealth Parliament, since it was the only building in Melbourne with the capacity to hold the 12,000 people in attendance. After this first gathering on 9 May 1901, the newly-formed Federal Government sat in Melbourne until the opening of Parliament House in Canberra on 9 May, 1927.

As we sat in the shadow of the Royal Exhibition Building this morning, we couldn't resist a picture of Reuben's twenty cents alongside its inspiration. 2.9 million of these coins were minted so check your pocket; you too may have a little piece of World Heritage among your small change!

Links:

Old Parliament House (now site of the Museum of Australian Democracy)

Opening of the First Commonwealth Parliament of Australia

Numismatics on Collections Online

This guest post is by Charlotte Smith, Senior Curator, Public & Institutional Life, who is in Paris researching the John Twycross 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition Building Collection for an upcoming book. This collection comprises 175 exquisite decorative arts objects purchased by wealthy wool merchant John Twycross at the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition.

I thought my finds last Friday at the Archives Nationales de Paris were pretty impressive – floor plans of the French courts, showing where each exhibitor was located, with a key – but today things got even better. I uncovered a document titled Section des Beaux-Arts. Oeuvres vendues a Melbourne [translation: Fine Art Section. Artworks sold in Melbourne]. The document is a list of 47 artworks. It describes the artist, title of work, purchaser and purchase price. What is really exciting for my research is John Twycross is mentioned eight times!

A record of purchases from the French Court. Twycross is listed third from the top.
Image: C. Smith
Source: Museum Victoria

He spent £806, the equivalent to a little over $63,000 today. While we don't have these paintings in the Twycross Collection, knowing more of what John purchased at the exhibition is really exciting, and adds to our understanding of the scope of the collection he amassed at the 1880 Exhibition.

Accompanying documents describe how artworks could be purchased from the French Court; one had to go to the French Consulate office on Collins Street between 10 and 4 weekdays, where a clerk was always 'ready to give the prices asked for such paintings by the artists'.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris was built for the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle. This was one in a series of World's Fairs that included the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition. The tradition of World's Fairs took off after the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.
Image: C. Smith
Source: Museum Victoria

Links

The Twycross Collection

The 1880 and 1888 International Exhibitions

Royal Exhibition Builidng: Site of two World Fairs

After months of work to excavate artefacts, dig an enormous hole, pour a rainwater tank that will hold over a million litres of water and cover it up again, the very last stage of the World Heritage, World Futures project is underway. We've been recording time-lapse footage for most of the project. This video shows work on the donut-shaped driveway on two days in November.

The workers and machinery look tinier than usual with of a bit of tweaking to create a tilt-shift effect. It's a simple trick that changes which area looks sharp and which area looks blurry, and suddenly it looks like a miniature world.

I can't wait to see that area planted out! It's been covered by asphalt car park for decades, then hidden behind purple construction hoardings more recently. The World Heritage, World Futures blog has been tracking the project since the first breaking of ground in October 2009.