Background The city's first exhibition building was erected in 1854, inspired by
The Crystal Palace the "grand glass exhibition hall" was on the site of the
Melbourne Mint at the corner of William and Little Lonsdale Streets which hosted the Melbourne Exhibition of 1854. It was demolished in 1869 after going into disrepair, paving the way for a much bigger building. The current building was first proposed in November 1877 when a committee was appointed to prepare a bid to the international exhibition committee by 1879. The original site was proposed to be
Flinders Park A mooted rail connection to the site down Nicholson Street did not eventuate.
Design The New Exhibition Bill (1878) passed by parliament paved the way for £210,000 in government funding, more than double the original budget for the building, with a public competition held in May of that year. Eighteen entries were made with the winner, celebrated local architect
Joseph Reed, receiving first prize of £300. Second was
Lloyd Tayler, with a similarly domed neoclassical design, was awarded £200 and was appointed exhibition commissioner, with third place going to Peter Matthews who received £100. Reed was a prolific practitioner working in the
Reed and Barnes partnership also designing the
Melbourne Town Hall, the
State Library of Victoria, and the Baroque style gardens. The Royal Exhibition Building was the largest design completed by Reed and Barnes. The dome was modeled on the
Florence Cathedral, while the main pavilions were influenced by the style of
Rundbogenstil and several buildings from Normandy, Caen and Paris. The building has the scale of the French
Beaux Arts, with a
cruciform plan in the shape of a Latin cross, with long nave-like wings symmetrically placed east–west about the central dome, and a shorter wing to the north.
Construction Tenders were called for its construction on 2 December 1878.
David Mitchell, who also built
Scots' Church and
St Patrick's Cathedral was the contractor. Mitchell was a member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural society and also the Builders and Contractor's association. The foundation stone was laid by Victorian governor
George Bowen on 19 February 1879 and it was completed in just 18 months, opening on 1 October 1880, as the
Melbourne International Exhibition. The building consisted of a Great Hall of over 12,000 square metres, flanking lower annexes to the north on the east and west sides, and many temporary galleries between.
Opening, Centennial International Exhibition (1880) and Melbourne Centennial Exhibition (1888) During the 1880s, the building hosted two major International Exhibitions: The
Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880 and the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in 1888, celebrating a century of European settlement in Australia. In 1888, electric lighting was installed for the Centennial International Exhibition, making it one of the first in the world that was accessible during night time. The interior decorations changed between the two exhibitions of 1880 and 1888. In 1880, the walls were left bare and windows and door joinery coloured green. In 1888, walls were painted for the first time. The decoration was by interior designer John Ross Anderson.
Temporary seat of government '', opening of the Parliament of Australia, 9 May 1901, by Tom Roberts The most significant event to occur in the Exhibition Building was the opening of the first
Parliament of Australia on 9 May 1901, following the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January. After the official opening, the Federal Parliament moved to the
Victorian State Parliament House, while the Victorian Parliament moved to the Exhibition Building for the next 26 years. The interior was repainted at this time and this scheme survives today. The building continued to function as an general use exhibition space and in 1902, 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. Following their use as exhibition space, the rear annexes of the building were seen as a blight by many and the Victorian cabinet was not willing to budget adequate funds to rebuild in the event of a disaster.
1927–1979 "White Elephant" period and decades of decay The building was left vacant in 1927 by the Victorian government as it returned to parliament house when the federal government relocated to Canberra for the opening of the parliament building in Canberra. As it decayed, it became known derogatively by locals as
The White Elephant in the 1940s and by the 1950s, like many buildings in Melbourne of that time it was earmarked for replacement by office blocks. In 1948, members of the Melbourne City Council put this to the vote and it was narrowly decided not to demolish the building. The wing of the building which once housed
Melbourne Aquarium burnt down in 1953. It was a venue for the
1956 Summer Olympics, hosting the
basketball,
weightlifting,
wrestling, and the fencing part of the
modern pentathlon competitions. During the 1940s and 1950s, the building remained a venue for regular weekly dances. Over some decades of this period it also held boat shows, car shows and other regular home and building industry shows. It was also used during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s for State High School Matriculation and for the Victorian Certificate of Education examinations, among its various other purposes. The western annexe was demolished in the 1970s. The last remaining original annex, the grand ballroom, was demolished amid controversy in 1979.
1980 - 2003 Royal status and preservation The grand ballroom was replaced with a new building on the same footprint providing more exhibition space, clad in mirror glass, in 1980. On 1 October 1980 during a visit to Victoria,
Princess Alexandra unveiled a plaque which commemorated both the opening of the new mirror-glass "Centennial Hall", and the centenary of the building. She also unveiled a second plaque commemorating the bestowal of the title "Royal" on the building by the Queen. Following the outcry over the ballroom demolition, and the appointment of new Trustees and a new chair in 1983, the heritage of the building began to be seen as important as providing modern space for exhibitions. The first conservation assessment of the building was undertaken by Alan Willingham in 1987, and over the following decades the Great hall was progressively renovated and restored. In 1996, the then Premier of Victoria,
Jeff Kennett, proposed the location and construction of Melbourne's State Museum in the carpark to the north, which involved the demolition of the 1960s annexes in 1997–98. The biennial
Melbourne Art Fair took place at the Royal Exhibition Building from 1988 to 2014. The location of the Melbourne Museum close to the Exhibition Building site was strongly opposed by the Victorian State
Labor Party, the
Melbourne City Council and some in the local community. Due to the community campaign opposing the museum development,
John Brumby, then State opposition leader, with the support of the Melbourne City Council, proposed the nomination of the Royal Exhibition Building for world heritage listing. The world heritage nomination did not progress until the election of the Victorian State Labor Party as the new government in 1999. On 9 May 2001, the Royal Exhibition Building hosted a special
joint sitting of the Australian Parliament. This was held in the same site as the opening of the first Parliament of Australia exactly 100 years earlier. This event commemorated the Centenary of that event specifically, and the Centenary of
Federation more generally. The joint sitting was addressed by the Governor-General, Sir
William Deane. A painting by artist Robert Hannaford was commissioned to capture this 2001 event, with his artwork echoing Tom Roberts'
Big Picture that captured the 1901 opening. In 2018, The Australian Government granted $20 million for heritage restoration works to protect and promote the Royal Exhibition Building. The Australian Department of Environment and Energy, along with
Heritage Victoria, Creative Victoria and Museums Victoria oversaw the various internal and external projects that were all completed by 2022. Externally, sections of the facade underwent conservation works. Internally, renovations included restoring the timber flooring and some old staircases, which were replaced by much safer stairs made from concrete and steel. The basement also underwent restoration works and has now been turned into a curatorial exhibition space with various items on display telling the history of the Royal Exhibition Building and Melbourne. As of September 2024, no further funding has been allocated by the Australian Government or Victorian Government. The Dome Promenade at the Royal Exhibition Building has a rich history as one of Melbourne's most iconic tourist attractions. During the late 1800s, it was the go-to spot for visitors seeking panoramic views of the growing city and its new suburbs as there were very few other tall buildings to block the sweeping vistas in all directions. The promenade was particularly popular during the Melbourne International Exhibitions of 1880 and 1888. For the 1888 Exhibition, over 100,000 people paid to enjoy the views. The promenade remained a central feature of Melbourne life until it was closed in the 1920s for structural repairs, which never eventuated. After being closed for nearly a century, the Dome Promenade was officially reopened on 28 October 2022, as part of the $20 million heritage restoration works to the building. The first tour of the reopened Dome Promenade, available to the public ran on 29 October 2022.
Museums Victoria are the custodians of the Royal Exhibition Building. Daily tours of the Dome Promenade can be booked on their website or at Melbourne Museum. File:Melbourne Royal Exhibition - East Buildings.jpg|
Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building (east side) File:Royal Exhibition Building Pic 05.jpg|East side, straight view File:Royal Exhibition Building inside1.JPG|The main hall inside the building File:Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building with pool.jpg|The building from the pool File:Carlton Gardens fountain.jpg|The Royal Exhibition Building's fountain File:Royal Exhibition Building 2003-05-17.jpg|The Royal Exhibition Building from the main avenue of the
Carlton Gardens File:Royal Exhibition Building Pic 04.jpg|East side, aerial view ==Current use==