Victoria Tourism Photo Gallery Vic Australia

Royal Melbourne Exhibition Buildings, Melbourne Victoria Australia.

Built in the Carlton Gardens in 1880 this is an enduring monument to the International Exhibition movement of the mid 19th century. Constructed for the 1880 International Exhibition (1.5 million visitors) it also hosted the 1888 Colonial International Exhibition (2.2 million visitors.)

The Royal Exhibition Building was the centre piece of the Palace of Industry at both exhibitions and is the only surviving building from a Palace of Industry in the world. Also at both exhibitions the South Garden was the site for the "pleasure garden" that contained exhibits and continues today to be used for parkland and exhibition purposes.

The Building hosted the first Australian Parliament in 1901 and was home to the Victorian Parliament from 1900 to 1927. In 1919 the Building served as a hospital during the great flu pandemic and following World War 1 hosted for a time the Australia War Museum. During World War 2 it was requisitioned as a barracks for training, from 1949-1962 it served as a migrant reception centre and in 1956 was a venue for events during the Olympic Games.

The Royal Exhibition Building and the Carlton Gardens have been used for exhibitions and displays, school and university examinations, dances, sporting competitions and office space, fetes, concerts and a museum and art galleries. It would be hard to argue that any other venue in Australia has played a greater of more diverse role in the life of a nation.