MUSSE

The Ian Potter Museum of Art’s facade sculpture, Cultural Rubble (1993) by Christine O’Loughlin. (Photo: Peter Casamento).

The University of Melbourne is home to a fascinating array of prominent Australian figures, historical events, distinguished buildings and interesting anecdotes.

The Ian Potter Museum of Art’s facade sculpture Cultural Rubble (1993), by Christine O’Loughlin was recently illuminated as part of the University’s commitment to the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s (NBCF) annual Pink Ribbon Campaign.

Cultural Rubble comprises four reinforced fibreglass panels that protrude from the building. Each panel incorporates shattered fragments from classical statuary, architecture and pottery, fabricated from plaster moulds in the collection of the Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Christine O’Loughlin worked on site at the Louvre to produce the individual components in each panel, which were then assembled and shipped in four sections to Australia.

The Redmond Barry Building (1961), currently home to staff and students from the Department of Psychology, is the University’s tallest building. It is named after Sir Redmond Barry, who was founding Chancellor from 1853 to 1880.

Justice Barry, who founded the Victorian State Library, is famous for being the judge who sentenced Ned Kelly to death. When he was sentenced Ned said that he would ‘see Barry in hell’.  Barry caught a chill and died less than two weeks later.

The Baldwin Spencer Building (1887) was used to house biological/zoological studies. Renovations some time ago stirred up long-dormant bugs which were first noticed when a lecturer complained of something biting his legs. It turned out that they were bugs used at one time to pick flesh from the bones of specimens. The building was thoroughly fumigated!

The University of Melbourne’s Union House at the Parkville campus was originally the National Museum. In 1863 Professor McCoy (foundation Professor of Natural Science) amassed such an extensive collection of plant, animal and geological specimens that the floor of the rooms began to sag under the weight, much to the alarm of the occupants of the rooms below. The National Museum was moved to the Public Library in 1899 and the building was subsequently used as a student clubhouse.

The South Lawn and Car Park Complex (1972) was cleverly designed to accommodate both a relaxing lawn area and a practical underground car park. It was at the time the only fully enclosed car park in Australia concealed beneath landscape. The trees on the lawn grow down into hollow mushroom shaped columns, which support the car park’s roof and the weight of the trees while allowing for drainage. The car park has been used in a Mad Max movie, as a ballroom, and as a concert venue.

The Old Commerce Building Bank Facade was designed by the architect Joseph Reed and was awarded first prize for the design of the Melbourne office of the Bank of New South Wales. This facade was presented to the University when the bank was demolished in 1935. It is classified by the National Trust as an ‘object of interest’. In 1937 the current building was built to accommodate it, but it presented a challenge for the architect as the building is four stories high and the facade only two.

The Union Lawn was formerly a large grassed quadrangle styled after those popular in English universities, but it was paved after unsuccessful attempts to maintain it as a lawn. This area used to be a lake and is subject to flooding after heavy rain, particularly the basement of the Chemistry Building opposite. Former Vice-Chancellor Professor Kwong Lee Dow recalls his mother telling him stories of her fellow students releasing ducks from the pond in the middle of lectures.

At the northwest corner of the historic Quadrangle Building is the Eight-Hour Day Plaque, which marks an event in local history when reduced working hours were negotiated after a stop-work on campus by construction workers in 1856. The stop-work heralded the start of the eight-hour day movement in Victoria.