Medley Hall (University of Melbourne)
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Medley Hall is the smallest residential college of the University of Melbourne in Australia.Established in 1954, it is situated on 48 Drummond St,Carlton, Victoria. It is home to approximately 60 students from around Australia and overseas. Medley Hall was named in honour of Sir John Dudley Gibbs Medley, a previous Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.
History
The main building was originally called Benvenuta. It was completed in 1893 for Leah Abrahams, the widow of a small arms dealer. In 1925, Benvenuta was leased to the Commonwealth Government which transformed it into Arbitration Court Offices. Next, the mansion was converted into an Italian club, boasting a ballroom, orchestra and a regular Sunday boxing match, after a period of vacancy.
Benvenuta also has its share of dark history. A bullet hole in the stained glass 'Welcome' window at the top of the stairs is supposedly evidence of criminal activities that happened during the period beginning 1938 that it was leased to a North Melbourne vigneron.
Benvenuta's ownership passed to the hands of the Italian Consulate prior to Italy's participation in World War II. After the war, Benvenuta was given to the University of Melbourne which renamed it Drummond Street Hostel.
In 1953, the management was taken over by the University Council and the first Warden was appointed the following year. In 1955, the hostel was renamed Medley Hall.
Administration
The college's administration is led by its principal, Phillippa Connelly.
Architecture
The building was designed in an Italianate Victorian Baroque style by Walter Scott Law. Construction materials and craftsmen were imported from Italy. This includes stained glass and over 15 tonnes of marble and steel. It is richly decorated including miniature statuettes on the parapets.External links
- http://www.medleyhall.unimelb.edu.au
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