Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy, 379-405 Russell Street, Melbourne
Butler, Graeme1985
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Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy, 379-405 Russell Street, Melbourne
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Date of work:
1985
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BIF-CITY 529337
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Item from Collection: Heritage Collection (HC)
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Series: Central City (BIF-CITY)
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RESEARCH ADDED BY GRAEME BUTLER 2024:__________________________________________________DATE: 1926-7;ASSOCIATIONS: Victorian Government;DESIGNER: Smith, E EvanPWD Chief Architect;BUILDER: Bolger, WStyle: Neo-GrecPeriod: Inter-WarVHR Number: H1646___________________________VICTORIA HERITAGE REGISTER H1646Statement of SignificanceLast Updated: 24/11/1999What is significant?The Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy was established with the help of a bequest of £25,000 from Sir William McPherson and named after his wife. The two storey neo-classical building was designed by Public Works Department architect Evan Smith in 1926 and opened by the Duchess of York in April 1927. The rendered brick building was built by W. Bolger and features a prominent Doric portico. It was erected on part of the site of the Old Melbourne Gaol, and incorporated some of the bluestone gaol buildings, including the governor's residence, the administrative block and the prison chapel. These buildings date from the 1860s. The College is now part of the RMIT University.How is it significant?The Emily McPherson College is of historical and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.Why is it significant?The Emily McPherson College is of historical significance as a reminder of earlier philosophies of educational provision, especially for girls and young women. Domestic Arts education developed in the years before and after WWI, at a time when there was a wider concerted push for 'scientific' mothering education. It was considered that mothering skills were not innate and needed to be taught, in the same way that domestic skills needed to be inculcated at school. The predecessors of this college were a College of Domestic Economy, established in 1906, and a Domestic Arts Hostel for the training of teachers, established in 1911. The College reflects a time when young women's access to post-secondary education was very limited, with a broader education largely only obtainable in the context of domestic training.The Emily McPherson College is of historical significance for its associations with Sir William McPherson (1865-1932), Treasurer of Victoria from 1917 to 1923 and Premier and Treasurer from November 1928 to December 1929. It was largely thanks to McPherson's generosity that the College was built to replace its inadequate predecessor.The Emily McPherson College is of architectural significance as a distinctive neo-classical building, the austerity and controlled simplicity of which reflected the kind of values to be imparted to the College's students. The building was awarded the RVIA street architecture award in 1930, an indication of the esteem with which the design was held at the time. The monumental Doric portico and classical composition emphasised sober traditionalism, appropriately enough for an institution of learning, while the regular colonial Georgian fenestration was reminiscent of popular domestic styles at the time, especially for the houses of the well-to-do in places like Toorak. The absence of extravagant ornamentation was most applauded, reflecting post-WWI trends toward more restrained and functional buildings.___________________________GRAEME BUTLER 1985 MELBOURNE CENTRAL ACTIVITIES DISTRICT CONSERVATION STUDYBUILDING IDENTIFICATION FORM cites parapet date etc. and TWENTIETH CENTURY ARCHITECTURE REGISTER OF ROYAL AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS_______________________________________DARYL JACKSON EVAN WALKER ARCHITECTS PTY. LTD 1976 FOR HISTORIC BUILDINGS PRESERVATION COUNCIL; MELBOURNE: THE AREA BOUNDED BY VICTORIA, SPRING, LONSDALE AND SWANSTON STS (source 77)Building Name Emily McPherson College of Domestic EconomyAddress Corner Russell and Victoria StreetsDate Built1926ArchitectEvan SmithBuilderW BolgerOriginal UseCollegePresent UseCollegeAwardsR.V.I.A. Street Architecture Medal, 1930RecommendationThat the building be included on the Historic Buildings Register.1 HistoricalIn 1925 Sir William McPherson (previously a Treasurer of Victoria and Lady McPherson gifted 25,000. towards a school of domestic economy on the conditions that it 'be built on the south west corner of Victoria and Russell Streets and, be known as the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy. The State 'Government paid the balance of the funds.The college was opened by HRH the Duchess of York on 27th April 1927..2 Architectural2.1 Designed by Evan Smith (with A. S. Wood as district architect). Built by W. Bolger and completed early in 1927. There are very few references to the building in contemporary building journals,· but early in 1927 it was noted that “attached to .( the Old Melbourne Gaol) along the Russell Street front appears the plain, somewhat severe addition which forms part of the Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy'."Although the new building, which is of concrete chiefly, lacks to a certain extent the ·character and texture which was imparted to the old wall of the gaol, which was of basalt, it possesses a very much brighter and more attractive appearance and it forms a genuine ornament to that corner of the city which it occupies".The building received the Street Architecture ··Award in 1930. (This building is covered by a separate report· to the Historic Buildings Preservation Council___________________________HERITAGE BRANCH, MINISTRY FOR PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT 1987 CITY OF MELBOURNE CENTRAL CITY NOTABLE BUILDINGS CITATIONSSTATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCEThe College was constructed in 1926 following a bequest from the former Victorian Treasurer, Sir William McPherson. The two-storey classical revival concrete building was designed by PWD architect Evan Smith and is a significant example of the conservative revivalist movement in Melbourne architecture in the 1930's. The site contains the original entranceway and chapel buildings of the old Melbourne Gaol.___________________________Victorian Heritage Inventory H7822-2174Significance:SOURCE: NATIONAL ESTATE CITATION:THE EMILY MCPHERSON COLLEGE OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY WAS ESTABLISHED FOLLOWING A BEQUEST OF 25000 POUNDS FROM THE FORMER TREASURER OF VICTORIA, SIR WILLIAM MCPHERSON, TOWARDS CONSTRUCTION OF A SCHOOL OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY. THE P.W.D. ARCHITECT EVAN SMITH DESIGNED THIS NEO-CLASSICAL REVIVAL TWO STOREY CONCRETE BUILDING WITH A PROMINENT DORIC PORTICO IN 1926 AND IT WAS OPENED BY THE DUCHESS OF YORK IN APRIL 1927. W. BOLGER WAS THE BUILDER. THE EMILY MCPHERSON COLLEGE OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY WAS NAMED AFTER LADY MCPHERSON. THE STATE OF VICTORIA CONTRIBUTED THE BALANCE OF FUNDS NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE BUILDING. THIS DISTINCTIVE NEO- CLASSICAL REVIVAL BUILDINGWAS AWARDED THE R.V.I.A. STREET ARCHITECTURE AWARD IN 1930. THE MONUMENTAL DORIC PORTICO AND REGULAR COLONIAL GEORGIAN FENESTRATION ARE DOMINANT ARCHITECTURAL THEORIES OF THE 1930'S IN MELBOURNE. THE EXTERIOR OF THE EMILY MCPHERSON COLLEGE OF DOMESTIC ECONOMY IS ESSENTIALLY INTACT ALTHOUGH TIMBER FIRE ESCAPE STAIRS HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED TO THE PRINCIPAL FACADE.OF STATE SIGNIFICANCE.___________________________VICTORIA HERITAGE COUNCIL H1646Typological Study Hermes 182534Statement of SignificanceLast Updated: 03/08/1998The Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy was named after Lady McPherson. The State of Victoria contributed the balance of funds necessary to complete the building. This distinctive neo-Classical Revival building was awarded the RVIA Street Architecture Award in 1930. The monumental Doric portico and regular Colonial Georgian fenestration are dominant elements in this design which epitomises conservative revivalist architectural theories of the 1930s in Melbourne. Register of the National EstateVictorian Heritage RegisterThe Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy was established with the help of a bequest of ú25,000 from Sir William McPherson and named after his wife. The two storey neo-classical building was designed by Public Works Department architect Evan Smith in 1926 and opened by the Duchess of York in April 1927. The rendered brick building was built by W. Bolger and features a prominent Doric portico. It was erected on part of the site of the Old Melbourne Gaol, and incorporated some of the bluestone gaol buildings, including the governor's residence, the administrative block and the prison chapel. These buildings date from the 1860s. The College is now part of the RMIT University.The Emily McPherson College is of historical and architectural significance to the State of Victoria.The Emily McPherson College is of historical significance as a reminder of earlier philosophies of educational provision, especially for girls and young women. Domestic Arts education developed in the years before and after WWI, at a time when there was a wider concerted push for 'scientific' mothering education. It was considered that mothering skills were not innate and needed to be taught, in the same way that domestic skills needed to be inculcated at school. The predecessors of this college were a College of Domestic Economy, established in 1906, and a Domestic Arts Hostel for the training of teachers, established in 1911. The College reflects a time when young women's access to post-secondary education was very limited, with a broader education largely only obtainable in the context of domestic training.The Emily McPherson College is of historical significance for its associations with Sir William McPherson (1865-1932), Treasurer of Victoria from 1917 to 1923 and Premier and Treasurer from November 1928 to December 1929. It was largely thanks to McPherson's generosity that the College was built to replace its inadequate predecessor.The Emily McPherson College is of architectural significance as a distinctive neo-classical building, the austerity and controlled simplicity of which reflected the kind of values to be imparted to the College's students. The building was awarded the R.V.I.A. street architecture award in 1930, an indication of the esteem with which the design was held at the time. The monumental Doric portico and classical composition emphasised sober traditionalism, appropriately enough for an institution of learning, while the regular colonial Georgian fenestration was reminiscent of popular domestic styles at the time, especially for the houses of the well-to-do in places like Toorak. The absence of extravagant ornamentation was most applauded, reflecting post-WWI trends toward more restrained and functional buildings.HO485 Emily McPherson College, 379-405 Russell Street, MelbourneRef No H1646.HistoryThe Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy was established following a bequest of £25,000 from the former Treasurer of Victoria, Sir William McPherson, towards construction of a School of Domestic Economy. The Public Works Department architect, Evan Smith, designed this neo-Classical Revival two storey concrete building with a prominent Doric portico in 1926. The building was opened by the Duchess of York in April 1927. W Bolger was the builder.References:Register of the National Estate, Victorian Heritage Register___________________________
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| Type | Reference No. | Extent | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 529337 | 1 PDF : 1,474 KB ; A4 | Single Item (May not be issued, may not be reproduced) |