Former Teachers College (Melbourne University): 156 - 292 Grattan Street, CARLTON

Building Profile

Location

Construction Details

Built in the Edwardian period in the Queen Anne style

Notable features

The 1888 building is architecturally significant as a distinctive example of the Queen Anne style, one of the oldest buildings of its style in Victoria. The style drew on the development of the Queen Anne style in England from the 1870s to the early 1900s, particularly among London Board Schools. The 1888 building also appears to draw directly on the formality and planning of training establishment precedents in England from the same period, notably the co-educational Homerton College in London. The use of the full range of Queen Anne devices appears unmatched in public buildings in the State. The survival of the principal interior spaces demonstrates its original function as a segregated residential college.

History

The 1888 Building was built as a residential teacher training institution for the Victorian Education Department. It is sited on the University of Melbourne reserve, on a section of land which had remained undeveloped by the university in the 1880s. In 1876 Charles Henry Pearson was appointed Commissioner of Education to enquire into the provision of teacher training institutions. He reported to parliament in 1878 recommending a block of nine acres on the corner of Swanston and Grattan Streets. The land, comprising four acres, was finally gazetted for the new Melbourne Training College in 1887. The new building was to replace its predecessors, the National Boards Normal Institution (1856-59) and Board of Education Central Training Institution (1870-1889). In October 1887 Charles Topp, the new principal, wrote to the Education Department suggesting training colleges be contacted in Britain for ideas relating to planning of training colleges.

• Victorian Heritage Register (H1508) - Former Teachers College (Melbourne University) is protected by state law

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