Medley Hall is the smallest residential college of the University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...

 in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Established in 1954, it is situated on 48 Drummond St in Carlton, Victoria

Carlton, Victoria

Carlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...

, away from other residential colleges in Parkville

Parkville, Victoria

Parkville is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne. At the 2006 Census, the population was 4,980....

. 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.

Medley Hall was closed from July 2009 to June 2011 due to a building redevelopment. Medley Hall reopened as a residential college from July 2011.

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 activity occurring from 1938 when leased to a North Melbourne vigneron.

Benvenuta's ownership passed to the Italian Consulate prior to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

's participation in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. After the war, Benvenuta was given to the University of Melbourne which then renamed it the 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.

Medley Hall is also famous for its appearance in the Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage is an American actor, producer and director, having appeared in over 60 films including Raising Arizona , The Rock , Face/Off , Gone in 60 Seconds , Adaptation , National Treasure , Ghost Rider , Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans , and...

 film, Knowing

Knowing (film)

Knowing is a 2009 American-British science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicolas Cage. The project was originally attached to a number of directors under Columbia Pictures, but it was placed in turnaround and eventually picked up by Escape Artists. Production was financially...

, released in March 2009.

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

Stained glass

The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...

 and over 15 tonnes of marble

Marble

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 and steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

.
It is richly decorated including miniature statuettes on the parapets.

Facilities

While Medley Hall is the smallest of the residential colleges, it is not lacking in facilities. It has two laundry rooms, a music room, a library, a games room with table tennis, darts, and a pool table, as well as a sauna.

External links

• http://www.medleyhall.unimelb.edu.au