By Cara Waters
One of Melbourne’s most historically significant buildings and the city’s only UNESCO World Heritage-listed site is crumbling after cuts to government funding left it tens of millions of dollars short of the money required for restoration and repair.
The Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton was the site of Australia’s first parliament and received World Heritage listing in 2004, but its upkeep has been neglected by successive governments.
Margaret O’Brien, president of the Friends of the Royal Exhibition Building, is concerned about the deterioration of the UNESCO-listed site. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
The exterior of the 143-year-old building is rapidly deteriorating, with the walls cracking and flaking in several areas. Many of the urns decorating the parapet of the building are missing and paint is peeling off on John Ross Anderson’s decorative murals inside.
The last significant piece of funding the building received was $20 million from the federal government in 2011, followed by $40,000 in 2018. After being contacted by The Age, the federal government said it was going to announce a grant of $400,000 to help protect the Royal Exhibition Building’s dome.
The state government spent $1.2 million on the building in the past five years, but last year cut its program funding the conservation of heritage buildings entirely. A source with knowledge of the required repair works, who asked to remain anonymous in order to protect relationships, said the Royal Exhibition Building needed about $50 million in repair work.
In comparison, the Sydney Opera House, which was UNESCO World Heritage-listed in 2009, has just completed a $300 million 10-year restoration and repair program funded by the NSW state government.
The Royal Exhibition Building was built for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition and is Melbourne’s only UNESCO World Heritage-listed site.
It served as a hospital during the 1919 Spanish influenza pandemic, a venue for the 1956 Olympic Games, as a vaccination hub during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is a venue for many events and celebrations, including the upcoming Melbourne Fashion Festival.
Margaret O’Brien, president of the Friends of the Royal Exhibition Building, said the building urgently needed funding and repairs.
“To look at, the building now might seem more like a sad old dame and not the marvellous Melbourne icon it was rightly called,” she said. “I feel sad to see it looking as it does, and unhappily, it continues to deteriorate.”
O’Brien said the deterioration of the exterior fabric of the building was obvious and so severe on the western side of the building that it was covered in scaffolding.
“It would clearly benefit from an injection of funding, it needs capital funding and ongoing funding,” she said. “Why do governments turn a blind eye to the Royal Exhibition Building and its gardens? Would the Sydney Opera House be left with fading paint and peeling walls?”
O’Brien was among those who campaigned for the $20 million from the federal government in 2011 for an upgrade to the dome of the building, along with conservation of its exterior and a museum.
“Work was delayed, and when the dome opened 18 months ago, the $20 million had only covered the dome’s public access and walk, a display gallery and conservation of the southern wall,” she said. “The rest of the building languishes.”
O’Brien said it was problematic that there was no independent statutory body to look after the Royal Exhibition Building; instead, the responsibilities were split between different levels of government.
Maddi Moore, advocacy strategic manager for Victoria at the National Trust of Australia, said increased support through funding was required from all levels of government to ensure the ongoing conservation of the site.
“Once a place is successfully included on the World Heritage List, that’s not the end of the work – it needs to then be protected in perpetuity,” she said. “That’s where we need to have adequate support and funding from government to look after these places.”
Moore said some funding was previously available through the state government’s Living Heritage Grants program but this program was axed from the state budget last year.
Crumbling walls on the exterior at the Royal Exhibition Building. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
“The government has reduced funding for heritage custodians at the local level and the state level,” she said. “When we don’t have a source of funds to be able to support the required maintenance of buildings, it’s always a problem.”
Museums Victoria manages the building and the federal government is responsible to UNESCO for protecting the building, while the state government also has responsibilities.
Now, Museums Victoria is running an online campaign calling for donations to “help restore the delicate plasterwork and decorative artworks of the Dome’s interior to its former splendour”.
A spokeswoman for Museums Victoria said there had been a continuous program of repairs, maintenance, upgrades and conservation works over the past 30 years.
Damaged murals inside the Royal Exhibition Building. Credit: Fiona Bell
“This has included major capital projects ... the reinstatement and restoration of the interior decorative scheme in 1990, replacement of the floor during the 2000s, the restoration of the Western Forecourt in 2010 and the Protection and Promotion Project, which saw the Dome Promenade re-open to the public for the first time in a century in 2022,” she said.
A spokeswoman for the state government said over the past five years, the government had provided funding of almost $1.2 million through Creative Victoria’s Cultural Facilities Maintenance fund to support maintenance and upgrade works including fire services, lightning protection and interior conservation works.
It has spent $89 million restoring Victoria’s Parliament House.
“The Royal Exhibition Building is an icon of Melbourne and Victoria with enormous cultural and historic significance, recognised by its UNESCO World Heritage listing,” the spokeswoman said.
Disrepair on the exterior of the Royal Exhibition Building. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
“As a more-than-120-year-old building with the complex nature of a heritage-listed site, the government works with Museums Victoria as custodians of the site to protect it for the future and ensure it can be enjoyed by Victorians and visitors for years to come.”
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the latest $400,000 funding grant would be used for vibration monitoring and weather station devices to effectively assess movement and potential damage, as well as installing protection as needed.
“The Royal Exhibition Building is a beautiful and special place in the heart of Melbourne. It comes alive to share stories and ideas, or host events and celebrations,” she said. “And of course, it also has its own unique history that should be conserved – including the iconic dome.”
Damage to the building’s roof.
Australian Greens leader and federal member for Melbourne Adam Bandt said he had campaigned for the $20 million in funding in 2011 but subsequent repeated requests for funding had been rebuffed by Labor and Liberal governments.
“State and federal governments are failing to protect this critical part of Melbourne’s heritage,” he said.