Medley Hall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Medley Hall |
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Medley Hall Crest
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| University | Melbourne | ||||||||||
| Location | 48 Drummond Street Carlton, Victoria |
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| Full name | Medley Hall | ||||||||||
| Motto | Benvenuta (Latin) | ||||||||||
| Motto in English | Welcome | ||||||||||
| Established | 1954 | ||||||||||
| Named for | Sir John Dudley Gibbs Medley |
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| Principal | Phillippa Connelly | ||||||||||
| Undergraduates | ~50 | ||||||||||
| Postgraduates | ~5 | ||||||||||
| Website | Website | ||||||||||
Medley Hall is the smallest residential college at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It was started in 1954. You can find it at 48 Drummond Street in Carlton, Victoria. This is a bit away from other colleges in Parkville.
About 60 students live here. They come from all over Australia and other countries. Medley Hall is named after Sir John Dudley Gibbs Medley. He used to be a Vice Chancellor (a top leader) of the University of Melbourne.
Medley Hall was closed for a while from July 2009 to June 2011. This was because the building was being updated. It reopened as a college in July 2011.
History of Medley Hall
The main building of Medley Hall was first called Benvenuta. It was finished in 1893. A woman named Leah Abrahams, whose husband sold small weapons, had it built.
In 1925, the government rented Benvenuta. They turned it into offices for the Arbitration Court. This court helps solve disagreements. After being empty for some time, the mansion became an Italian club. It had a ballroom, an orchestra, and even regular Sunday boxing matches!
Benvenuta also has an interesting story about a bullet hole. There is a bullet hole in the stained glass 'Welcome' window at the top of the stairs. People say it's from when a North Melbourne vigneron (a person who grows grapes for wine) rented the building in 1938.
Before World War II, the Italian Consulate owned Benvenuta. After the war, the building was given to the University of Melbourne. The university then called it the Drummond Street Hostel.
In 1953, the University Council took over managing the hostel. The first Warden (a person in charge of the college) was chosen the next year. In 1955, the hostel was renamed Medley Hall.
Medley Hall is also famous for being in the Nicolas Cage movie, Knowing. This film came out in March 2009.
Building Design
The first building was designed in a style called Italianate Victorian Baroque. The architect was Walter Scott Law. Many building materials and skilled workers came from Italy. This included stained glass and over 15 tonnes of marble and steel. The building is very fancy. It has small statues on the roof edges.
After its short closure between 2009 and 2011, Medley Hall reopened. It now has a new part built behind the original Benvenuta building.
Facilities for Students
Even though Medley Hall is the smallest college, it has many great facilities. It has a new laundry room with four washing machines and two dryers. There is a lounge room with a grand piano. Students can also use a music room.
For fun, there's a table tennis table and a pool table. There is a fully equipped kitchen with a TV lounge area. Each of the three floors where students live also has smaller kitchen areas. There is also a main dining area.
