Victoria Barracks, Melbourne facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Victoria Barracks |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| Town or city | Melbourne |
| Country | Australia |
| Coordinates | 37°49′39″S 144°58′14″E / 37.827391°S 144.970447°E |
| Construction started | 1856 |
| Completed | 1872 |
Located on St Kilda Road in Melbourne, Australia, Victoria Barracks Melbourne is a very old and important building. It is one of the most impressive government buildings from the 1800s in Victoria.
Contents
History of Victoria Barracks
Early Days: Soldiers and Bluestone Buildings
Victoria Barracks was first built to house British soldiers. These soldiers included the 12th and 40th Regiments of Foot. They were involved in stopping the Eureka Stockade rebellion in Ballarat, Victoria. Later, the Barracks housed Victoria's own colonial forces.
When Australia became a country in 1901 (this is called Federation), the Barracks became home to the Department of Defence. This department stayed there until 1958. Then, it moved to new offices in Canberra.
The first building at Victoria Barracks, called G Block, was built by soldiers between 1856 and 1858. Other buildings were constructed by regular builders. The original buildings were made from strong bluestone between 1856 and 1872. A large new part, called A Block New Wing, was added in 1917. It looked like the old buildings but had modern features inside.
The Barracks were named to honor Queen Victoria. There are also Victoria Barracks in Sydney and Brisbane.
The Repatriation Clinic
In 1936, a special clinic was built on the Barracks grounds. It was called the Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic. This clinic opened in 1937. It was designed in the Art Deco style. The clinic helped soldiers who had returned from World War I.
Another modern Art Deco building, M Block, was added in 1939. Its floor was the first continuous concrete pour in Australia.
Victoria Barracks During World War II
During World War II, Victoria Barracks Melbourne was a very important place. It was where the Australian War Cabinet met. The War Cabinet was a group of important politicians from both the government and opposition parties. They made big decisions about the war.
The Defence Secretariat, which helped run the Department of Defence, was on the second floor of A Block New Wing. This area also had offices for important military leaders and government ministers. The War Cabinet room was there too. Australia's wartime Prime Ministers, Robert Menzies and later John Curtin, also had offices nearby.
A secret Navy unit that worked on codes, led by Eric Nave, was at Victoria Barracks for a while. It later moved to another location.
Some people thought that US General Douglas MacArthur had an office at the Barracks. But this is not true. His main office was at the Hotel Australia in Melbourne. However, General Sir Thomas Blamey, a very important Australian military leader, did have his main office at the Barracks. He was the Commander-in-Chief of Australian Military Forces during the war.
Victoria Barracks Today
Today, Victoria Barracks Melbourne is still used by the Australian Defence Force. It houses several important groups and offices.
What's Inside Victoria Barracks Now?
Many parts of the Defence Force work here, including:
- Land Systems Division (LSD), which helps get new equipment for the army.
- Parts of Joint Logistics Command (JLC), which manages supplies.
- Parts of Estate and Infrastructure Group (E&IG), which looks after Defence buildings.
- The Senior Naval Officer - Victoria (SNO-Vic).
Other groups that are not part of the Defence Force also have offices here:
- The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) library.
- The Defence Force Welfare Association (DFWA).
- Companies that provide support services to Defence.
- The Australian Military Bank.
- The Defence Bank.
- An Australian Federal Police office.
Special Rooms and Names
Many places within Victoria Barracks are named after important military events, people, or places. These include:
- The Shedden Auditorium, named after Sir Frederick Shedden.
- The War Cabinet Room, where the World War II War Cabinet met.
- The Blamey Room, named after Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey.
- The Tresco Room, named after a special Navy residence in Sydney.
Future of the Old Clinic
The old Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic building was given back to Defence in 1975. It has been empty since 1995. There have been talks about what to do with the building. One idea was to turn it into an Australian National Veterans Arts Centre.
