AT THE UNIVERSITY

The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of Melbourne's central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria.

The university comprises ten separate academic units and is associated with numerous institutes and research centres, including the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and the Grattan Institute. The university has fifteen graduate schools, including the Melbourne Business School, the Melbourne Law School, the Melbourne Veterinary School, and the Melbourne Medical School.

In the QS World University Rankings 2025, the University of Melbourne was ranked 13th (1st nationally). Times Higher Education ranked Melbourne 33rd globally (1st in Australia) in the 2021–2022 iteration of its annual World University Rankings. In 2022, it ranked 33rd among the universities around the world by SCImago Institutions Rankings. I am proud to call this University my Alma Mater (all photos are from the Parkville Campus).

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

TRAM IN WINTER

It's Winter and the elms have lost almost all of their leaves on Royal Parade, one the world's last remaining avenues lined by century-old elms. Unfortunately many of these trees are nearing the end of their lives. An intensive replanting effort is needed to keep these magnificent trees growing on this road that leads to the City.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

LEADEN SKY

Going towards the City on Royal Parade in Parkville. A Winter's day, cold, grey and rainy...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

AUTUMN IN THE SYSTEM GARDEN

One of my favourite places at my alma mater, the University of Melbourne, is the System Garden. The System Garden was designed by the University’s first Professor of Natural History, Frederick McCoy in concert with architect Edward Latrobe Bateman in 1856. The garden is unusual because unlike a botanical or ornamental garden, the plants were selected and planted according to an evolutionary system of classification – hence its name, System Garden.

In the original design, visitors could walk from the middle of the garden to the outer edges and trace the natural history of the evolution of the plant kingdom. You rarely see such gardens today, because it’s a scientific garden, and though it is ornamentally attractive, that’s not its key function. The garden originally covered a quarter of the University’s grounds and featured an octagonal glasshouse at its centre that housed several plant habitats. The gazebo, which still stands in the garden today, was the glasshouse’s central structure and marks the exact centre of the original garden.

It was originally bounded by an acacia hedge, and though this was removed to make way for the Botany and Zoology Buildings which now occupy much of the original garden, some of Professor McCoy’s original plantings are still flourishing, including three towering palm trees, the Osage orange tree (Maclura pomifera), and some of the larger conifers.

Twenty years ago the garden was updated to reflect a more current system of classification – the Cronquist classification system – with the beds laid out according to plant subclasses. Although the garden is designed to highlight the science of Botany and the evolution of plants, it is also a beautiful space often used by students and staff as a quiet place to reflect, read or eat lunch. Property and Campus Services has recently commissioned a new conservation and management plan for the System Garden, which will enhance its ongoing value as a scientific, teaching, and recreational resource.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

Haemanthus coccineus - Bloodflower

Symphyotrichum novae-angliae - New England Aster

Brachychiton bidwillii - Little-Kurrajong

Solanum betaceum - Tamarillo

PARKVILLE TERRACES

Terraced houses in Australia refers almost exclusively to Victorian and Edwardian era terraced houses or replicas, almost always found in the older, inner city areas of the major cities, mainly Sydney and Melbourne. Terraced housing was introduced to Australia in the 19th century. Their architectural work was based on those in London and Paris, which had the style a century earlier.

Large numbers of terraced houses were built in the inner suburbs of large Australian cities, particularly Sydney and Melbourne, mainly between the 1850s and the 1890s. The beginning of this period coincided with a population boom caused by the Victorian and New South Wales Gold Rushes of the 1850s and finished with an economic depression in the early 1890s. Detached housing became the popular style of housing in Australia following Federation in 1901.

Melbourne's flat terrain has produced regular terraced house patterns. The wealth of the gold rush fuelled speculative housing development and also ensured that many terraces were built with ornate and elaborate details in a generally Italianate style, reaching its zenith in the 1880s with what is often referred to as "boom" style. The generic Melbourne style of terrace is distinguishable from other regional variations.

The majority of designers of Victorian terraces in Melbourne made a deliberate effort to hide roof elements with the use of a decorative parapet, often combined with the use balustrades above a subtle but clearly defined eave cornice and a frieze, which was either plain or decorated with a row of brackets (and sometimes additional patterned bas-relief). Chimneys were often tall, visible above the parapet and elaborately Italianate in style.

Individual terraces were designed to be appreciated on their own as much as part of a row. Symmetry was achieved through a central classical inspired pediment or similar architectural feature, balanced by a pair of architectural finial or urns on either side (though these details were subsequently removed on many terraces). The party walls were almost always decorated with corbels (which sometimes depicted heads), and the large wooden entry doors were decorated with stained or etched glass surrounds.

The Melbourne style often incorporated polychrome brickwork and decorative cast iron balconies (of the filigree style). The demand for imported cast iron eventually led to the establishment of local foundries. As a result, Melbourne has more decorative cast iron than any other city in the world. Melbourne style terraces were often set back from the street rather than built to the property line, providing a small front yard. Decorative cast-iron fencing, regularly dispersed with rendered brick piers, was typically used, and the party wall of the end terraces would sometimes, but not always, extend to the property line to join the fence.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

The University of Melbourne (informally Melbourne University, Melbourne Uni or simply Melbourne) is an Australian public research university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Times Higher Education ranks Melbourne as 33rd in the world, while the QS World University Rankings places Melbourne 31st in the world. According to QS World University Subject Rankings 2015, the University of Melbourne is ranked 5th in the world for education, 8th in law, 13th in computer science and IT, 13th in arts and humanities, 14th in accounting and finance, 14th in dentistry and 18th in medicine.

Melbourne's main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of the Melbourne central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria. Melbourne is a sandstone university and a member of the Group of Eight, Universitas 21 and the Association of Pacific Rim Universities. Since 1872 various residential colleges have become affiliated with the university. There are 12 colleges located on the main campus and in nearby suburbs offering academic, sporting and cultural programs alongside accommodation for Melbourne students and faculty.

Melbourne comprises 11 separate academic units and is associated with numerous institutes and research centres, including the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research and the Grattan Institute. Amongst Melbourne's 15 graduate schools the Melbourne Business School, the Melbourne Law School and the Melbourne Medical School are particularly well regarded.

Four Australian prime ministers and five governors-general have graduated from Melbourne. Seven Nobel laureates have been students or faculty, the most of any Australian university.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

ELMS IN THEIR GLORY

The cultivation of elms in Australia began in the first half of the 19th century when European settlers imported species from their former homelands. Owing to the demise of elms in the northern hemisphere as a result of the Dutch elm disease pandemic, the mature trees in Australia's parks and gardens are now regarded as amongst the most significant in the world.

The hybrid variety Dutch Elm (Ulmus x hollandica) and related cultivars are the most commonly seen elms in Australia. Cultivars include 'Major', 'Dauvessei', 'Vegeta', 'Wredei' and another known as 'Purpurascens'. English Elms (Ulmus procera) were a popular tree for park and avenue planting in the nineteenth century. One of the oldest known exotic trees in Victoria is the sole survivor of four planted in the newly established Royal Botanic Gardens in 1846.

Although elms in Australia exist far away from their natural habitat and associated pest and disease problems, a few problematic insect species have managed to infiltrate Australia's strict quarantine defences . The Elm Leaf Beetle was first discovered on the Mornington Peninsula in 1989 and had spread to the City of Melbourne by 1991. The beetles have caused significant damage to elm species since that time, although the City of Melbourne keeps them in check with a regular spraying regime.

Unlike most other countries that have elm trees, Australia has not yet been subjected to Dutch Elm Disease, although the vector of the disease, the Elm Bark Beetle, was first officially recorded in Melbourne in 1974. The City of Melbourne and the Victorian State Government have jointly developed a Dutch elm disease contingency plan in case of an outbreak.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

MELBOURNE ELMS

The cultivation of elms in Australia began in the first half of the 19th century when European settlers imported species from their former homelands. Owing to the demise of elms in the northern hemisphere as a result of the Dutch elm disease pandemic, the mature trees in Australia's parks and gardens are now regarded as amongst the most significant in the world.

The hybrid variety Dutch Elm (Ulmus x hollandica) and related cultivars are the most commonly seen elms in Australia. Cultivars include 'Major', 'Dauvessei', 'Vegeta', 'Wredei' and another known as 'Purpurascens'. English Elms (Ulmus procera) were a popular tree for park and avenue planting in the nineteenth century. One of the oldest known exotic trees in Victoria is the sole survivor of four planted in the newly established Royal Botanic Gardens in 1846.

Although elms in Australia exist far away from their natural habitat and associated pest and disease problems, a few problematic insect species have managed to infiltrate Australia's strict quarantine defences . The Elm Leaf Beetle was first discovered on the Mornington Peninsula in 1989 and had spread to the City of Melbourne by 1991.[8] The beetles have caused significant damage to elm species since that time, although the City of Melbourne keeps them in check with a regular spraying regime.

Unlike most other countries that have elm trees, Australia has not yet been subjected to Dutch Elm Disease, although the vector of the disease, the Elm Bark Beetle, was first officially recorded in Melbourne in 1974. The City of Melbourne and the Victorian State Government have jointly developed a Dutch elm disease contingency plan in case of an outbreak.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

NEW CANCER CENTRE

The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) Project will deliver a new, $1 billion facility purpose-built for cancer research, treatment and care in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, Victoria. Construction is under way to create a brand new home for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and new cancer research and clinical services for Melbourne Health and The University of Melbourne.

In addition to the new facilities being built, eight world-leading cancer organisations have come together to share knowledge and resources and drive the next generation of cancer research, education, treatment and care. Based on the site of the former Royal Dental Hospital (corner Grattan Street, Flemington Road and Royal Parade) and linked by bridges across to new facilities at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, the VCCC Project will assist building partners to accelerate the discovery of new cancer treatments, attract the nation’s leading cancer researchers and provide a centre of excellence for people affected by cancer.

The VCCC Project is jointly funded by the Victorian and Australian governments. Construction of the new $1 billion facility began in 2011 and will be completed by the end of 2015. The centre will contribute to the area's dedicated health research, disease treatment and patient care facilities already in existence in Parkville.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Geometric Friday meme.