Summary

Black & white aerial photograph taken from the north of the Exhibition Buildings circa 1948, showing the extent of required maintenance work required to the building's roofing and masonry.

The Royale Ballroom was situated in the Eastern Annexe on the left, while the Country Road Board and Motor Registration Branch had their offices in the Western Annexe. In the quandrangle can be seen the Aquarium, and the barracks that were used during World War II by the Royal Australian Air Force and were subsequently used post-war as the British Migrants Reception Centre.

This is one of 959 photographs (or images) of the Exhibition Building collated by the Exhibition Trustees as a 10 volume pictorial history of the Exhibition Building spanning the years 1880 to 1985. The pictorial history was instigated by the centenary of the Exhibition Building in 1980 and forms part of a larger Royal Exhibition Building collection of documents, photographs, objects and research files.

Description of Content

View looking south towards the Melbourne CBD area with the Exhibition Building in the immediate foreground. Clearly visible are the Eastern and Western Annexes, and the barrack huts located in the quadrangle. Within the CBD area, the Western Market on the corner of Bourke and Exhibition streets is clearly visible.

Physical Description

A black & white silver gelatin print on a page of a photograph album. There is a printed caption below the photograph.

Significance

The Exhibition Trustees' album containing this photograph provides an invaluable visual record of past maintenance and restoration work undertaken on the Royal Exhibition Buildings prior to the building being recognised with a World Heritage Listing in 2004.

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