Summary

This is a black & white postcard of the Exhibition Building, showing the south west facade through the small shrubs and trees of the garden in 1905. The postcard was sent from Wellington, New Zealand to Mr Kirkwood, Hyde Park Mansions, London, England on 15 October 1905.

The Exhibition Building was built for the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition, which opened to visitors on 1 October 1880. On 9 May 1901, it hosted the opening of the First Commonwealth Parliament of Australia. By the early 20th century, picture postcards of the Exhibition Building were a popular Melbourne souvenir.

The division of the reverse of the postcard, allowing a message to be written on one half and the address on the other, was not permitted in Britain until 1902 and Australia until 1905.

Physical Description

A black & white photograph of the Exhibition Building from the south west showing Rathdowne Street facade, garden and roadway. A thin white border is on the left of the photograph and a wider white border is on the right. Both borders contain a handwritten inscription in black ink. On the reverse of the postcard, an address is handwritten in black ink. In the upper right hand corner, there is a pink, one penny New Zealand postage stamp and the card is postmarked 1905.

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