History and Culture

Designed by W. H. Ellerker, Horticultural Hall (Horti Hall) first opened its doors in 1873. Horti Hall is built upon the land of the First Nations people, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung. They have a connection to this land that goes back thousands of years, a connection that continues to this day.

Horticulture is concerned with the growing of plants that are used for food, medicine, and aesthetic purposes such as flowers. Horti Hall was opened in 1873 for the Horticultural Society of Victoria. Horti Hall's purpose was to be a place to share information on horticulture through lectures, displays and other events. It was also used as a venue for seasonal shows where members displayed their flowers, plants and fruit they had grown. In 1913, James Dearing, head gardener at Ripponlea, displayed his roses grown in the famous mansion’s grounds.

On first appearance, Horti Hall, with its ornate Classical Revival-style facade, may look typical of a nineteenth century building. But take a closer look, its detailing includes horticultural related motifs, such as acanthus leaves at the tops of the piers on the first-floor facade. The humble worm gets recognition too, with worm-eaten rendered panels on the façade called vermiculation, which reference this loved (and sometimes loathed) garden dweller.

The Horticultural Society of Victoria was formed in 1848. The ongoing success of the organisation saw it granted a Royal Charter in 1885 by Queen Victoria, when it became the Royal Horticultural Society of Victoria (RHSV), and around this time additions were made that significantly enlarged this building. 

Horticulture has been undertaken by First Nations people in Australia for thousands of years, where generations of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung have cared and nurtured and shaped the landscape through effective and sustainable land management practices.

The turnip-like roots of the Murnong or yam daisy (microseris scapigera) was a food source for the Wurundjeri, but the livestock of European settlement had devastated this once prolific food source by the 1840s. In addition to food, First Nations people also used plants for their medicinal qualities and in making items such as baskets and nets.

The Colony’s horticultural industry flourished after the Gold Rush, when there was a shift from mining activity to farming. This included the establishment of market gardens and orchards across Victoria, and in Melbourne these were on land now occupied by its residential suburbs. Horticulture was a source of employment for a broad section of the community including the Chinese who were prolific in market gardening across the State.

In later years, Horti Hall was used for an array of purposes including a campus of University High in the early twentieth century. The hall served various community events, including dances on Saturday nights, and religious services for the Christadelphian Ecclesia. In 1978, radio station 3CR sponsored a concert at the hall by the Australian folk and political music group, Redgum – a band name quite in keeping with this building’s horticultural past.

Horti Hall forms a precinct of buildings of cultural and educational institutions in this part of Victoria Street including the former Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy (now part of RMIT) and Victorian Trades Hall. The adjacent Independent Order of Oddfellows Hall next door was designed by W H Ellerker, the architect who designed Horti Hall, and when viewed from Victoria Street the two buildings complement each other in scale and character.

Through its use and association with the field of horticulture, and its other uses by various social, religious, educational and community organisations, Horti Hall is a cultural landmark in this city. This landmark quality is reinforced by its current use by Victorian Opera as an office, rehearsal, and performance space, which builds upon Horti Hall’s long contribution to Melbourne’s cultural history. Whilst the sound of opera now emanates from its interior spaces today, outside, on a sunny day, a breeze will cause the shadows from the leaves of the trees in Victoria Street to dance across the façade of Horti Hall, gently reminding us of its horticultural past.