World Heritage Identification Number: 1131
World Heritage since: 2004
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇦🇺 Australia
Continent: Oceania
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens: A Testament to International Progress and Australian Culture
The Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, situated on the northeastern edge of Melbourne's Central Business District, stand as a significant testament to the international exhibition movement that swept across the globe during the latter half of the 19th century. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, this remarkable complex embodies the spirit of innovation, cultural exchange, and material progress that characterized these grand events.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Royal Exhibition Building and its surrounding Carlton Gardens were designed for the great international exhibitions of 1880 and 1888 in Melbourne. The building and grounds were designed by Joseph Reed. The building is constructed of brick and timber, steel and slate. It combines elements from the Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance styles. The property is typical of the international exhibition movement which saw over 50 exhibitions staged between 1851 and 1915 in venues including Paris, New York, Vienna, Calcutta, Kingston (Jamaica) and Santiago (Chile). All shared a common theme and aims: to chart material and moral progress through displays of industry from all nations.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ii): The Royal Exhibition Building and the surrounding Carlton Gardens, as the main extant survivors of a Palace of Industry and its setting, together reflect the global influence of the international exhibition movement of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement showcased technological innovation and change, which helped promote a rapid increase in industrialisation and international trade through the exchange of knowledge and ideas.
Encyclopedia Record: Carlton Gardens
The Carlton Gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on the northeastern edge of the Central Business District in the suburb of Carlton, Melbourne, in the state of Victoria, Australia. The gardens are a popular picnic and barbecue area, and are home to an array of wildlife, including brushtail possums.Additional Site Details
Area: 26 hectares
Coordinates: -37.80611111 , 144.9702778
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© Andrew Lukaris, CC BY-SA 2.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
