File:Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria Australia (4598958376).jpg

The Conservatorium of Music was established in 1895 and run by Professor Marshall Hall in rented rooms in a building opposite Carlton Gardens. Later the Conservatorium was moved to the grounds of the University of Melbourne and located in a purpose-built building. The first stage was erected in 1909 and opened in April 1910. The two storey rendered brick building was designed by architects Bates, Peebles and Smart and the contractors were Swanson Brothers. Dame Nellie Melba laid the foundation stone. Melba Hall was completed in 1913 to designs by the Public Works Department, and two later wings, the north Tallis Wing in 1927 and the Marshall-Hall Wing in 1935 were added by university architects Gawler and Drummond. The additions were in a matching style to complete the original design symmetry. The additions were made possible by the continuing support of benefactors such as Sir George Tallis, and Mrs Herbert Brookes, the daughter of Sir Alfred Deakin. The white stucco walling is shaded by the wide eaves of the slate roof and contrasts with the terracotta, patterned gables. The building has wide projecting eaves in the manner of English domestic architecture of the period. The shaped eaves brackets, ground floor window hoods, tile faced gables and Art Nouveau decoration of clover, cress and gumnuts ornament the facades. The windows are one multi-pane sash over a single pane lower one. The projecting porch and parapet in the centre of the main west facade is in the Free Style manner and contains the foundation and memorial stones. The interior is sparsely detailed and the Melba Hall has a barrel vaulted ceiling. Melba Hall was renovated in the 1980s.