CSL (COMMONWEALTH SERUM LABORATORIES) COLLECTION

The CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories) Collection, comprising 652 items dating from the time of the company’s foundation in 1916, and held at Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and Melbourne Museum Merri-bek Annexe.

CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories) Collection is of historical and technical significance to the State of Victoria. It satisfies the following criterion for inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register:

Criterion A
Importance to the course, or pattern, of Victoria’s cultural history.

Criterion F
Importance in demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement at a particular period.

Criterion H
Special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Victoria’s history.

 

The CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories) Collection is historically significant for its association with the improvement of public health in Victoria and Australia. Prior to the outbreak of World War I, Australia primarily relied upon essential medicines shipped from overseas and had no domestic facility for the manufacture of vaccines, sera, and other medical products. Established in Parkville in 1916, CSL was the nation’s first domestic manufacturer of essential medicines and vaccines, later expanding its role into research and development. The collection provides insight into the diverse work of CSL since the early twentieth century, including its critical role in responding to public health crises such as the Spanish influenza pandemic. It also highlights CSL’s ongoing work in developing important vaccines, antivenoms, veterinary medicine and blood therapies. 

 

The CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories) Collection is scientifically and technically significant for its ability to illustrate the immense manufacturing capabilities of CSL, as well as its adaptation of existing biotechnology for specifically Australian purposes. The company’s unprecedented manufacturing capacity is evident in the size and breadth of the collection, which features an array of medicines dating to the early 1920s. The collection also highlights key innovations in Victoria’s medical history, including the development of antivenoms against Australian fauna and the development of Rh(D) immunoglobin.

 

The CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories) Collection is significant for its association with the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, Australia’s primary manufacturer of vaccines and other essential medicines since 1916. CSL was initially established to respond to domestic shortages of vaccines and sera and went on to provide a broad range of lifesaving treatments to Australians. In addition to being the nation’s primary manufacturer of medical treatments and therapies throughout the twentieth century, CSL also carried out ground-breaking research and development work including advancements in veterinary medicine.