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Newspaper House & Napier Waller Mural

Location 247 - 249 Collins Street,, MELBOURNE VIC 3000 - Property No B4094 File Number B4094 Level State

[1/1] B4094 Napier Waller Mural

Statement of Significance

Building Statement of Significance: Remodelled in 1932-33 to the designs of noted architects Stephenson and Meldrum as a result of a statewide competition organised by the Herald and Weekly Times Ltd., the facade of Newspaper House with its emphatically horizontal Moderne balconettes and stylized geometric decoration is of state significance as being the second commercial Moderne design built in central Melbourne and possibly Victoria. Of added significance is the classically inspired mosaic mural "I'll put a girdle round about the earth" by Napier Waller appropriate to the function of this building and its longtime owners and tenants the Herald Weekly Times Group.
Classified: 18/09/1991
Mural Statement of Significance: This wall mosaic, by Napier Waller (1894 -1972), was commissioned in 1932 as part of a new facade for Newspaper House. This is a rare example of the use of wall mosaic for decorative purposes on the facade of a Melbourne building. The theme of the mosaic was suggested by Mr. Theodore Fink, a director of the Herald and Weekly Times Limited, with the text, "I'll put a girdle round about the earth." In this city there are only two other mosaics by Napier Waller, who studied, loved and worked in Melbourne - one in Temple Court, Collins Street and the other at Monash House, William Street.
Classified: 20/04/1978