Back to search results »

Back to search page »

Victorian School For Deaf Children

Other Names Former Deaf and Dumb Institution ,  Former Deaf Children Australia ,  Royal Institute for the Deaf Location 583 - 597 St Kilda Road,, MELBOURNE VIC 3004 - Property No B2451 File Number B2451 Level State

[1/1] B2451 Victorian School for

Statement of Significance

This building is socially and historically significant at state level because the Victorian School for Deaf Children (originally known as the Deaf and Dumb Institution), has played a pioneering role in the history of the welfare of the deaf in Victoria.
The school was erected between 1866 and 1871 to educate the many children who suffered deafness through the high incidence of disease and accident in the infant colony of Victoria. The development of the school is associated with the growth of many important Melbourne educational and social welfare institutions established in the two decades following the population explosion of the gold rush.
The school has architectural significance as an imposing design in the institutional Early English Gothic Style and is a major work of the notable architects Crouch and Wilson, who were among the most prolific Melbourne nineteenth century architectural practicioners and designed other important Victorian buildings such as the Methodist Ladies' College, the Prahran Town Hall, the Homeopathic (later Prince Henry's) Hospital, the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind and numerous Presbyterian and Wesleyan churches.
The Victorian School for the Deaf, the neighbouring Wesley College, and the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind all have extensive grounds facing St Kilda Road and form a significant part of the St Kilda Road Streetscape.
Classified: 12/12/1990