Hidden history of Milton House

The state heritage-listed building that now faces partial demolition and renovations as part of the redevelopment of the neighbouring Shell House on Flinders Lane, Milton House was first built as a private hospital in 1901.

It was the private practice of surgeon William Moore who in 1885 became the first graduate of the Master of Surgery at The University of Melbourne.

Moore was a prominent surgeon of his time who also worked at Royal Melbourne Hospital (known then as simply the Melbourne Hospital) and St Vincent’s Hospital.

He specialised in plastic surgery and skin diseases and was the author of the first English textbook on plastic surgery.

The building then became a rooming house before it was purchased by the state government in 1950 to be used as the headquarters for the tuberculosis branch of the Victorian Health Commission.

The building housed tuberculosis patient records and X-ray machines, which were used for follow-ups with patients.

At the time, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death for Australians, with one in three Australians aged between 20 and 40 dying of tuberculosis by the year 1946.

The building’s unique architecture is thought to be the work of architects Sydney Wigham Smith and Charles Alfred Ogg, with the Art Nouveau detailing likely the work of their frequent collaborator Robert Haddon.

The ornamental wrought iron above the building’s entryway, the decorative terracotta details around the archway and the distinctive brickwork on the building’s facade are characteristic of Haddon’s designs and Art Nouveau more broadly.

The three-storey building also exhibits influences from English Baroque, Romanesque and Georgian architectural styles.

As previously reported by CBD News, Milton House faces partial demolition and interior remodelling to provide retail floorspace as part of the Shell House redevelopment next door, despite the Victorian Heritage Council’s efforts to oppose the redevelopment. •