The Art Deco and Modernism Society of Australia Inc.

Walking tour of Modernist Melbourne – City East
2025-09-21 10:30 - 12:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Parliament Gardens, corner Albert and Nicholson Streets, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002, Australia
Join us for a captivating exploration of Modernist Melbourne in the east of the CBD, where we’ll uncover architectural treasures that illustrate the transformation of Melbourne’s built environment in the post-WWII period.
Our tour begins with the iconic 1958 ICI building on Nicholson Street, a striking example of International Style architecture featuring clean lines, curtain walls of glass, and an innovative use of reinforced concrete.
From there, you’ll marvel at a range of Brutalist buildings including a fire station, with its raw concrete facades and imposing geometric form, discover cinemas that embraced modernist aesthetics in their streamlined designs, and car parks with sculptural ramps that are as much art as utility.
We’ll also explore brick apartment towers, built between the 1950s and 1980s when the first wave of City Living was all the rage and so much more.
Bring your water bottle and dress for the weather.

Date: Sunday, 21 September 2025
Time: 10.30am 12.00 pm
Cost: Members $45, Non-members $50

Meet at 10.15 am Parliament Gardens: Corner Albert and Nicholson Streets East Melbourne

Tickets capped at 20. Book early to avoid disappointment via TryBooking (+ $0.50 booking fee) or download and complete the Booking Forn to pay by card, cheque or EFT.

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Waking Tour: Travancore
2026-03-22 10:30 - 12:30 | VIC
Sunday 22 March 2026, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Join us for a walking tour of the small inner-Melbourne suburb of Travancore which was established by the subdivisions of a large pastoral estate in 1918 and the early 1920s. It remains a remarkably intact area of distinctive Art Deco housing styles and streetscapes and was known as the Toorak of the north!
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Walking Tour: Spanish Mission, Ripponlea, Balaclava & Elwood
2026-04-19 10:30 - 12:30 | VIC
Sunday 19 April 2026, 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Ripponlea, Balaclava and Elwood are home to the highest concentrations of Spanish Mission and Mediterranean buildings in Melbourne. Join us to experience the notable and diverse examples of these styles.
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Tasmania: Tour - Colonial Mutual Life Building
2026-05-07 15:00 | Colonial Mutual Life Building, 18 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Join the Tasmanian Chapter for a tour of the Colonial Mutual Life Building in Hobart.
Date: Thursday 7 May
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: 18 Elizabeth Street, Hobart
Note: Places are limited to a maximum of 16 people.
Email Jessica Lawrence Design for bookings

Victoria: Walking Tour - Mount Eagle
2026-05-17 10:30 | VIC
In an exclusive residential enclave, the walk takes us past Interwar properties, several of which could be described as ‘Art Deco’ or ‘Modernist’.
This part of Eaglemont was laid out between 1914 and 1916 by Walter Burley Griffin, the American-born architect who is renowned for designing Canberra as well as Melbourne’s Capitol Theatre and Newman College.
We will walk through one of Burley Griffin’s 7 private park reserves built behind the houses for the community to share, a key principle of Griffin’s utopian principles. We will see one of his larger houses which is startlingly modern for 1927.
The walk is also in the footsteps of the so-called ‘Heidelberg School’ painters who camped in a derelict house that once stood in rural isolation and where they drew inspiration from the landscape and from each other during the 2 ‘Golden Summers’ of 1888 to 1890, developing an Australian version of Impressionism.
An absolute highlight of the walk will be a tour inside one of the 3 pioneering Australian Arts and Crafts houses designed by Harold Desbrowe Annear in 1903. The beautiful and faithfully restored architect’s ‘Own House’ demonstrates the shift from prevailing Italianate and Queen Anne suburban taste as it embraced innovative modern design in the twentieth century.
Walking notes: There are some sloping streets and a short descent along a rough track with steps, so the walk is not suitable for those with mobility problems.
Cost: Members $45, Non-members $50
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Meet: Corner of The Eyrie and Summit Drive between 10:15 and 10:25 am for a 10:30 am start. The walk will finish at the same point.
Driving: Approach The Eyrie from the west (note it is not accessible from the east).
Parking: The Eyrie should have kerbside parking available.
Train: Eaglemont Station on the Hurstbridge line with a 900 metre uphill walk to the starting point.
Bring your water bottle and dress for the weather.

Tasmania: Tour - State Library and Archives
2026-06-13 10:00 - 12:00 | State Library and Archives of Tasmania, Level 2/91 Murray Street, Hobart, Tasmania, 7000, Australia
Library tour and training to use the State Archives.
State Library and Archives of Tasmania
Level 2/91 Murray Street, Hobart, TAS 7000
10:00 am – 12:00 midday
Save the date! Booking information available soon.

Victoria: Walking Tour - North Balwyn
2026-06-28 10:30 - 12:30 | VIC
Save the date. Program and ticket details to be available soon.

Tasmania: Tour - State Library and Archives of Tasmania
2026-07-22 16:00 - 17:00 | State Library and Archives of Tasmania, Level 2/91 Murray Street, Hobart, Tasmania, 7000, Australia
Library tour and training to use the State Archives.
State Library and Archives of Tasmania
Level 2/91 Murray Street, Hobart, TAS 7000
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Save the date! Booking information available soon.

Victoria: Exclusive Home Tour - East St Kilda
2026-08-16 | VIC
Save the date. Program and ticket details to come soon.

Victoria: Tour & Lunch - Castlemaine Art Deco
2026-11-08 | VIC
Sunday 8 November 2026
Save the date. Program and ticket details to be available soon.
