University of Melbourne Meals, Buildings and Changes (with memories of Union House)

Since studying at the University of Melbourne a few decades ago I have spent time working on campus on and off and seen many changes.  These photos are from the last few years.  Even in that time there have been many changes to food offerings and buildings.   This post does not include many of the iconic university buildings because I have shared those before; you can find links to previous University of Melbourne posts at the end of this post.

I enjoyed visiting this pop up Little MylkBar in the cute little caravan on the Concrete Lawns.  This is where the University of Melbourne farmers market used to be.  I miss the bustle and excitment of the market but the Little MylkBar was a nice surprise.  Though I haven't been around that area much, it says on their website that they are still there 10am-3pm Monday to Thursday.  

The food is all vegan.  The photo above is of the Pesto Toastie that had vegan gouda cheese, pesto, sun dried tomatoes, roasted capsicum, olives and mayo sandwiched in a Turkish bread roll and toasted.  Delicious!

In the background of the photo of the Little MylkBar caravan you can see the Union House, which sadly is no more.  I have some great memories of that building; volunteering the Food Co-Op, watching student plays in the Guild Theatre, crazy campaigning during student union elections, peaceful breaks in the Rowden White Library where studying is forbidden, advertising for housemates on the accommodation board, Covid vaccinations and the days I used to stop by for amazing chocolate balls.  The building had everything including a travel agency, a chemist, a bike shop, a computer shop, an information desk, a mini mart, an art gallery, and many other artistic activities etc etc. 

I share this above photo of a wall mural in the above because it expressed how vibrant and alive this building used to be, especially when it was compulsory to be a member of the student union.  I liked this history of Union House especially as it mentions a production of Hamlet that I saw.  It was one of the most innovative amazing plays I have ever seen and many years later I found that Cate Blanchett was in the cast.

This photo of a modern fireplace - flames on a tv screen with logs piled in front - expresses the fun of the student union.  It was a place for a break from studies to relax and indulge in extracurricular activities.

Union House also addressed serious issues.  It offered support for those who didn't quite fit in.  In my day before the internet, it was easier to go in person to see the Women's Officer or get help on housing or legal issues at one of the student union offices on the second floor.  This above photo is one of my last of the Union House.  It was the food relief offered after Covid decimated student part time work to support their studies.  I was really sad to see queues there for a while.

One of the reasons to eat at Union House was that it offered reasonably priced food.  I remember the little $1 salad rolls at the Food Co-Op.  The meal above was a great salad bowl.  I can't tell you where I bought it because I can see the part of the union building in my mind but not the name.  It was so satisfying with grated carrot, cucumber, avocado, edamame, beetroot, roasted pumpkin, seaweed, pumpkin seeds and a tahini dressing.  Excellent with a good book (thank you Geraldine Brooks for the Year of Wonders).  And there were many great places to sit alone or with a friend.

Union House was never the same after Covid hit.  Student numbers on campus dropped, the businesses closed and some never opened again, especially as shutting down the building came hot on the heels of Covid.  StudentIn latter years, especially when the building closed due to Covid.  A few places remained open including Plush Fish, Ho Hos and Pronto Pizza.  

Above is a photo of the delicious vegan pizza from Pronto Pizza.  It had potato, capsicum, broccoli and caramelised onion.  There was no cheese so it fell apart if you weren't careful but tasted so good.  And now the little Pronto Pizza cargo bike was always parked out the front.  No longer does it take piles of pizzas to gatherings of staff and students.  While some places have relocated, apparently Pronto Pizza did not.

One of the places that relocated from the Union House was Ho Ho's Canteen.  It now resides behind the Percy Grainger Museum on Royal Parade.  (That museum is quirky and fascinating.)  I have loved their Middle Eastern pies and salads.  Most recently I had a cheese and vegemite pie which was great.  The new digs are smaller and there were no salads but it sounded like they were still settling in. 

Not far from Ho Ho's is the Systems Garden, which is such a beautiful place to take lunch.  This photo is taken from the cactus garden but the park benches and lawns are a far more comfortable place to eat.  (ha ha)  Thank goodness there are some beautiful parts of the university that don't change.

The new Student Pavilion is right next to the new Arts and Culture Building.  I think they are both on the site of the old Alice Hoy building, which not the bonniest building on campus.  I get the two new buildings confused which is why I took this photo I took to show the new Student Pavilion and then found it actually the Arts and Culture Building.  

There are places to eat in both buildings, but there are a lot of franchises and it is quite a different scene from the old Union House.  It is there in the names.  Union House was for students and by students.  It was a bit shabby but comfortable and fun.  The Student Pavilion seems to be more about impressing new students with rows of new tables to plug in laptops rather than creating a community.  The artistic part of the Union House is now separated into the Arts and Cultural Building rather than it be integral to student experiences.  It says so much about student life these days!  (I know I sound old and cranky but I am sad today's students miss the vibrancy of campus life that I experienced.)

One of the new food outlets in the Student Pavilion that has Union House vibes is Journeys Cafe.  It is a social enterprise run by the ASRC (Asylum Seekers Refugee Centre) Catering.  I have been there a couple of times.  Once for a curry and the second for a spinach ricotta roll and a substantial bean and vegetable salad.  The prices are decent, mostly under $10, and there are also toasties, wraps and coffees.  It is worth going up to Level 4 of the pavilion just for the views of the city. 

Although I am sad that the Union Building is no longer, I love this ampitheatre outside the Student Pavillion.  It is a great place to sit and eat lunch or find some campus life.  I prefer it to the Concrete Lawns outside the Union Building.

It features the wonderful 1930s Frank Tate Building which was previously hidden among a crowd of newer buildings.  The building is impressive but the name is problematic because Frank Tate drove eugenics thinking including legislation to sterilise 15% of the population of Victora that he decided were undesirable, such as Aboriginal people, homosexuals, criminals and alcoholics.  (I think some politicians today would love this bill which was passed by thank goodness it was never enacted.)  Today it is referred to as Building 189 and the large lower floor, that once was a teachers college gymnasium is now called the Market Hall.

It is ironic that today that Market Hall in a building named for a man who once celebrated "smoothing the pillow" of the dying race of Aboriginal people is now the site of the Identity Bricks celebrating pride in Aboriginal culture.  Among the brickwork are resin bricks encasing objects that signify the stories and diversity of Indigenous people on campus.  It is worth a look if nothing is going on in the Market Hall.

I took this photo of home.two cafe a couple of years ago when it was outside the Peter Hall Building.  The Maths and Stats building is another that is renamed because it was originally named after another prominent eugenicist, Richard Berry.  The home.two building has now been relocated to Tin Alley between sports buildings and no longer has the lovely wooden deck but the tables and chairs overlook the oval rather than a busy tram stop.  Home.two is now called For Change cafe but I think is run by the same social enterprise group called For Change.  The building is remodelled shipping container and the cafe is also sustainably run.

The menu does not seem to have changed a lot though the plant-based jaffles seem to have slightly different fillings.  I love a place that used the Australian vernacular "jaffles" that I grew up with rather than "toasties".  When I visited home.two I had a Jaffle filled with rosemary roasted pumpkin, caramelised onion and tahin.  It was really good.  They also have hot and cold drinks and sweet bakes.

The University of Melbourne is constantly building.  In fact there was some discussion about all the building projects going on despite the university struggling with being omitted from a lot of lockdown funding during the first years of Covid.  One of the benefits of this constant review of buildings is that sometimes parts of building become visible that you had never seen before.  

I enjoyed this back view of the 1888 Building recently that I don't recall seeing before.  The remodeling the space into an ampitheatre in front of Building 189 (aka Frank Tate) also has now a lovely verandah area that previously was built over (as you can see in a photo in this post).

Another change was the Corkman Irish Pub that was among the South Carlton university buildings.  It is infamous for being demolished illegally by recalcitrant owners who were fined, jailed and ordered by the courts to build a park on the land.  The pub was originally built in 1857 and deemed of historical significance.  I remember an infamous work Christmas lunch many years ago at the Corkman that resulted in a complaint against a staff member and much ill feeling.  This recreated facade of the building is on a park between Grattan and Pelham Streets.  I am not sure if it was done by the previous owners.  It is sad that a lively heritage pub has been reduced to this.  Ironic that this structure is built on a park which replaced a lawn bowls club.  Always change!

Some of the new buildings are creatively designed, impressive to look at and have wonderful state of the art facilities.  One example is Melbourne Connect with houses the Science Gallery.  I love this building with its curved courtyard.  There are quite a few places to eat.  I have been the Science Gallery cafe which was nice though quite basic, and tried to go to the Master Lanzhou Beef Noodle Bar but it did not cater to vegetarians.  Melbourne Connect is built on the old site of the Royal Women's Hospital where I gave birth 17 years ago.

One of the big changes around the university but not by the university is the Metro Tunnel Parkville work.  It is exciting that Melbourne University will have an underground station  but not so fun working beside the roadworks.  It feels like coming to work every day and wondering what configuration of footpaths need to be navigated.  The build started in 2018 and is due to open in 2025.  This part of Grattan Street has been closed for years with lots of digging, heavy machinery, noisy construction, huge cranes, men in fluro jackets and temporary fencing.  There have been rumours about the university planing for Grattan Street to never reopen to traffic because it divides the old campus from the new buildings in South Carlton.  The above photo is from the Alan Gilbert building looking towards the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

The Alan Gilbert Building (which can be seen in the background of the Corkman Irish Pub photo) houses the Baretto Espresso Cafe on the ground floor.  I used to go there for wraps but lately have enjoyed the roll with crumbed eggplant, slaw and spicy relish.  (I can't remember if it has cheese or not).  It is grilled and so good served warm.  The space to eat is really nice too with large windows.  These days seating gives a great view of the Metro Tunnel works but not forever.

A more recent discovery is the Haymarket Place Cafe on Berkeley Street between the Alan Gilbert Building and the Doherty Institute.  I love the cafe for the wall papered with photos of bookshelves.  They do good wraps and sweet slices.  The meal in the photo was ordered when I really wanted the lentil soup but could not go past The Vegan because the roasted eggplant, pumpkin, dukkah, sundried tomatoes, spinach and spicy capsicum dip come in a toasted green bun.  It was a bit much and I managed to have more of the soup than The Vegan, but both were very good (despite the dip being a bit spicy).

One of the most impressive buildings in the medical research precinct is the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre on the corner of Grattan Street and Royal Parade.  The Super 8 cafe on the ground floor has a great selection of salads, sandwiches and hot food that change regularly.  The clientele is a mix of hospital staff, university staff and some general public.  The meal in the photo above is a vegetarian taco with beans, slaw and guacamole, with a serve of chips on the side.  Loved it. 

Another good cafe on the university side of Royal Parade is Dr Dax in the Kenneth Myer Building.  The building houses the Dax Centre gallery that features artists with lived mental health experience and aims to breakdown stigma through art.  Dr Dax has a really good range of sandwiches, salads and hot foods and lots of seating.  The offerings change daily.  The photo above is risotto in a capsicum and creamed potatoes.  It was quite unlike my usual lunches but tasted good.

Finally one of my favourite places to eat on campus is Castros Kiosk.  They do wraps and slices but I really love the boreks.  They are a bargain at $5.50 each.  I often go for the spicy potato borek but also enjoy the spinach and feta borek.  They are always bigger than I remember and very satisfying.  The kiosk is a hole in the wall so seating is not great in rainy weather.

More posts on the University of Melbourne on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

• University of Melbourne buildings - arches, the quad and the new (2019)
• University of Melbourne - lunches (2012)
  
• University of Melbourne Farmers Market: Vegan Lunches (2018) 
  
• University of Melbourne places to eat (2019)

Also the University has a page of food and retail outlets on campus.