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Hotel Windsor (Melbourne)
Encyclopedia
The Hotel Windsor is a 5 Star
luxury hotel
in Melbourne
. The Windsor is Australia
’s only surviving grand 19th century city hotel and only official "grand" Victorian era
hotel.
The hotel has a significant role in the History of Australia
as the place where the Constitution of Australia
was drafted in 1898.
For much of its 20th Century life the hotel, dubbed the Duchess of Spring Street, was one of the most favoured and luxurious hotels in Melbourne. It has hosted many notable national and international guests.
The Windsor is situated on Bourke Hill in the Parliament Precinct
and is a Melbourne landmark
of high Victorian architecture
.
The Windsor is currently planning a major renovation which is expected to begin in early 2013.
, George VI of the United Kingdom
and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
(as Duke and Duchess of York), Meryl Streep
, Anthony Hopkins
, Gregory Peck
, Laurence Olivier
, Vivien Leigh
, Katharine Hepburn
, Basil Rathbone
, Lauren Bacall
, Douglas Fairbanks
, Claudette Colbert
, Robert Helpmann
, Rudolph Nureyev, Dame Nellie Melba, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Michael Dukakis
, Muhammad Ali
, Barry Humphries
, Don Bradman and the Australia national cricket team as well as Australian prime ministers
Sir Robert Menzies, Malcolm Fraser
, Bob Hawke
, Paul Keating
and John Howard
.
in a broadly Renaissance Revival style and was completed in 1884. The hotel was named "The Grand". However, Nipper sold the hotel to James Munro
who doubled the size of the hotel, completed in 1888. Notable features of the hotel were the Grand Ballroom, the Grand Staircase, the distinctive twin mansard roofed towers in the Second Empire style, and the stone sculpture, attributed to John Simpson Mackennal, over the main entrance with male female figures known as 'Peace and Plenty' reclining over the English and Australian Coat of Arms. Munro was a politician and the leader of the temperance movement
in Victoria, who burnt the hotel's liquor licence in public and operated the hotel as a Coffee Palace
, now renamed the "Grand Coffee Palace".
Munro was declared bankrupt in February 1893, and a new owner of the hotel took over in 1897. The hotel was amalgamated with the neighbouring Old White Hart Hotel, re-licensed, and it's name was changed back to the Grand Hotel. In March 1898, the Constitutional Convention met at the hotel to finalize the final draft of the Constitution of Australia
.
In 1920, the hotel changed hands again, was refurbished, and renamed "Windsor Hotel", in honor of the British Royal Family
. For much of the 20th century, the hotel dubbed the Duchess of Spring Street was one of the most favoured and luxurious hotels in Melbourne, hosting many notable national and international guests.
By the mid 1970s, the Windsor was run-down and the last of the major historic 19th century hotels in Australia still operating. The other major hotels, the Menzies (1867-1969) and the Federal (1888-1972) in Melbourne, and the Australia
(1890-1971) and Metropole (1890-1969) in Sydney, had all been demolished.
Several proposals were put forward which included the demolition of the Windsor. A 1974 proposal for a 38 storey tower on the corner of Spring and Bourke Street was opposed by the state government and the National Trust. The Rupert Hamer
-led state government purchased the building in 1977 to ensure its preservation and in 1980 leased it to The Oberoi Group
.
Oberoi undertook a major restoration of the hotel in 1983 costing USD$6.6 million, reinstating the decorative 19th century colour schemes to the lobby, stairhall, and especially the Grand Dining Room, where huge brass chandeliers were reproduced from photographs. This was one of the first major private historic restorations in Melbourne, and won a Victorian Architect's Institute award. Its position as a leading five-star hotel and a major Melbourne
landmark was then firmly re-established. The cricketer's bar, afternoon tea in the grand dining room, and the top-hatted doorman all resumed their status as Melbourne institutions. The John Cain II
state government sold the hotel to the Oberoi Group giving the company freehold possession in 1990. In 2005, Oberoi sold the hotel to the Halim family.
In July 2009, the Halim group proposed a new $260 million refurbishment project which would add 152 rooms to the hotel. This would involve demolition of the hotel's 1960s-era North wing, and replacing it with a contemporary building with facilities expected by guests staying in a five star hotel. A thin curtain wall
tower designed by Denton Corker Marshall
was proposed be built at the rear of Windsor Place. The architects proposed that the fritted wavy glass of the facade was a solution to minimise the visual impact of the tower. The application submitted to Heritage Victoria included restoration of the 1880s facade facing Spring and Little Collins Streets.
The National Trust of Australia
(Victoria), opposed to the development responded with a campaign named 'Save the Windsor'. and claimed that the proposed tower was inappropriate and would breach established height controls for the Bourke Hill precinct initially put in place to protect vistas of the Windsor, Parliament House and St Patrick's Cathedral. These controls do not exist south of the Windsor where there are taller buildings, including 99 Spring Street, an apartment building completed in 1971. At 24 floors and 77 metres it is shorter than the proposed tower, yet it fronts onto the heritage precinct of Spring Street and is located directly next to the Windsor.
In late February 2010, a news leak
occurred which erupted in a government scandal
surrounding the redevelopment of the Windsor Hotel. A document prepared by a senior media advisor to Planning Minister Justin Madden
was sent by email to the ABC Newsdesk. It detailed plans by the Victorian Government to run a sham community consultation process in a bid to reject the plans. In response to public outcry, a probity officer was appointed to oversee the decision making process.
On 18 March 2010, the hotel renovation plans were approved by Planning Minister, Justin Madden. This was the final step in the approval process.
The Senate of Australia has officially recognised the national significance of the Windsor Hotel. The National Trust lost an appeal against the development which it took to the Supreme Court of Victoria
.
The Windsor's renovations are expected to begin in early 2013.
Star (classification)
Stars are often used as symbols for classification purposes. They are used by reviewers for ranking things such as movies, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. For example, one to five stars is commonly employed to categorize hotels.-Restaurant ratings:...
luxury hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The Windsor is Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
’s only surviving grand 19th century city hotel and only official "grand" Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
hotel.
The hotel has a significant role in the History of Australia
History of Australia
The History of Australia refers to the history of the area and people of Commonwealth of Australia and its preceding Indigenous and colonial societies. Aboriginal Australians are believed to have first arrived on the Australian mainland by boat from the Indonesian archipelago between 40,000 to...
as the place where the Constitution of Australia
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
was drafted in 1898.
For much of its 20th Century life the hotel, dubbed the Duchess of Spring Street, was one of the most favoured and luxurious hotels in Melbourne. It has hosted many notable national and international guests.
The Windsor is situated on Bourke Hill in the Parliament Precinct
Parliament House, Melbourne
Parliament House in Melbourne, located at Spring Street in East Melbourne at the edge of the Melbourne city centre, has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria, Australia, since 1855 .- History :In 1851, even before the colony of Victoria acquired full parliamentary self-government, Governor...
and is a Melbourne landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
of high Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
.
The Windsor is currently planning a major renovation which is expected to begin in early 2013.
Notable Guests
Notable guests at the Windsor have included Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
(as Duke and Duchess of York), Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor.One of 20th Century Fox's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play important roles well into the 1980s. His notable performances include that of Atticus Finch in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, for which he won an...
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
, Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, Basil Rathbone
Basil Rathbone
Sir Basil Rathbone, KBE, MC, Kt was an English actor. He rose to prominence in England as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in over 70 films, primarily costume dramas, swashbucklers, and, occasionally, horror films...
, Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall is an American film and stage actress and model, known for her distinctive husky voice and sultry looks.She first emerged as leading lady in the Humphrey Bogart film To Have And Have Not and continued on in the film noir genre, with appearances in The Big Sleep and Dark Passage ,...
, Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
, Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert
Claudette Colbert was a French-born American-based actress of stage and film.Born in Paris, France and raised in New York City, Colbert began her career in Broadway productions during the 1920s, progressing to film with the advent of talking pictures...
, Robert Helpmann
Robert Helpmann
Sir Robert Helpmann CBE was an Australian dancer, actor, theatre director and choreographer.-Early years:He was born Robert Murray Helpman in Mount Gambier, South Australia and also boarded at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide. From childhood, Helpman had a strong desire to be a dancer...
, Rudolph Nureyev, Dame Nellie Melba, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Margot Fonteyn, Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
, Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Barry Humphries
Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries, AO, CBE is an Australian comedian, satirist, dadaist, artist, author and character actor, best known for his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage, a Melbourne housewife and "gigastar", and Sir Les Patterson, Australia's foul-mouthed cultural attaché to the...
, Don Bradman and the Australia national cricket team as well as Australian prime ministers
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Sir Robert Menzies, Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
, Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
, Paul Keating
Paul Keating
Paul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
and John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
.
History
The original hotel was built by shipping magnate George Nipper and designed by Charles WebbCharles Webb (architect)
Charles Webb was an architect working in Victoria, Australia during the 19th century....
in a broadly Renaissance Revival style and was completed in 1884. The hotel was named "The Grand". However, Nipper sold the hotel to James Munro
James Munro (Australian politician)
James Munro , Australian colonial politician, was the 15th Premier of Victoria.-Early life:James Munro was born in Armadale, Sutherland, Scotland, to Donald Munro and his wife, Georgina. James Munro's grandparents were an Alexander Munro of the family of Foulis, Ross-shire and Barbara Mackay, a...
who doubled the size of the hotel, completed in 1888. Notable features of the hotel were the Grand Ballroom, the Grand Staircase, the distinctive twin mansard roofed towers in the Second Empire style, and the stone sculpture, attributed to John Simpson Mackennal, over the main entrance with male female figures known as 'Peace and Plenty' reclining over the English and Australian Coat of Arms. Munro was a politician and the leader of the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
in Victoria, who burnt the hotel's liquor licence in public and operated the hotel as a Coffee Palace
Coffee Palace
The term Coffee Palace was primarily used in Australia to describe the temperance hotels which were built during the period of the 1880s although there are references to the term also being used, to a lesser extent, in the United Kingdom...
, now renamed the "Grand Coffee Palace".
Munro was declared bankrupt in February 1893, and a new owner of the hotel took over in 1897. The hotel was amalgamated with the neighbouring Old White Hart Hotel, re-licensed, and it's name was changed back to the Grand Hotel. In March 1898, the Constitutional Convention met at the hotel to finalize the final draft of the Constitution of Australia
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
.
In 1920, the hotel changed hands again, was refurbished, and renamed "Windsor Hotel", in honor of the British Royal Family
House of Windsor
The House of Windsor is the royal house of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded by King George V by royal proclamation on the 17 July 1917, when he changed the name of his family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor, due to the anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom...
. For much of the 20th century, the hotel dubbed the Duchess of Spring Street was one of the most favoured and luxurious hotels in Melbourne, hosting many notable national and international guests.
Decline and demolition proposal
With the construction of modern 'international' hotels, starting with the Southern Cross in 1962, the Windsor declined in popularity. In a bid to regain marketshare, the Windsor expanded, purchasing the four storey White Hart Hotel on the Bourke Street corner. The White Hart was demolished and a new classically inspired extension using elements from the old hotel became the Windsor's north wing. Later in the decade a 25 storey residential tower was developed on the opposite side of Little Collins Street, significantly overshadowing the Windsor.By the mid 1970s, the Windsor was run-down and the last of the major historic 19th century hotels in Australia still operating. The other major hotels, the Menzies (1867-1969) and the Federal (1888-1972) in Melbourne, and the Australia
Australia Hotel
The Australia Hotel in Castlereagh Street, Sydney, was until its closure on 30 June 1971, the premier hotel in Sydney, describing itself as "The Hotel of the Commonwealth"....
(1890-1971) and Metropole (1890-1969) in Sydney, had all been demolished.
Several proposals were put forward which included the demolition of the Windsor. A 1974 proposal for a 38 storey tower on the corner of Spring and Bourke Street was opposed by the state government and the National Trust. The Rupert Hamer
Rupert Hamer
Sir Rupert James Hamer, AC, KCMG, ED , generally known until he was knighted in 1982 as Dick Hamer, Australian Liberal Party politician, was the 39th Premier of Victoria, serving from 1972 to 1981.-Early years:...
-led state government purchased the building in 1977 to ensure its preservation and in 1980 leased it to The Oberoi Group
Oberoi Hotels & Resorts
The Oberoi Group, founded in 1934, owns and/or operates 29 hotels and 3 cruise liners in five countries.It remains one of the most decorated hotel chains in the world with many of its group hotels bagging various awards and accolades from Travel+Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Forbes and...
.
New owners and restoration
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
landmark was then firmly re-established. The cricketer's bar, afternoon tea in the grand dining room, and the top-hatted doorman all resumed their status as Melbourne institutions. The John Cain II
John Cain II
John Cain , Australian Labor Party politician, was the 41st Premier of Victoria, holding office from 1982 to 1990.-Biography:...
state government sold the hotel to the Oberoi Group giving the company freehold possession in 1990. In 2005, Oberoi sold the hotel to the Halim family.
2000s - Redevelopment proposals
The Halim group first proposed to redevelop the Windsor in 2008 shortly after acquiring remaining shares from the Oriental Pacific Group and rebranding as "Hotel Windsor", with a $45 million redevelopment which proposed to modernise many of the interiors although they would not disclose whether the hotel was running at a loss or making a profit. The plan was approved by Heritage Victoria and the government after significant negotiations with the owners which included reducing the heritage impacts of the proposal. However development did not commence due to the Financial crisis of 2007–2010.In July 2009, the Halim group proposed a new $260 million refurbishment project which would add 152 rooms to the hotel. This would involve demolition of the hotel's 1960s-era North wing, and replacing it with a contemporary building with facilities expected by guests staying in a five star hotel. A thin curtain wall
Curtain wall
A curtain wall is an outer covering of a building in which the outer walls are non-structural, but merely keep out the weather. As the curtain wall is non-structural it can be made of a lightweight material reducing construction costs. When glass is used as the curtain wall, a great advantage is...
tower designed by Denton Corker Marshall
Denton Corker Marshall
Denton Corker Marshall is a major award-winning Australian architecture practice established in Melbourne in 1972. It was founded by architects John Denton, Bill Corker, and Barrie Marshall...
was proposed be built at the rear of Windsor Place. The architects proposed that the fritted wavy glass of the facade was a solution to minimise the visual impact of the tower. The application submitted to Heritage Victoria included restoration of the 1880s facade facing Spring and Little Collins Streets.
The National Trust of Australia
National Trust of Australia
The Australian Council of National Trusts is the peak body for community-based, non-government organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's indigenous, natural and historic heritage....
(Victoria), opposed to the development responded with a campaign named 'Save the Windsor'. and claimed that the proposed tower was inappropriate and would breach established height controls for the Bourke Hill precinct initially put in place to protect vistas of the Windsor, Parliament House and St Patrick's Cathedral. These controls do not exist south of the Windsor where there are taller buildings, including 99 Spring Street, an apartment building completed in 1971. At 24 floors and 77 metres it is shorter than the proposed tower, yet it fronts onto the heritage precinct of Spring Street and is located directly next to the Windsor.
In late February 2010, a news leak
News leak
A news leak is a disclosure of embargoed information in advance of its official release, or the unsanctioned release of confidential information.-Types of news leaks:...
occurred which erupted in a government scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
surrounding the redevelopment of the Windsor Hotel. A document prepared by a senior media advisor to Planning Minister Justin Madden
Justin Madden
Madden was 206 cm tall, and one of the tallest men ever to play Australian Rules football, and his potential in this area was fully utilized by Carlton, who used him as their main ruckman. Over the next fifteen seasons, Madden became a mainstay of the Carlton side, and one of the most...
was sent by email to the ABC Newsdesk. It detailed plans by the Victorian Government to run a sham community consultation process in a bid to reject the plans. In response to public outcry, a probity officer was appointed to oversee the decision making process.
On 18 March 2010, the hotel renovation plans were approved by Planning Minister, Justin Madden. This was the final step in the approval process.
The Senate of Australia has officially recognised the national significance of the Windsor Hotel. The National Trust lost an appeal against the development which it took to the Supreme Court of Victoria
Supreme Court of Victoria
The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...
.
The Windsor's renovations are expected to begin in early 2013.