City Museum At Old Treasury

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Lonely Planet review

Built in 1862 at the height of the heady gold rush, the Old Treasury is fittingly elegant and opulent. The huge basement vaults were designed to house much of the around A$200 million worth of gold that came from the Victorian goldfields. Remarkably, the designer, JJ Clark, was a 19-year-old government draftsman who also designed the City Baths. The Old Treasury building has regularly changing exhibitions and houses the Gold Treasury Museum, which has three permanent exhibitions: Built on Gold, Making Melbourne, and Growing Up in the Old Treasury.

The adjacent Treasury Gardens to the south contain the John F Kennedy Memorial. Although Melburnians puzzle as to the significance of the late US president to their city (he never even visited Australia), the setting with its attractive landscaping and water feature is a relaxing place for a break from sightseeing.