The Lost City of Melbourne - Film screening and Q&A

Join us for a special screening of The Lost City of Melbourne, commencing with a Q&A with the filmmaker, Gus Berger. This revelatory documentary explores the rise and fall of 'Marvellous Melbourne', once the fastest growing city in the world and a global centre of culture, cinema, and civic grandeur.

In the name of modernisation, the Melbourne of the 1950s saw a wave of destruction — elegant theatres, iconic cafes, and Victorian architecture razed by the infamous Whelan the Wrecker.

Featuring rare archival footage and photography, this film invites us to reimagine what was lost, and what it means for how we build today. You’ll also have an opportunity to explore the Retrofit exhibition following the film.

Stuart King
Dr Stuart King is a senior lecturer in architectural design and history in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne. He coordinates a Master of Urban Cultural Heritage and undertakes research on Australian architectural history and heritage with the Australian Centre for Architectural History, Urban and Cultural Heritage (ACAHUCH). Stuart is a past president of the Society of Architectural Historians Australia and New Zealand, and he currently represents interests in conservation and heritage on the Tasmanian Heritage Council.

Gus Berger
Gus Berger is a Melbourne based award-winning filmmaker and owner/operator of two cinema companies; the pop-up Blow Up Cinema, and Thornbury Picture House, a lively independent art-house venue. Gus won a Best Director prize for his short documentary The Eagle at the St Kilda Film Festival in 2014 and his second film, this time a feature, The Lost City of Melbourne won the Best Australian Documentary prize from FCCA Film Critics Association of Australia and a Victorian History Prize, both in 2023. The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2022 and went on to enjoy a theatrical run of almost nine months and was the highest grossing Australian documentary in the country in that year and is now streaming on SBS & DocPlay. Gus released a beautiful photographic book to accompany his film in 2023 and that is currently in its second edition.

Registrations are essential.

Exhibition open daily: Friday 25 July - Friday 29 August 2025, 10am - 4pm. The Design Gallery (formerly the Dulux Gallery), Ground Floor, Glyn Davis Building (133).

The Glyn Davis Building is wheelchair accessible. If you have any questions about your visit, email us at msd-exhibitions@unimelb.edu.au.

Parking is available at the Eastern Precinct Carpark

For your best public transport route, visit Public Transport Victoria