The Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic at 310 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Australia, is an Art Deco building of architectural and historical significance as the only remaining Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic or Commonwealth building built for the health and wellbeing of the original ANZACs (i.e., World War I veterans).
Significantly the building was constructed for the ANZACs of World War I nearly 20 years after the end of the war. The clinic subsequently supported the wellbeing of veterans of World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. The Australian veteran community consider it a sacred place due to the connection to the suffering of veterans returned from those wars.
Post-World War I
In 1936 the Repatriation Commission took control of a parcel of land on the corner of St Kilda Road and Coventry St from the Department of Defence to construct a facility to address the needs of the large population of World War I veterans.
'The out-patient clinic, which is at present within the Branch Office on St. Kilda-road, Melbourne, is so congested that no longer can the conditions be allowed to remain, and plans have been prepared for the erection of an out-patient clinic on a site made available by the Defence Department. All preliminaries have been hastened and an early commencement of the work of construction is anticipated.', The Branch Office is so congested that no longer can the conditions be allowed to remain.
'With increasing numbers requiring out-patient treatment, the accommodation at the Branch Office in St. Kilda-road was inadequate. Men suffering from all types of disabilities, many of them accompanied by their wives and children, had to sit in a basement waiting room. Another inconvenience through lack of space was the necessity for accommodating two medical examiners in each of the small cubicles built as examination rooms. These disabilities, together with other factors, made it imperative that better conditions should be provided. It was decided to erect a new out-patient clinic, the building embodying the latest facilities, including air conditioning, single rooms for medical examining officers, and a large general waiting room.', It was decided to erect a new out-patient clinic, the building embodying the latest facilities, including air conditioning, single rooms for medical examining officers, and a large general waiting room.
On this site the Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic was built adjacent to Victoria Barracks, Melbourne, it was opened on 15 November 1937,, THE new building will re-place the present obsolete clinic in the basement of the Department's central ad-ministrative building. These quarters, designed only as a makeshift, are over-crowded, ill-lit and old-fashioned, and have long ceased to meet the require-ments of the medical staff and the daily average of 200 patients who are treated at the clinic. to provide a greater level of care to veterans. The building was designed by George Hallandal, under the supervision of Commonwealth Works Department Director, H. L. McKennall. Within months of opening as many as 400 prescriptions were being administered daily., The Minister for Repatriation (Senator Foll) said today that the out-patient clinic for ex-soldier, provided in Melbourne by the Repatriation Commission, was giving splendid service.
The design of the Repatriation Clinic created some controversy with Sir Arthur Streeton criticising, "A building in this part of St Kilda road in anything but bluestone will ruin this magnificent boulevard" said Sir Arthur Streeton yesterday. the use of brown brick in contrast to the established bluestone brick of Victoria Barracks.
Original functional spaces Reception Large central waiting hall Pharmaceutical dispensary and store room Ducted heating Medical examination rooms Clarks offices Theatre for minor surgery procedures Dressing station Sisters office Nursing examination office Massage Administrative offices Archives file room
The Repatriation Commission 1938 Annual Report to the Australian Parliament the Commission stated 'The Repatriation Clinic opened in St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, in November, 1937, now provides satisfactory conditions for those patients whose ailments need out-patient supervision and treatment. All modern facilities except those which can only be provided in large centres, e.g. deep X-ray and Radium Therapy, are available at this institution. The commission is gradually adding to the therapeutic armament at its institutions, so that the medical staffs will not be handicapped in their efforts to aid their patients... The spacious warmed waiting hall has proved a great boon to the patients, and the improved conditions for the medical and other staffs are greatly appreciated.', The spacious warmed waiting hall has proved a great boon to the patients, and the improved conditions for the medical and other staffs are greatly appreciated.
During World War 2 the clinic continued in its role. A report by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) in 1982 indicated that General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters occupied the basement level. In commenting on the future use of the clinic, in its 1982 report DAS also said "Defence propose to use the building for storage. This is considered an unbecoming use for the building with such a prominent position, bearing in mind that the building appears structurally sound and in reasonably good condition. The Victoria Barracks Historical Committee support retention of the building and a better use should be found" (NAA ID 23832143).
Post-World War II
Up to 340 veterans visited the clinic each day with as many as 200 at a time waiting to see one of the six doctors available. As early as 1946 complaints emerged that the clinic was too small and understaffed for the large number of veterans attending each day. The delays and inability to see a doctor after hours caused veterans to lose earnings, leading to increased calls to see their own doctors in the suburban consulting rooms. These calls where rejected., For months the organisations have complained that the Repatriation Department's Clinic in St. Kilda Road Is small and under staffed., Every week hundreds who served in World Wars One and Two are coming away from the Out-Patients' Clinic in St. Kilda Road, feeling that they have been thrown a bone from a charity institution., A modern expression of the Temple of Hippo crates, the Repatriation Clinic, built into the south-east ern corner of the bluestone fortress of Victoria Barracks, in St. Kilda-road, treats about 340 ex-service men and women, daily.
An extension was added to the building in 1950 for a war neurosis clinic, designed by D. B. Windebank with a usable floor area in 2020 of 1,667m2 of a total of 2,240m2.
Based on the success of the addition of the neurosis clinic the Minister for Repatriation, Senator Sir Walter Cooper (Queensland politician) M.B.E. (Mil), and the Repatriation Department, planned to establish outpatient clinics for psychiatric treatment in all capital cities.
Since the clinic was opened the Australian Red Cross maintained a canteen where tea, coffee and biscuits were provided. As many as 25 volunteers ran the canteen on a non-profit basis to support and comfort the veterans waiting for their appointments. Between 200 and 250 where served by the Red Cross on a daily basis between 10am and 4pm. One veteran reported to have served in the Sudan War was affectionately called 'Keep Smiling' for his happy disposition.
The Clinic was singled out in the Master Builders Federation of Australia (NSW) journal, Building and Engineering, of 25 September 1950, representing the attractive properties on St Kilda Rd. "The people of Melbourne are rightly proud of their splendid St Kilda Road, which, extending from Princes Bridge over the Yarra to St Kilda, is undoubtedly one of the finest thoroughfares in Australia, and with its continuous rows of trees which arch overhead, being very reminiscent of the Parisian boulevardes. Naturally the civic authorities, with the full support of the people of Melbourne, are jealous of the preservation of the beauty of this thoroughfare, and exercises care in regard to the buildings that are erected along it. Our illustration shows the Outpatient Clinic for the Repatriation Commission of Victoria, which was erected fronting St. Kilda Road in the years immediately prior to world War II. The building was designed by the Department of the Interior and erected by Blease, MacPherson and Co.".
The Repatriation Clinic began relocation to 444 St Kilda Rd in 1979, and ceased operations from the Clinic in 1980. Consideration was given to the future use of the property with reports from 1982 indicating it would be handed back to the Department of Defence. Defence indicated that it would be used for storage, while the Department of Administrative Services recommended a more fitting use given its prominent location and good condition. Once handed back to the Department of Defence it was used as the Maintenance Engineering Agency (MEA), now the Land Engineering Agency (LEA), until December 1995. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works considered a proposal in 1993 to repurpose the building into its original purpose as the Defence Health Care Centre (DHCC) at a cost of $1.3million, which was not approved., 310 St Kilda Road now resembles a 'rabbit warren' which could be converted to its original function. The former Repatriation Clinic has been reportedly vacant since 1999 while the MEA newsletter (Maintenance News) No's. 66 (Sep 1995) and 67 (Dec 1995) indicates the last organisation to occupy the Repatriation Clinic moved out in 1995.
Toward the end of 1995 the outcome of a compensation matter was resolved for staff of the MEA who had been working at 310 St Kilda Rd. Nominated staff were to be "paid a disability allowance at the rate of $2 per day for each day or part of a day worked at either locality by the officer or employee during that period". The claim was in "respect of the detrimental effect on working conditions that resulted from building and alteration activities at these sites from 18 April 1994 to 1 July 1994 inclusive".,
On 15 November 2017, the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Repatriation Clinic, Senator Derryn Hinch moved motion no.563 in the Senate to acknowledge the event and the significance of the clinic to the wellbeing of the veteran community while Victorian Member of Parliament, Tim McCurdy, acknowledged the milestone in the Parliament of Victoria., Today is the 80th anniversary of the opening of the former Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic at St Kilda Road.
The former Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic sits immediately adjacent to Melbourne's Domain Parkland and Memorial Precinct, which was entered on the National Heritage List on 13 February 2017 under the emergency listing provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The National Heritage List recognises places of outstanding significance to the Australian nation. The Domain Parkland listing encompasses the commemorative and veteran-associated character of the broader St Kilda Road landscape. The clinic's historic function as a place of care and rehabilitation for returned service personnel forms part of that broader landscape, representing a heritage value complementary to the commemorative precinct: a place built not to remember those who died, but to support those who returned. The formal boundary of the National Heritage listing does not include the clinic site, which sits on a separate title immediately adjacent to the listed precinct.
The building has been the victim of graffiti vandalism. In November 2019 a graffiti tag was left on the southern side, on 16 March 2023 the building was tagged on the upper part of the southern side with 'Evoke' and in July 2025 the building entry was also tagged.