Latest news with #Parkville
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Melbourne University sells historic Parkville mansion Cumnock
A landmark Parkville mansion once home to the University of Melbourne's vice-chancellor has sold, with industry sources tipping the final price landed north of $7.9m. Known as Cumnock, the historic Italianate estate at 160-162 The Avenue was designed in 1889 by Windsor Hotel architect Charles Webb and occupies a 1376sq m corner block directly opposite Royal Park. The impressive residence was listed for sale last month, and late last week was marked as under offer. Myer family reveal new look for $100m estate A property industry figure told The Herald Sun there had been strong and qualified interest in the address, particularly for its proximity to the Melbourne CBD. University of Melbourne Chief Operating Officer Katerina Kapobassis confirmed the divestment was underway at the start of May and said the property had previously housed a Vice-Chancellor and was used 'regularly for official University functions and activities.' 'A property within the University of Melbourne's portfolio is in the process of being divested. The University has adhered to relevant legislative requirements regarding the sale,' she said. The university purchased the home for $7.1m in 2017, but had left it vacant in recent months after declaring it surplus to requirements. Industry sources have suggested it has attracted an offer within its advertised price range of $7.9-$8.69m. Its listing earlier this year came shortly after the institution publicly committed to repay $72m in staff underpayments dating back to 2014. Handled by Nelson Alexander Carlton North's Stephanie Hawke and Nicholas West, who declined to comment on the result or buyer. At the time of listing, Mr West described the home as Parkville's 'crown jewel,' citing its scale, architectural significance and rare parkland setting. 'Most Italianate mansions of this scale are tightly packed into inner suburbs like Carlton,' he said. 'But here you've got open parkland across the road, minimal surrounding density, and incredible privacy, that's almost unheard of.' Originally built for stock and station agent George Howat, Cumnock remained in his family until 1919 before it was acquired by Anglican theological institution Ridley College. It was held for decades before being sold to developer Drapac, who then sold it to the university. Behind its grand Corinthian-columned facade, the home features a pressed-metal entry hall, formal dining and sitting rooms, a library, and a state-of-the-art kitchen with Miele appliances and custom cabinetry. French doors open to a leafy courtyard with a fish pond centrepiece. Upstairs, a rumpus leads to a wraparound balcony and turret with sweeping park views. The main suite features a marble ensuite, with three further bedrooms sharing a designer bathroom with a freestanding bath. The four-bedroom mansion includes eleven principal rooms, nine original fireplaces, a turreted viewing tower and wine cellar, and has long been considered one of Parkville's grandest private residences.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Student protesters face expulsion from University of Melbourne over pro-Palestine office occupation
Two University of Melbourne students have been recommended for expulsion and two for suspension for taking part in a pro-Palestine demonstration at the university's Parkville campus last October. If the decisions are upheld, the students will become the first pro-Palestine student activists for whom suspension and expulsion have been enforced in Australia since the waves of student demonstrations against Israel's assault on Gaza began in 2023. The students intend to appeal against the decision, with one telling Guardian Australia she believed the outcome had been 'prejudged' by the university, which has implemented anti-protest rules that critics have characterised as 'repressive' and an 'authoritarian' overreach. The students were referred to the institution's disciplinary committee after reports they were part of a group of about 20 who, for about 90 minutes on 9 October, occupied the office of an academic they believed was integral to the university's partnerships with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The protesters were calling on the university to disband its joint programs with Israeli universities, which have been a target of the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement since 2004. Footage of the occupation, distributed on social media at the time, showed protesters entering the office with their faces covered by keffiyehs, hoods and masks. The university alleged the students had harassed and intimidated staff who worked in the office, damaged property by placing signs and stickers on some university-owned items including a monitor screen, and writing on and placing stickers on personal items of the academic, including a photo. The students said their demonstration had been peaceful and clearly political, that they had informed people working in the office and nearby that they were protesting and had even offered to turn down the music they were playing so others could keep working. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email One student facing expulsion, Niamh*, who spoke to Guardian Australia on condition that her real name not be used, was found by the disciplinary committee to have been present at the demonstration for no longer than 10 minutes. Documents seen by the Guardian state she was not found to have performed any of the specific actions listed by the university as 'harassing or intimidating' the staff, such as placing stickers or graffiti, but that her presence in the room with others was itself harassment and intimidation, and also constituted improper and unsafe use of university property. The committee said they were recommending Niamh be expelled on the basis of 'the seriousness of the breaches and the nature of the behaviour' and her past alleged breaches of the student conduct code. Niamh said she believed this was a reference to her participation in the 'Mahmoud's Hall' occupation of the Arts West building, a demonstration that led to the university agreeing to additional disclosures about its research project grant arrangements. Niamh appeared to have been identified as being involved in the protest in part by the university tracking her location on campus through her wifi login, a tool that has been the subject of an investigation by the office of the Victorian information commissioner. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion She said she believed the activists had been 'prejudged' by the university council, beginning with the then vice-chancellor, Duncan Maskell, circulating a university-wide email the day after the protest characterising it as 'an attempt to harass and intimidate' the academic. Maskell's email was criticised in an open letter signed by 174 university staff members, which said the comments risked impeding procedural fairness and 'enabled the action to be incorrectly framed by major media outlets as antisemitic'. Maskell did not respond to the open letter. In May last year he implemented new university rules banning 'protest that is not peaceful' and prohibiting protesters who were not university staff or students from entering university grounds. On 3 March his successor as vice-chancellor, Emma Johnston, implemented another suite of rules against protests, including that they may not be held indoors and must not obstruct entries or exits of university buildings. The rules would apply to students and staff and also to 'individual forms of action'. The student union and the National Tertiary Education Union have called the new rules 'an authoritarian approach' that erroneously conflates staff and student discomfort with lack of safety. The Human Rights Law Centre, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have urged the university to rescind them. Niamh said Johnston's rules were 'particularly disturbing and hypocritical' and 'a massive betrayal of the values and history of student unionism' given Johnston's own history as the university's student union president in the 1990s, when she advocated for direct action protests including sit-ins. 'Her words are irreconcilable with her actions when some of the worst anti-protest rules are being pushed through under her leadership,' Niamh said. 'I would love to see the university take more of an approach of wanting to sit down with their students and wanting to really hear from where their students are coming from and why students around the world feel this urgent moral necessity to stand against … the horrible atrocities we're witnessing in Gaza as well as the West Bank and all of occupied Palestine,' she said. A spokesperson for the University of Melbourne said it would not comment on individual cases 'to protect the integrity of our disciplinary processes''. 'The University of Melbourne has followed its disciplinary processes in accordance with University policy in response to an incident that took place in October 2024,' the spokesperson said. 'This process has not concluded. The University is communicating directly with individuals involved in disciplinary proceedings. Students have the right to appeal decisions made through the University's disciplinary processes.' Last year an Australian National University student who was expelled and a Deakin University student who was suspended for Palestine-related activism had those decisions overturned on appeal. *Name has been changed
ABC News
27-05-2025
- ABC News
Family flags lawsuit as Victorian teen charged with multiple terror offences
A Victorian teenager has been charged with terror offences, with his father saying he has not seen the charges against his son. Last Thursday, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) raided the home of the 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Counter-terrorism officers subsequently charged him with four terror offences, including using a carriage service to make threats to kill, threatening force or violence against groups, and possessing and using violent extremist material. The teen faced a Children's Court hearing last Friday While the AFP confirmed the boy had been charged, it would not say when the alleged offences happened. The teen was remanded in custody at the Parkville Youth Justice Precinct and is expected to re-appear in the Children's Court in coming weeks. It is understood he has been the subject of a year-long investigation by the AFP. The boy's father said dozens of federal police officers raided their home late on Thursday afternoon. He told the ABC he still has not seen the charges against his son. But an AFP spokesperson confirmed the boy had been charged by the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team. "There is no impending threat to the community," she said. "Further comment will be made at an appropriate time." The boy's family said it was pursuing a separate civil lawsuit against police over their actions in investigating their son.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Park Hill opens school named after formerly enslaved educator Angeline Washington
Park Hill School District welcomed the community to view the district's newest addition, Angeline Washington Elementary, opening this fall. The new school is named after a woman from the Parkville area who was enslaved by George Park, for whom Park University is named. Located at 6600 Brush Creek Pkwy, the school was supported by a bond issue that Parkville residents approved in 2022. It is the first school in the district to be named after a woman. The evening kicked off with remarks from Mike Kimbrel, the superintendent of Park Hill School District, who acknowledged Washington's complex history in Parkville. 'One of our strategic objectives in Park Hill is to ensure a sense of belonging,' Kimbrel said. 'The question in my mind was, 'How in the world could Angeline Washington have felt like she belonged?' But she stayed. She stayed to create a sense of belonging.' As the district was getting ready for the groundbreaking, Kimbrel said he and his wife took a walking trip. One of the first stops was Old Parkville Cemetery, where members of the Washington family are buried. Washington was born in 1837 and died in 1904. Her grave remains unmarked, although some of her children's and grandchildren's graves are marked. She was known for staying in Parkville and continuing to teach other Black people after she was freed. Although it was illegal for Black people to be married, she was still able to marry her husband, William. Kimbrel said he and his wife walked to the grave sites, wondering which was where Washington was laid to rest. 'The naming committee wanted to express the story of Angeline through this perspective,' he said. 'The perspective of her life as an enslaved woman to a freed woman who married, owned land, had children, pioneered educational and religious opportunity, and bonded a community.' Daryl Terwilleger, the school board president for Park Hill District, urged people to reflect on the past and the present being blended through the naming of the school and restoration projects throughout the city, such as the Banneker School, where African Americans were educated in the early 1900s. 'The future where 121 years after her death, a new chapter begins,' Terwilleger said. 'For decades to come, this school — bearing her name — will stand as a beacon of hope, learning and remembrance.' The principal of Angeline Washington Elementary, Vanna Easley, also spoke on behalf of the school.
News.com.au
15-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Brendan Fevola's huge real estate play pays off
Brendan Fevola jumping on the bed has helped sell a Parkville apartment to a devoted Blues fan. The Carlton forward from 1999-2009 also played a season with the Brisbane Lions in a 204-game career that included two NAB Cup premierships, two Coleman Medals and three pics for the All-Australian Team — as well as being inducted into the Carlton Football Club Hall of Fame. Now a successful breakfast radio host for Fox FM alongside Fifi Box and Nick Cody, Fevola was earlier this year asked to help promote a Parkville apartment that had lingered on the market for 148 days in 2024. T he double-storey address high above The Avenue was then taken over by OBrien Real Estate's John Rombotis, who played AFL with the Fitzroy Lions, Port Adelaide and Richmond. At the same time as relaunching the home for sale in March, Rombotis arranged a video with Fevola promoting the home for sale. In a bizarre twist, the eventual buyer had inspected the property during its previous stint on the market but, being a devoted Blues fan, after hearing Fevola talking about the experience of doing a video for it on the radio and seeing the clip which included Fevola jumping on the bed, renewed their interest in the home. Rombotis said negotiations for the four-bedroom apartment with a view out to Ikon Park in the park opposite had started low, but ended in a deal within the home's $2.9m-$3.2m advertised price guide at the end of its planned sales campaign. The property features Miele and Gaggenau cooking appliances, a stainless-steel kitchen with a butler's pantry, an expansive balcony with CBD skyline views, and a spa bath in the main bedroom's ensuite.
