Look for a grand Victorian mansion with ornate decorations and intricate architectural flourishes straight ahead-imagine something you’d expect in a classic European city, but tucked right here at 48 Drummond Street!
Welcome to Wilam Hall-a place with more stories packed into its walls than there are students living inside. Picture yourself stepping through its front doors at the end of the 1800s. This building, originally known as Benvenuta, was built in 1893 for Leah Abrahams, whose late husband made his living in the small arms business. You can almost hear the clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages arriving outside, marble floors echoing inside and sunlight streaming through magnificent stained glass, still with a mysterious bullet hole above the main staircase.
Now, here’s where things take a turn for the dramatic-Benvenuta spent the 1920s as government Arbitration Court Offices, before the 1930s and 40s saw her fall into the hands of an Italian social club. Imagine evenings filled with music and laughter-picture a local orchestra warming up in the grand ballroom, and then, out of nowhere, the sounds of a lively boxing match erupting every Sunday! Can you believe people once danced and brawled right where students now study and nap?
As with any grand old mansion, mysteries hang in the air. There’s that bullet hole up the staircase-rumour has it, it’s linked to criminal mischief from the late ‘30s, when a North Melbourne vigneron took over… or perhaps it marks a darker family tragedy from the Abrahams themselves. These days, students pass by with their laptops and takeaway coffees, but every so often, someone stops and wonders what really happened all those years ago.
Fast forward to the late 1940s, and Benvenuta finds new life as a hostel for students-a world away from courtrooms and nightclubs. She was known first as the Drummond Street Hostel, catching the overflow from the University of Melbourne’s ever-growing student population. By 1955, she became Medley Hall, named for Sir John Medley, a decision later questioned decades later when students learned of his links to controversial scientific ideas. In 2024, after heartfelt debate, advocacy, and a gift from the Wurundjeri Council, the Hall was renamed Wilam Hall-“Wilam” meaning “home.”
Over the years, Wilam Hall became the first place at the University to admit men and women as equals-a true trailblazer. She’s survived closures, a major redevelopment, and even had a starring role in the Nicolas Cage film, “Knowing”-so if the halls feel a little dramatic, maybe they still remember those movie lights!
Inside, it’s all modern comforts: music room, communal kitchen, more bathrooms than you’d expect for an old mansion, and the occasional grand piano echoing through the corridors
