In a conversation with a person that was born after the The Royal Exhibition Buildings hosted the 1880 International Exhibition, I was told that much artefacts & large works of art were left on site when the exhibition was finished.

The "treasures" were so impressive that no one dared destroy or steal them. The person I spoke to, said that he found a way to visit the store rooms where they were kept in 1962. The most impresssive was the Chinese Lacquered timber house.

Many of the artefacts were beggining to show wear, as they have not been kept in appropriate conditions.

Some of the countries that exhibited, no longer exist. It is another good reason to salvage these items, and put them on show, piece by piece in the building itself.

The Royal Exhibition Buildings and gardens were surrounded with very ornate 2.44 metre high cast iron fences & gates, to keep people from the surrounding slum areas out at night. When inner Melbourne was no longer surrounded by desperately poor people the cast iron fences and gates were removed. I believe that was in 1962.

The remains of the very ornate cast iron fence is a heavy Basalt stone blocks that formed the base. Much deliberate damage was done to the stonework, but much of it can be restored.

I have for many years been trying to get people interested in restoring the stone work, but not many show an interest. I have been hoping that once the stone base has been restored, we can retrieve the cast iron fence and gates from a store room in the western suburbs of Melbourne and reinstall it. This would enhance the site greatly.

I would ask anyone with a few minutes of time, to email the Premier of the State of Victoria, and ask for the restoration to begin. There is strength in numbers.