In May 2024, the University of Melbourne launched "Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne" as part of the institution’s efforts to confront its role in settler-colonialism and genocide. An important aspect of learning history is to not repeat its wrongs, yet the University is now complicit in a new genocide—the one in Palestine. Farrago’s Complicity in Genocide report aims to uncover and expose both contemporary and historical actions conducted by the University that has directly or tacitly supported the genocide against the Palestinians and the Indigenous population in so-called "Australia".

Peter Hall (formerly Richard Berry Building)

The Peter Hall Building was formerly named after Richard Berry, Professor of Anatomy at the University of Melbourne from 1906 to 1929. The building was renamed in 2016 following sustained campaigning by students and staff, reflecting a broader institutional reassessment of commemorative naming practices.

Berry was a prominent advocate of eugenics, a movement that sought to improve the population through selective reproduction and the exclusion of those deemed genetically inferior.

His work extended beyond anatomy into the collection and study of Aboriginal remains, which he used to advance theories of racial hierarchy. Berry publicly supported ideas grounded in biological determinism and contributed to a scientific culture that legitimised discriminatory policies, including segregation and sterilisation.

The renaming of the building acknowledges the ethical implications of Berry’s work while raising broader questions about how and why such figures were historically honoured within the university.

John Medley Building

Sir John Medley, was the Vice-Chancellor of the University from 1938 to 1951. While his leadership during the Second World War is often emphasised, his membership in the Eugenics Society of Victoria reflects a less examined aspect of his legacy.

The eugenics movement was widely supported among segments of the academic and political elite in the early twentieth century..

Medley’s association with the society situates him within a broader intellectual environment in which eugenic thought was not marginal but institutionally embedded.

Baldwin Spencer Building

Baldwin Spencer’s research documented Aboriginal cultures at a time when many European scholars believed Indigenous societies were inferior. However, his work is now subject to significant critical reassessment.

Spencer’s research was shaped by racist evolutionary frameworks that ranked societies along a hierarchical scale, positioning European civilisation as more advanced. His writings contributed to broader narratives of Indigenous inferiority and reflected prevailing colonial assumptions about race and development.

As with much early anthropology, Spencer’s work often treated Indigenous people as subjects of study rather than participants, with limited regard for consent or agency.

His contributions to the documentation of cultural practices remain inseparable from the intellectual context in which they were produced. The building’s name reflects this tension between scholarly contribution and the reinforcement of colonial hierarchies.

Agar Lecture Theatre (Zoology Building)

Named after Wilfred E. Agar, a geneticist who served as president of the Eugenics Society of Victoria from 1936 to 1945. Agar was at the forefront of efforts to promote eugenic thought within scientific and public discourse.

His work linked emerging genetic science with existing beliefs about racial hierarchy, contributing to arguments that social issues could be addressed through selective breeding.

Agar supported restrictions on the reproduction of those he considered “mentally deficient”, reflecting his broader commitments to eugenic principles.

Historians have also noted that he expressed views sympathetic to aspects of Nazi sterilisation policy, situating his ideas within a wider international context of scientific racism.

Frank Tate Building

Sir Frank Tate was the Director of Education in Victoria from 1902 to 1928 and an influential figure in the development of the state’s public education system.

While Tate is often recognised for expanding access to education, his work was shaped by early twentieth-century ideas associated with eugenics.

Eugenic thinking frequently intersected with educational policy through an emphasis on classification, efficiency and the management of populations. These frameworks influenced how students were assessed and streamed, reinforcing existing social and racial hierarchies.

Although not always explicitly framed as eugenics, such approaches reflected broader assumptions about inherited ability and social worth.

Tate’s legacy reflects how racism remains structurally embedded in Australia’s education system.

Cover design by Marc Lebon