The Octagonal House?

Built in 1920, the Round House is the only wholly timber building (including timber shingles on the roof) on campus to be designed by Professor Leslie Wilkinson. Despite its name, the Round House is an octagonal-shaped building and was designed to allow Veterinary Science students to observe surgery performed on large animals – leading to its original name, the Observation Box. [Ref 1].

A unique feature of the building is its weathervane, a composite of steel, copper and wood with bone ball bearings, which features a dog instead of the traditional cockerel sitting atop the roof of the building. After many decades and significant deterioration, the weathervane was repaired by Terry Toomey, a sheet metal worker in the Works Department’s Plumbers’ Workshop, in 1983. Salvaging the original arrow and dog Toomey recreated the rest of the weathervane using more durable materials. [Ref 2].

This item is part of the University Archives' 70 Years, 70 Stories series, created to celebrate our 70th birthday on 3 May 2024. To discover more stories, explore the 70 Years, 70 Stories collection.

Ref 1: Howells, Trevor. 2007. University of Sydney Architecture, p. 74. The Watermark Press.

Ref 2: The University of Sydney News Vol 15 No 13 (21/06/1983), [REF-00039360]. University of Sydney Archives.