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Open, Close, now Open

When it was announced at midday on Friday, 12th February, that Victoria was going into a snap fiveday circuit breaker lockdown from 11:59PM that night until 11:59PM, Wednesday 17th February, staff at Graduate House took immediate steps to prepare for the welfare of our current Resident Members for the five days ahead. The lockdown meant that the dining room would need to be closed and that meals would need to be delivered to their rooms.

During the snap lockdown, Graduate House also had to close once again its doors to all Collegiate Events and Meeting services. We are very pleased to inform all, that following the announcement by the Victorian government on Wednesday, 17th February, that restrictions have been lifted and Graduate House is once again open to our Members and friends. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Graduate House!

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Thanks for a great day. The food was amazing. On a good note we hold a few of these [events] a year so you have left us with a great impression. — Karen Stephenson, Early Childhood Education and Care, The University of Melbourne Organising our event at Graduate House was easy. The team were very helpful and accommodating and it was very clear they cared about the success of our event. The function room suited our needs. The Graduate House team really helped to make the best of the situation during our Zoom event. The food was great – in terms of quality and quantity. The staff were very helpful in the lead up and during the event. — Sarah Fortuna, The University of Melbourne

Cancellation of Chinese New Year Luncheon

Following the Victorian government’s announcement of a five-day circuit breaker lockdown on Friday, 12th February, we regret that we had to cancel the Chinese New Year Luncheon on Tuesday, 16th February. However the Metal Ox has arrived and is here to stay until the end of the 2021 Lunar Calendar year. We wish everyone a very happy and safe Chinese New Year! May this new year be filled with good luck, good health, happiness, prosperity, and precious moments with your loved ones.

About the Ox

12th February 2021 of the Gregorian calendar marks the start of the Lunar New Year and the animal of the Chinese Zodiac that presides over 2021 is the Metal Ox. Unlike Western astrology, each sign of the Chinese zodiac ‘rules’ over an entire year, bringing with it particular energy to everything that occurs over the next twelve months. The Ox is the second of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Ox was about to be the first to arrive, but Rat tricked Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox. Thus, Ox became the second animal.

“The Ox, in Chinese culture, is a hardworking zodiac sign, it usually signifies movement so, hopefully, the world will be less static than last year and get moving again in the second half of the year. Because Oxes are hardworking, there’s hope that 2021 will be a year of forward movement.” — Hong Kong-based Feng Shui master, Thierry Cho.