From 1963 to 1995, twenty isolates of Trichophyton violaceum from cases of tinea capitis and tinea corporis were referred to the Mycology Reference Laboratory of the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit at the University of Melbourne (Parkville, Victoria, Australia). The patients had presented at clinics in metropolitan Melbourne and country towns in the state of Victoria, Australia. Most patients were immigrants from the Mediterranean region or were Australian Aborigines. The most recent isolates of T. violaceum came from Ethiopian immigrants. Details of these twenty case histories are presented. The changing global distribution of infections due to T. violaceum is noted. The literature recording infections due to T. violaceum in Australia is reviewed.