Sunny Melbourne

Sunny Melbourne (yes, really!)

15th - 20th July, 2008

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Text and photographs © David Powell, except where indicated.

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Day 1:
Around Melbourne

Day 2:
Heritage, Parks
& River Walks

Day 3:
Walkabout
city centre

Day 4:
Art Deco &
Melbourne @ Night

Days 5 & 6:
The Shrine, Rialto Tower, Botanic Gdns

Shrine of Remembrance
Image © David Powell, 2008

Day 5. The last full day of the trip. Sighh... the end does arrive ... sooner or later.

Spent the morning solo sightseeing. First stop was the Shrine of Remembrance ... a rather sizable war memorial built between 1928-1934. It's a re-creation of the Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, an ancient Greek king ... the original tomb was one of the original seven wonders of the ancient world and gave rise to the word mausoleum. This one is a close replica, tho' since the original has been rubble for 2000 years or more it's a bit hard for anyone to be that sure ... it's only known from drawings. Still it's quite impressive. Something of the same atmosphere as the old gaol ... after all both places are a testimony to death. Lots of atmosphere and emotion, one of depression, the other of solemness. Both were dimly lighted on the inside, tho' the Shrine has a rather cleaner atmosphere, if that makes sense. There's a viewing platform towards the top that gives great views of the nearby Botanic Gardens and around the city. There's even a "crypt" in the basement, tho' in this case "crypt" doesn't mean a tomb but more a chapel. Alas it was closed today because they were dedicating a new statue and the military had taken over the ground floor - the crypt and the visitor's centre. The main Shrine was built to commemorate the 114,000 Victorian's who died in WW1. The Eternal Flame and Cenotaph was built in the 1940's to commemorate those who died in WW2 and the Remembrance Gardens commemorate post 1945 service. Most of the complex, including the original Shrine, was designed by returned servicemen.

City reflections, cnr Collins & King
Image © David Powell, 2008

The old Melbourne Observatory was nearby so I popped in and had a short wander around there. It's now part of the Royal Botanical gardens and houses offices, the visitor centre and a café. Metal domes on top of brick buildings as well as a sizable centre building built in the Victorian style. The observatory was very important for early Melbourne, producing astronomical charts used by mariners in southern waters. It was one of the first European observatories in the Southern hemisphere, built in 1863 (with additional buildings added up to 1902) and operated until 1944. The observatory was the official timekeeper for Melbourne (and the Victorian colony, for that matter) and also providing weather forecasts, tho' whether they had much more success than the weather forecasters of today is another matter. The observatory was also involved in pioneering work on planetary magnetism. The "Magnet House" was built in 1877 to specifically study Earth's magnetic field. To avoid interference in its operation from iron, no iron was used in the Magnet House's construction, the builders used copper instead for nails and so forth. Alas, not long after the St Kilda tramway was laid down, less than a few 100 metres away, totally destroying any hopes of useful magnetism measurements (all that iron & electricity). In 1887 the observatory was one of 17 around the world involved in the "Carte de Ceil" project, an ambitious attempt to photograph atlas of the whole sky, a project that continues today, in greater and greater detail. The Melbourne Observatory's contribution continued for 55 years until the observatory closed.

Next stop was another great viewing spot ... "Melbourne 360º" .. a 360º viewing platform near the top of the Rialto Tower .. until a few years ago the tallest building in Melbourne. It's now a respectable second. The current title holder does not, however, have a viewing platform. All the way up to the 55th or 56th floor. As the name says, It really is 360º ... unlike other's I've been too where some areas are reserved for patrons of their restaurant. This time there's nothing between you and breathtaking views all over Melbourne and beyond .. apart from a sheet of glass. To the north you can see all the way to the Mountains in central Victoria, to the south you can see all the way into the Bass Strait. Viewing conditions were just perfect and not a hint of smog or haze. Most impressive!!! But cold and VERY windy!! Next door to the Rialto Tower is the old Rialto ... a much more modest 12 stories at the most and probably dating to before 1900. Looks like it was once and may still be a posh hotel or the like. It has that look, Slowly made my way back to the hotel, taking in some more of the sights on the way. had a look at the Royal Arcade, built in 1869. Its most striking feature are two 7 foot statues of Gog & Magog, from British Mythology, modelled on those erected in the Guildhall of London in 1708.

Cynthia eventually finished at her conference and we then headed off to the Melbourne Markets, the biggest in the country. Almost anything that you could want .. that you can carry .. is available there from food to clothing to jewellery ... and lots and lots and lots of goodies. We spent a few hours roaming around, picking up a few things. I finally found a tea shop and bought a large pile to restock up. 'Tis far, far bigger than any of the markets that call Sydney home.

After stashing the goodies we headed south to the Botanical Gardens and walked around there for a few hours until the light got too bad. Not much colour and overall a bit disappointing, but it is winter. Some gardens are ordered and formal, others are, well, the opposite .. and the later is the case here. I guess between the drought & water restrictions, being winter and late in the day the Garden's were not able to show themselves off to their best. Still, we had a pleasant walk in the Gardens ... lakes and ponds, plenty of birds, small secluded nooks, dim pathways underneath dense treetops. Quite romantic. Finished off back at the Shrine of Remembrance .. which takes on a very different appearance in the fading light of day (and the floodlights) ... the white colour during the day turns into a warm yellow.

Day 6. Sunday .. headed off to the airport early (well just after 10am) to check in. Saw some rather thin types waiting for a tram ... they'd been waiting a long time from appearances. had a look at St Francis', the oldest Catholic church in Victoria. Built between 1841-1845 on the site of an even older church. originally a simple little Gothic-style brick church, it's had many additions over the years. From 1848 to 1868 it even served as Victoria's catholic cathedral until the much larger St Patrick's cathedral was built. Lurked around the airport for a few hours. Took off maybe 5 mins late but arrived in Sydney on time (pity Sydney trains weren't that close to being on time!!!) and caught the airport shuttle bus back home. We were the only passengers ... so a quiet ride home to end the trip.

Shrine of Remembrance ...