Back in Melbourne - and getting ready to go

After leaving Bendigo I did come back to Melbourne but only for one day, and then I was off again, back to the Yarra Valley for another quick visit with my friends there.  It was a lovely visit - good food, good wine and the best company!!  And while we were sitting out in the backyard enjoying a bit of autumn sunshine, several of these lovely king parrots came to keep us company.

Now I am back here in Melbourne, and will be here until I leave Australia later in the week.

They say that Melbourne is the city that can give you all four seasons in one day, and today was a clear example of that!  I started out this morning and after only walking a couple of blocks I returned home to leave my jumper behind as I was just too hot!  While I was out this afternoon though I got caught in a thunderstorm, then a hail storm, then the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees,... and then to end my walk the sun came out again.

Despite the weather I was able to get out and enjoy another of Melbourne's self-guided walks - this one called "Elegant Enclave" and it took me into East Melbourne, looking at elaborate ironwork, classic columns and lofty verandas from the Victorian era.

Hepburn Terrace was built in 1874 and is a fine example of the Victorian homes that define inner Melbourne.

And another mansion is just a bit further up the street.

One of Melbourne's oldest homes is this 1856 terrace,

while behind the hedge is gracious "Braemar", dating to 1865.

This grand house, built in 1860, is now four apartments and it was home to Sir Benjamin Benjamin, Mayor of Melbourne in the 1880s.

These two neighbouring homes are from the 1880s and I loved the mass amounts of iron lacework on them.

This little cottage/house was part of an early farm and is now buried within the middle of an urban suburb,

while just a little bit further along the street you can see these wonderful Art Deco flats.

The next block contains this house that is a converted post office from the 1920s,

and on the other side of the street "Georgian Court" was built as apartments in 1860.

Next along is the 1865 home of Melbourne's first surveyor, Robert Russell.

"Queen Bess Row" was built in 1886 and is now three private homes,

and next door to Queen Bess Row is "Sydenham House" which was built in 1856 as a girls' school.

"Dorset Terrace" has front doors that are very unusually placed --- they are diagonally across from the entrance gates.

Cairns Memorial Presbyterian Church was converted into apartments after a fire in the 1980s and the building is now an amazing mix of old and new.

Another example of old and new is this Victorian home.  On the right is the original house while the left side is its contemporary addition.

On the left side this 1868 home has an unusual opera-box-style balcony and like the other homes beside it, it looks two-storied but, because of a slope, it is really three-storeys at the rear.

A little bit further down the block is this house, build in 1867.

This 1873 mansion with the arched veranda has been a private hospital and rooming house, and it is now a private home.

In 1888, "Nepean Terrace" was the home of actor Frederick Baker who died on stage at the Princess Theatre and whose ghost, Federici, is said to haunt the theatre.

This was the townhouse of Constance Stone, who became Australia's first woman doctor in 1890,

and "Little Parndon" was home to Eugene von Guerard, prominent artist and teacher in the late 1800s.

Artist-author Norman Lindsay (who wrote The Magic Pudding) courted his wife Kate Parkinson in this house in the 1890s,

and behind this white wall is the former home of Picnic at Hanging Rock author Joan Lindsay and husband Daryl Lindsay, once director of the National Gallery of Victoria.

"Canterbury Terrace" was built in 1878 and it is Melbourne's longest terrace, with 16 homes.

"Magnolia Court" was Ormiston Ladies College.  In the early 1900s, Magnolia Court was home to those involved in Melbourne's theatre and the early days of the Australian Ballet.

This terrace house was home to Peter Lalor, who lead miners in the Eureka Stockade uprising at Ballarat in 1854.

This 1861 bluestone home has been dubbed 'The Gothic House'.  It was designed by architect Joseph Reed (who designed Melbourne Town Hall, State Library and Royal Exhibition Building) for deputy surveyor-general Clement Hodgkinson (who designed the Fitzroy and Treasury gardens).

Across the street from 'Gothic House' is "Fairhall", an elegant 1860 townhouse which is now an art museum.

"Cyprus Terrace" was designed to look like two grand houses but it's actually four homes.

"Bishopscourt" was completed in 1853 and is the oldest remaining house in East Melbourne.  Originally built for Bishop Charles Perry, first Anglican Bishop of Melbourne, it also doubled as Victoria's Government House in 1874-76.  It has been the residence for all Melbourne's Bishops and Archbishops since its completion.  This house is actually completely private and enclosed by a long black fence that goes all around the block - so I had to take this photo through a little hole in the fence.

My walk today actually started and ended by going through Treasury Gardens and Fitzroy Gardens.  I haven't highlighted them for you in this post, but if you look back at some of my previous posts from Melbourne you can find out a lot about both these beautiful gardens in them.

Now as you could probably see from the photos, I really did walk through the gambit of weather conditions this afternoon, but as I said, my walk ended with beautiful sunshine again... a wonderful way to end.