I left South Australia after my weekend in the Clare Valley and came back to Melbourne. I haven't done very much the past few days - hence why this is a very short post. I've spent some time organizing my belongings ... and doing a lot of shopping!
It definitely is fall/autumn here now, and given that Melbourne is in the southern part of Australia it is cooler here. That being said, "cool" is relative, especially to a Canadian. Daytime temperatures are still usually around 20 degrees C, but it is falling to single digits overnight now, and so that definitely gives the days that touch of fall.
Today my 'to do' list took me to Queen Victoria Market - a place that has been the heart and soul of Melbourne for more than a century. The Queen Victoria Market opened in 1878, and at around seven hectares is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere. The Market is significant to Melbourne's culture and heritage and has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The Market is named after Queen Victoria who ruled the British Empire from 1837 to 1901. This vibrant and bustling inner-city Market is where Melburnians shop for everything from Australian fruit and vegetables, and local and imported gourmet foods, to cosmetics, clothing and souvenirs.
After my shopping I did a bit of walking and came across this wonderful old building. The Melbourne City Council opened the first Melbourne City Baths in 1860, which housed public baths. The objective was to stop people from bathing in the Yarra River, which by the 1850s had become quite polluted and the cause of an epidemic of typhoid fever which hit the city resulting in many deaths. However, people continued to swim and drink the water - and lack of maintenance resulted in such deterioration of the building that the Baths were closed in 1899. The baths were redesigned and reopened in 1904. Strict separation of men and women was maintained, right down to separate street entrances. Two classes of facilities were maintained, with second class baths in the basement and first class baths on the main floor. The popularity of the swimming pool increased with the introduction of mixed bathing in 1947. Today, The Baths now house a swimming pool, spa, sauna, squash courts and a gymnasium.
If you think way, way back to when I first arrived in Melbourne you might remember from one of my posts at that time a building called the Royal Exhibition Building. What I didn't show you in that post (it was turned off for cleaning) was the absolutely gorgeous fountain located out in front of the Exhibition Building. This colossal fountain, built in 1880, stands ten metres high and was constructed for the first of Melbourne's two grand international world fairs. The fountain's visual elements were designed to display the young colony's confidence and advancement, simultaneously signalling the purpose of world fairs to display the produce and industry of nations. At the central level of the fountain, four youths (representing a young and vibrant colony) dance below symbols of the arts, science, commerce and industry; for example, musical instruments, a telescope, sailing ship, steam engine and globe of the world. Above this are images of Victoria's indigenous flora and fauna, and a boy with a clamshell. Holding all of this aloft are four merpeople rising up from the waters of the lower pool.
I'm back to Wodonga again for this weekend --- so if there's another few days before the next post you'll know that I'm enjoying good food and wine with good friends.
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