More time in Melbourne

Lots to do, and people to see, in the Melbourne area, so I'm back here again for a few more days.

The State Library of Victoria is located in Melbourne.  The library holds over 2 million books, including the diaries of the cities founders, and it also houses the original armour of  Ned Kelly.  The library opened in 1856 with a collection of nearly 4000 books.  The landmark Domed Reading Room opened in 1913.  Its octagonal space was designed to hold over a million books and up to 600 readers. It is 34.75 m in both diameter and height, and its oculus is nearly 5 m wide.  The dome was the largest of its type in the world on completion.

 Today just happened to be the 160th Birthday of the State Library so I also got to enjoy a choir concert and a cupcake as part of the celebrations.

Ned Kelly's armour

Parliament House in Melbourne has been the seat of the Parliament of Victoria since 1855 (except for the years 1901 to 1927, when it was the seat of the Federal Parliament of Australia).  Construction on the building began in 1855 and the building was extended in stages to the present state.  The chambers for the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Victorian Legislative Council were finished in 1856, the library was completed in 1860, and the Great Hall (now Queen's Hall) and the vestibule in 1879.  In the 1880s, at the height of the great boom fuelled by the Victorian Gold Rush, it was decided to add a classical colonnade and portico, which today gives the building its monumental character, was completed in 1892.

 The Legislative Council Chamber

 The Legislative Assembly Chamber

 The Library

Queen's Hall

As I was walking around the block near Parliament House, these other beautiful buildings also presented themselves:

 St. Peter's Eastern Hill - established in 1835 is the oldest Anglican parish church on its original site in the city of Melbourne.  From the steps of the church, Melbourne was declared a city on 25 June 1847.

 The Princess Theatre - opened in 1854

The Windsor Hotel - built in 1883

It was back to see my friends in the Yarra Valley for the weekend and this time we went to a Lavender Farm and a couple of breweries.  I had strong memories of some very delicious lavender ice-cream from when I was here a few years ago - and a visit again now validated my memories.

 Although Hargreaves Hills is a brewing company it also makes an absolutely phenomenal sparkling red!!

Coldstream Brewery - home of the (naked) Shivering Man (only in Australia)

Looking ahead it seems like it might be a week of rather ordinary weather here in Melbourne so I thought I'd take advantage of today's superb weather to visit the suburb of Brighton.   Brighton is a beach-side suburb of Melbourne, about 11 kms south-east of Melbourne's CBD.

St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Brighton is one of the earliest churches in Victoria and was founded in 1842.

The Town Hall building in Brighton was built in 1885

 Looking south to the Hampton Yacht Club

 Looking north along the Brighton Beach walkway

 Two iconic sights on the horizon - the Brighton Bathing Boxes and Melbourne's skyline

 Beautifully coloured starfish

Out on the Brighton Wharf, looking south towards the Bathing Boxes

 Brighton Beach

 The Brighton Yacht Club, with Melbourne's skyline in the background

Dendy Street Beach, just south of Middle Brighton, features 82 colourful bathing boxes which are one of the tourist icons of Melbourne.  The noted bathing boxes in Brighton are known to have existed as far back as 1862.  In 1906, the completion of a tram line to Brighton led to an increase in applications for bathing box permits and significant construction between 1908 and 1911; final numbers are uncertain, but between 100 and 200 bathing box sites may have been allocated prior to the Great Depression.  The boxes share a uniformity of size and build, and a regular arrangement along the beach, and are the only surviving such structures close to the Melbourne CBD.  A Planning Scheme Heritage Overlay on the boxes restricts alterations, and all retain their Victorian era architecture, such as timber frames, weatherboard sidings, and corrugated iron roofs, without amenities such as electricity or running water. The bathing boxes may only be purchased by residents paying local council rates, and the most recent one to be sold, in 2014, fetched $215,000 – belying their humble size and basic timber construction, and equating to almost $45,000 per square metre.

Two years after the opening of the railway line to Brighton Beach in 1861, Captain Kenny’s Brighton Beach Baths opened.  At the time, bathing in the open during daylight hours was strictly prohibited, as was mixed bathing: separate sections of the beach were designated for men and for women.  The baths were built off shore and were accessed by a wooden bridge, so that bathers would not have to cross the sand clad only in bathing costumes, but could gain entry straight into the water.  Brighton Beach Baths had been destroyed several times, and were finally demolished in 1979.  The Middle Brighton Municipal Baths were opened in 1881 and The Baths are one of the only remaining caged open water sea baths in Australia.

More on Melbourne and my escapades here still to come.