The lure of a spirit

The Bay Trail from St Kilda north to Port Melbourne was about five-kilometres one way. Far in the distance sat the Spirit of Tasmania which was where I was headed. This was one of the passenger liners that travelled across Bass Straight every day to Tasmania. I was drawn to the destination like spectators to a fight. It was a twenty-five degree day and people were biking or walking and lapping up the final autumn days before Melbourne’s unpredictable weather set in.

Along Federation 2001 Canal Trail

Along the southern end of St Kilda beach, an uninspiring trickle of water headed into Port Phillip Bay from Elwood Canal. The canal had once been Elwood Creek during the days when much of the area was swamp and birds swarmed the muddy creek bed in search of worms.

Melbourne’s period houses

When Europeans first invaded Australia, they brought their fir trees and roses because they weren’t impressed with the country’s vegetation. They even brought sparrows because they considered Australian birds ugly. That mindset passed and as I explored suburbs close to the city, yards spilt over with varieties of native bottle brush and banksia robur that enticed native birds.

Melbourne’s St Kilda

Skirting part of Port Phillip Bay was a walkway through West St Kilda where once Aboriginal Yalukit-William women made their spring journey to Port Nepean from the Yarra River. (featured image) At that time, St Kilda was known as Euroe Yroke.

Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance

The war memorial was built to remember the 60 000 Australians who died during the first world war but was extended to include those who died during the second world war. Constructed using sandstone, the shrine was officially opened in 1934 with a crowd of some 300 000 people.

Inside some of Melbourne’s finest buildings

Melbourne’s old treasury building was located within the last free section of the innercity tram route. For those interested in early European settlement and the gold rush era, the main floor contained rooms dedicated to this portion of Victoria’s past.

A tour behind locked doors

We headed to the State Theatre on Melbourne’s St Kilda Road to take a peek at the three theatres that made up the Arts Centre. The tour included the theatre designs and the paintings chosen for each location.

John Olsen NGV Exhibition

Often there are special exhibitions in the National Gallery of Victoria that are not free. The most impressive I’ve toured was one depicting John Olsen’s work in the Australia Square gallery. He was born in New South Wales in 1928, studied art in Australia, then went on to Europe for seven years to perfect his technique. By the 1950s he experimented with abstract art and this exhibition was displaying some of his best works under different themes. 

The National Gallery of Victoria

The NGV as Melbourne’s two art galleries are referred to, are a kilometre apart. The St. Kilda Road gallery with its watery entrance was Melbourne’s first art gallery until the Australia Square gallery was built just across the bridge. The downtown gallery is exclusively for Australian works of art while the St Kilda Gallery houses world displays. 

Melbourne Markets

Markets anywhere offer an insight into foods worth savouring. South Melbourne Market was no exception. For the freshest vegetables, fish and other meats, there were several stalls where I found the items I needed from curry leaves to flathead tails. At one end was a whole section of food stalls with tables for the hungry shopper to sit and eat, and aisles to wander from clothing stalls to pet needs that were worth browsing.