On Monday morning, September 5 2022 Lillian and I boarded our 11.30am Qantas flight QF 425 for Melbourne. We had planned to be in Melbourne for the 2020 Melbourne Cup, but Covid put paid to this trip.
A man, in his late twenties ,who was sitting next to the window in our row of seats, helped us greatly. When we landed, he showed us how to electronically purchase our Skybus tickets for the journey to the City and our return ticket to the Airport. And when we reached Southern Cross Station, he showed us where to purchase our rail tickets to Bendigo, Geelong and our important card for transport -the Mykie card. The train tickets to Geelong and Bendigo were loaded on to the Mykie, which we also used for bus travel in Bendigo and Geelong.
Then off in a taxi to Punthill Apartments in Flinders Lane to off- load our heavy hand luggage. We jumped on the free tram around the City. Trams in the CBD are free, and as a result are great people movers. Both Lillian and I had not been in Melbourne for some time, so it was interesting to see the changed skyline and Docklands. Dinner was at an Italian café in Degraves Street.
Degraves Street was handy for breakfast every morning, as there were so many cafes!
On Tuesday, September 6 2022 we left on the 9.05am train from Southern Cross to Bendigo, which was due to arrive at almost 11am. A Seniors Group got into our carriage on the train at Southern Cross and more joined at Footscray – they were going to Kyneton for the day. The 30 of them were like an excitable group of year 8’s going on a Geography excursion!
We had lunch in Bendigo Library with Dr Sue Walter, who is the President of Malmsbury Historical Society. Sue works in the archives in Bendigo Library. Sue and I last saw each other when I was in Malmsbury in November 2011. I was there with relatives, Nancy and Glen Jones for the launch of a book on Malmsbury. Glenn was also a descendant of Bristol Bill from Malmsbury.
My grandmother’s father, Bristol Bill, as he was called, was one of Malmsbury’s “colourful characters.” He came from Bristol, England and had stowed away on a ship in order to reach Australia. And when he was found on the ship, he had to work his passage, as the ship’s butcher, to Melbourne. In Malmsbury, he was a butcher, a pugilist, had a carrying business, and was an Alderman on Malmsbury Council. Maybe I owe Bristol Bill my pugilist (boxing) skills with the written word, and my political genes …
After lunch, we joined the Talking Tram at the Alexandra Fountain. The journey took 45 minutes, travelling past Lake Wooroona, the Joss House Temple and the Central Deborah Gold Mine.
There are some beautiful heritage buildings and homes in Bendigo. Qantas now flies directly to Bendigo from Sydney, so it provides a great opportunity to return to explore the Goldfields cities and towns.
My great grandfather on my father’s side had been a gold miner in Maryborough, Victoria during the 1850’s, and later became a tailor in Maryborough. I am fortunate to have a brick, with special markings, from his old miner’s cottage in Maryborough. When his cottage was knocked down to rebuild the next landowner’s house, the bricks were then used in the garden. I visited the site in the mid -1980’s with a relative, Beatrice and the elderly owner of the new house gave me a brick.
An article in the local newspaper from the President of the Bendigo Branch of the National Trust, Peter Cox, raised concerns in relation to local heritage buildings. The question was asked “how can the City of Greater Bendigo, businesses and people activate the heritage buildings of Pall Mall?”
Mr Cox stressed that “the buildings need money spent on them. It is just not a matter of repurposing the buildings that is a big task. It takes people to activate buildings .If they are shut up and have rising damp, they deteriorate quickly. We need to get people back into all these buildings.” I could not agree more.
The article stated that “the Bendigo Law Courts will be replaced in 2023, and part of the former Post Office Building is in question as well. The former School of Mines Library and MacGillivray Hall, which are owned by Bendigo TAFE, are of interest. A community precinct is believed to be planned for these buildings. Bendigo Art Gallery will need to close for two years for a $28 million upgrade.”
I had the opportunity when I was in Delft the Netherlands in early October 2019, to have lunch in a 500 year old building .And when I visited Utrecht for the day in late October2019, I was delighted to have lunch in a wonderful building, which over 400 years old . It had been a bank and a department store in its former life, and is now a hugely popular restaurant. Old buildings can be reused; they need love, care and money to be spent on them.
Lillian and I decided after our tram ride to return to Melbourne, as it had been a long day. Dinner was again at the Italian restaurant, where Lillian proceeded to entertain the waiters, and some of the diners, by speaking Italian. One of the waiters was from Columbia, and was Spanish speaking – Degraves Street cafes were very multicultural and interesting!
Wednesday morning September 7 2022, as we were going to breakfast, we chatted to a Brisbane man, who had attended Judith Durham’s Memorial Service in Melbourne on the Tuesday night. After breakfast, we caught a train from Flinders Street Station to Southern Cross. A helpful staff member took us to a lift, and put us on the correct train to Southern Cross. The train to Geelong took one hour.
We caught a bus from the Geelong CBD to Deakin University and return, so that we could see the suburbs. We called into the National Wool Museum, where I purchased a pair of socks.
The NWM building was formerly the Dennys Lascalles Wool Store, a bluestone structure with cement rendered ornamentation and a slate covered saw tooth roof was purpose built and opened in 1872. The building was considered to be a masterpiece of its time. Two later additions were added in 1889 and 1926 to make the building what it is today.
No other Australian City can boast Geelong’s diversity and concentration of wool related industries. Sheep were among the first European settlers to land in Geelong’s Point Henry-the sheep were thrown overboard to swim ashore, as the barque Henry arrived from Tasmania in 1832.
Time was moving on, and sadly we did not have time to look at the Geelong waterfront. We had late lunch on the one hour and fifty minute ferry trip to Docklands .The ferry made a detour and called into Portarlington to collect passengers. The hotel in Portarlington has been recently restored and is open again.
It is of interest that the new terminal for the Spirit of Tasmania to Devonport will open at Corio, near Geelong in October 2022, after 37 years in Port Melbourne.
We caught a tram to Flinders Street Station and then went into the Young and Jackson Hotel to have a drink. The dining areas were full, but the busy staff accommodated us in another area upstairs for dinner. Fortunately, the hotel has a lift to make access easier to the restaurants. After dinner, we had a look at Chloe –the famous painting. Our waiter informed us after dinner that he had a You Tube channel, Abhi Foodie, and i told him about my You Tube, Anne’s Adventure.
Some background to Chloe……
Chloe was painted by Jules Joseph Lefebvre and made its debut at the 1875 Paris Salon. It was believed that the model, who sat for the painting was a young woman called Marie. Little is known of Marie–she was rumoured to be 19 years of age, and she died young – of a broken heart.
Chloe was fist exhibited at the Sydney International Exhibition of 1879, where it was awarded a high accolade. It was unveiled at the Melbourne International Exhibition, 1880 where it again received a high accolade .In 1881, Chloe was purchased by Dr Thomas Fitzgerald , a prominent Melbourne surgeon.
In May 1883, the Art Gallery of Victoria presented Chloe as part of a new exhibition. Many gallery visitors objected to a nude. By the end of May, Dr Fitzgerald had asked for Chloe to be returned to him.
Chloe was purchased at the end of 1908 by Henry Figsby Young, a publican and art collector. He viewed the purchase of Chloe as a coup. Chloe was installed in the Young and Jackson Hotel in 1909, creating both excitement and disdain.
Australian service men shared a drink with Chloe before leaving for their tour of duty. It is for this reason that Chloe is celebrated on Anzac Day to remember the soldiers that were lost during their War service. (Information courtesy of Young and Jackson – established 1861)
Thursday morning, September 8 2022 Jenny collected us at our hotel at 9am, and drove us to Mornington to pick up her mother, Nancy. Then on to morning tea at Donato’s Nursery at Mount Martha, before driving on to Sorrento. Lunch was at a lovely restaurant, The Baths. After a delightful seafood lunch, we drove back to Nancy’s home to drop her off and headed back to the City, courtesy of the freeway. I could only wave to the Frankston sign for Bob, as we bypassed Frankston. Sorrento would be a lovely place to holiday. We had a lovely day thanks to Jenny and Nancy.
Lillian and I had a light dinner that night at another Degraves Street restaurant, as we had had a substantial lunch of beautiful barramundi. We chatted to the gentleman sitting next to us at dinner. He was here in Melbourne from Vancouver, Canada for work reasons .I asked him about The Canadian, a train which crosses Canada. Our waiter was a lawyer from Spain, who had come to work in Melbourne to perfect his English. He and I chatted about the upcoming World Cup.
Friday morning, we woke to the news of the Queen’s passing at Balmoral Castle, Scotland. A very sad day for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth to have lost such a well – respected and long –serving monarch. And a female monarch, who served amongst largely male leaders throughout the world over the past 70 years.
On Friday morning, September 9 2022, my cousin Prue came to the apartments to meet us. We decided to chance getting a table for lunch at the Lady Hopeturn Tea Rooms – 1892 in the Block Arcade. Bookings are only taken for the high tea. Prue reminded me that her Aunt Vera, whom I knew, had a hairdressing salon at 28 Elizabeth Street Melbourne and was in the ANA building many years ago.
On our way to the Tea Rooms, I bought two pairs of Happy Socks, which are very popular in Melbourne, particularly with younger people. They originated in Sweden in 2008 under the grey sky of a belated Swedish spring. Two friends had a vision to spread happiness by turning an everyday essential into a colourful design piece with a rigid standard of ultimate quality along with craftsmanship and creativity. Happy Socks have an endless variety of designs using a broad spectrum of colour combinations. They are now sold around the world.
I look forward to wearing my Happy Socks ……..
The history of this wonderful 1892 Tea Rooms features in the menu. We were lucky and managed to get a table, but only after we admired the stunning cakes in the window – such torture! We decided not to have the High Tea, as we felt that we could not eat it all. The two young ladies sitting next to us almost navigated all of their high tea. They were however unable to finish it, so they took home some of the goodies!
After lunch, we visited another arcade briefly, and I had a hair cut in The Emporium Building. Prue left us then to return home to her almost new, but energetic young Irish Terrier pup, Laoise. And Lillian and I had afternoon tea in Myer, before returning to our apartment. We had to have early dinner, as we were due at the Theatre Royal by 730pm for Hairspray. The theatre staff took us up in the lift so access was easy. We had great seats in row HH, near the front of the theatre. A great way to finish our visit to Melbourne.
Saturday morning, we caught a taxi to Southern Cross Station, and then took the Skybus to the Airport. At the present time, the cafes and shops are being renovated inside the terminal.
Qantas staff at the boarding gate for QF 430 at 1pm asked Lillian if she wanted to get on the plane first. I went with her, and it was a nice gesture to be first on board in a full plane with 258 passengers.
Melbourne transport made it so much easier for us to get around. And The Punthill Apartments were well located to Flinders Street Station , and also to the many cafes in nearby Degraves Street. The Theatre Royal was a 20 minute walk. We highly recommend the apartments.
A very busy 5 days, in which we did so much in Melbourne, Bendigo and Geelong. And we did a lot of chatting too; to the many interesting people we met. September 22 2022
