Is This the Same Town?

We visited Melbourne in 2003, so I expected to see a lot of familiar sights.  That was not the case.  The downtown has experienced a building boom, with steel and glass buildings going up every day.  Even the tallest of them is dwarfed by this 91 story building, the tallest in the country.  When you leave the downtown area, The rest of the town has not changed that much. Fitzroy Gardens has a large conservatory, a model Tudor Village and a "Fairy Tree."  The cottage where the Explorer, James Cook, was born was dismantled in England, transported to Australia, and reassembled in the park.  Flowers line all the walkways.

Miniature Tudor Village

Shakespeare's House

Captain Cook's House

From 1931-1934, Ola Cohn carved a tree stump as a gift to the children of Melbourne and "especially for the fairies and those who believe in them."   The carvings are repainted regularly, but the tree is getting a bit shabby in its old age.  Native birds animals such as kangaroos, koalas, emus, eagles, wallabies and kookaburras share space with fairies..  Did any of you sing about kookaburras in Girl Scouts?  "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, eating all the gum drops he can see.  Sing kookaburra, sing kookaburra, gay you life must be!"

The kookaburra

Melbourne is also the home of the Remembrance Memorial.  We call November 11 Veterans Day, but in Australia it is Remembrance Day, a time to honor all who have died in wars and "peacekeeping ventures."  The memorial building is situated so that at the 11th hour of the 11th month of each year, light passes through a hole in the roof and shines on a plaque.








Melbourne was once the largest and richest city in Australia, mainly because of a gold rush.  "Cottages" either as single structures or connected in rows were decorated with wrought-iron trim. 

Travel around the city was in horse drawn trolley.  A few of these have remained, but they have been converted into plush Victorian era dining cars. The horses have been replaced by electric lines.  We had a four course lunch complete with sparkling wine with the appetizer, wine with the main course and port with the cheese tray.  I hate to admit it, but the food was even better than served on the Viking Sun.