Our first day in Melbourne was something of a culture shock after 11 days in relatively quiet places. The streets were packed with city workers and tourists and the traffic (cars and trams) very heavy. We battled the crowds and went to the National Gallery of Victoria at Federation Square which is devoted to Australian art. (There is another NGV building which houses its international collection.) The Australian collection dates from the 1800s to today and is a mix of traditional and modern works. We admired Flinders St Station and visited St Paul's Cathedral which was impressive. We were lucky to visit whilst the organ was playing whiich was pleasant. We saw many other impressive buildings and statues as we walked around.
 


The next day, we crossed the William St bridge to the Southbank and walked along the riverfront which was buzzing with workers having lunch, tourists and lots of school kids. The Southbank is one long line of restaurants, bars and cafes, very like London's Southbank. We moved on to St Kilda Rd to see the Arts Centre and the main building of the National Gallery of Victoria. The buildings are all modern and very attractive. We went into the NGV and spent a couple of hours (if not longer!) wandering through its European galleries with art works from the 14th century to today. They have a very fine collection with works by many famous European artists. The British and Dutch galleries were very comprehensive. The gallery has a collection of Bill Henson's photographs which we also saw. We learnt later that Alfred Felton, a business man and philanthropist, set up a trust (equivalent to AUD35 million in 2000 values) to support culture and the community, half of which was to support the NGV. With these funds, the gallery has bought 15,000 art works which are valued at over AUD2 billion. No wonder the NGV has such an impressive collection!

 

We woke the next day, 16 March, to rain which had been forecast. However, by the time we roused ourselves the rain had stopped. The temperature had dropped though - only 20-ish compared to the 32-34C of the last few days. Because of the rain forecast, we had planned to ride on the free tourist tram but abandoned that idea because it was "standing room" only. So we hopped on an ordinary tram and went to the Parliament precinct. We were too early for a Parliament tour so went to see St Patrick's Cathedral which was very impressive. It was built from 1858 onwards but in a classical style. So, it doesn't have all the historical tombs and memorials found in European Cathedrals but it compares well architecturally. It has some lovely mosaic floors. From there, we went on our tour of the Parliament building which is lovely. We had an excellent guide, very knowledgeable and entertaining. We were surprised to hear that the Parliament building has been built progressively - it started as 2 separate chambers on either side of Bourke Street which were then joined together, closing off Bourke St - you'd never guess that from the outside! It's been done very well. When we emerged from the building, we realised it's not far from where we're staying so we abandoned the tram and walked back. That evening we had a celebratory dinner (Margaret's birthday) at a restaurant on the Southbank. It was a great place with good food, good service and a fabulous atmosphere around the whole area.

   

Next day, we walked to the Melbourne Exhibition Building which is a magnificent building! It was built for the International Exhibition in 1880 and was given UNESCO World Heritage status in 2004. It's very large and very Victorian and is quite lovely. There were loads of workmen around erecting marquees, fences etc for a garden festival later in March and, because of that, it was hard to get any decent photos of the building. Behind the Exhibition Building is the Melbourne Museum, a very modern building with lots of glass and chrome. Inside, the exhibitions were very well-done with lots of printed information and multi-media displays. We looked at the Science and Life presentation which described the development of Victoria from 600 million years ago to today, the Dynamic Earth exhibit which was about the everchanging Earth, and the Life and Mind presentation which was about the human body and mind. Very interesting, all of them! There were other exhibitions but, like most museums and galleries, it's hard to see everything in one session.
 
 
The next day, March 18, we went to the Immigration Museum, housed in what used to be the Customs House. It's a beautiful building, especially inside with its Long Hall with columns and decorative ceiling, its staircase and its tiled floors. The building alone is worth a visit! The exhibits were also good, interesting and well-presented. The main exhibit traces the history of immigration into Australia, and Victoria in particular, describing not only the immigrants but the changing government policies and community attitudes towards immigration and the immigrants. There were minor exhibits on Melbourne's Ithacan community, why people migrate, identity (who we think we are and whom others think we are), and on asylum seekers who've been held in detention. We then crossed the river to the Southbank and walked in the opposite direction to our previous visit. There were displays and stalls for the F1 Grand Prix which is being held in Melbourne next week. We passed the Crown complex and went in to see how it compares to Perth's Crown resort. It's much bigger with some VERY upmarket shops! Lots of restaurants, cafes and bars - it was all very impressive and very lavish! We carried on walking and passed Melbourne's Convention Centre which seemed huge! We saw the Polly Woodside, an 1885 tall ship. We were very impressed - again - with the Southbank and it's obviously popular as it was very busy with walkers, cyclists and the restaurants and bars were all busy.    
 
 
On our last day in Melbourne, we went back to Federation Square and visited the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, which was all about Australian film and television. We didn't spend long in there, partly because we knew a lot of it - especially from the 50s and 60s onwards! We've lived through much of it!!! Also, we found it noisy. Each exhibit had a number of screens playing different movies, TV shows, interviews with actors, directors etc, and the exhibits were close to each other so the overall effect was a cacophony of sound! It brought back many memories though - of films and TV shows and the people involved in them. One interesting exhibit was Cate Blanchett's Oscar for best supporting actor in the Aviator.
 
We then went to Federation Wharf and walked along the north side of the Yarra River through the park, Birrarung Marr, to Olympic Park, home of the MCG and Rod Laver Arena. We crossed the river at the Swan St Bridge and walked back along the Southbank. The riverfront facilities - parks, pathways, restaurants, bars etc - are excellent. We finished our visit to Melbourne with dinner at a Japanese stone-grill restaurant which turned out to be in Chinatown, so we saw that too! We liked Melbourne with its beautiful buildings and river. As in Perth, there are a lot of people sleeping rough and begging which is very sad to see. We didn't manage to do everything on our Melbourne list but that just gives us a reason for a future visit!