Marvellous Melbourne

This morning we got up at around half 8, got ready and went downstairs to have some free pancakes that are included in our stay. They were only small but it was better than nothing. I had mine with maple syrup and Lauren had hers with sugar.

Then we got the free city tram to the library to join a free walking tour that started at half 10. The library had two big statues of people on horses out the front; one was Joan of Arc and the other was George and the Dragon. Apparently they were put there in the 1850's to keep both the English and French happy. We're pretty sure the tour was by the same people that do the ones on Sydney. The tour was led by a dude called Matthew who was full of information. He told us that Melbourne was almost named Batmania, with people being known as Batmanians,  after a dude called Mr Batman (pronounced Bat-mun) who was related to the founding of the city. Personally I think Batmania would have been pretty cool but 'such is life'.

'Such is life' were the last words of Ned Kelly, but we will get to him later.

Melbourne's first settlers settled in the area in 1835. Before this there were 5 aboriginal clans who lived in the area. Batman apparently made a deal with the aboriginals in the area over some land and this began the chain of events that eventually led to the establishment of Melbourne.

In the 1850s there was a gold rush in Melbourne, only a month after Melbourne and Sydney had separated. 20 million ounces of gold was found in 7 years. This rush ended 1960s and people left the area. Melbourne's next boom came in the 1980s in an era called the marvellous Melbourne era. Children of wealthy parents who had made their money in the gold rush grew up and spent the money, built houses and started businesses causing economic growth. Melbourne become more wealthy than Sydney. In the 90s this collapsed and Sydney returned as the wealthiest city in Australia.

The first place the tour took us was the old gaol. The gaol was built out of a grey coloured bluestone, which is a local stone. It was built in the 1840s and used until 1929. Records show the youngest prisoner was a 3 year old boy, held for 6 months for being idol and disorderly. The most famous prisoner, who was held and executed there was Ned Kelly. Ned Kelly is apparently the Australian Robin Hood.  He and his gang robbed banks, rather than defenceless people, and in one act that made them popular during their robberies, they burned the mortgage records of small farms. They killed 3 police officers during their time, which didn't help endear them to the public. Ned's gang all died in a shoot out after a hotel siege, but Ned faced off the police wearing iron armour. Eventually the police were able to shoot his arms and legs which were unprotected and capture him. He was tried and sentences to death at the Melbourne Gaol. He was 25 years old.

The next stop was the 888 monument which commemorated the fight to get an 8 hour working day, 8 hours of rest and 8 hours of play in every day. I can't remember much about what Matthew said but apparently there were some protests about it.

We walked through Carlton gardens, which had metal sheets wrapped around the trees to stop possums climbing them and eating new shoots. They can't be that effective though as we saw a possum hanging out of a hole in one of the trees. And when I saw we saw a possum, I mean we saw its back end hanging out of a tree.

In Carlton gardens is the Royal Exhibition building which is very fancy. It was built 9 years before the Eiffel Tower.

We then wandered through some beautiful gardens called Parliament gardens to the Australian State building, which held the national government until Canberra was built and ready for use.

We also saw Princess Theatre, which is apparently haunted by the ghost of Frederiche  (sp?) who died whilst being descended into hell during a play but then according to the other actors still turned up to hold hands and bow to the audience.

Next up was chinatown, which is the oldest chinatown in western world (western economy) that wasn't destroyed by earthquake and fire. San Fransico's Chinatown had to be rebuilt so hasn't been around as long, technically.

Melbourne also has a greek precint. Apparently it is the third biggest Greek speaking city, and the biggest outside Greece.

The tour took us down Bourke Street. Buskers on Bourke Street need a permit to busk, and to get this they have to audition to Melbourne city council to make sure they're actually good. We headed from Bourke Street to Union lane, which a lane way where street art or graffiti is legal. You have to get a permit to allow the art on the walls. If you're caught putting street art on walls that don't have a permit for it, you can get two years in prison. I thought Union Lane' street art was impressive but it was nothing on Hosier Street we walked down later on.

Lane ways became filled in 1990s due to street art permits and changes to outdoor dining laws and liquor licenses. Previously they had just been empty or for deliveries to be made to shops. Now they have cafes and bars and shops. We walked down one called Centre place. It was full of bustling cafes, all filled with people.

We walked down Hosier Lane, across the river and into a square called Federation Square, which is the product of a winning competition entry in a design competition. Matthew said people in Melbourne hated it at first but it's grown on them.

From the square you could see Eureka tower, which is the tallest building in Melbourne. It has 88 floors.  It was designed based on a rebellion by gold miners who were rebelling over the tax they had to pay.  They burnt their mining licenses and pledged allegiance to the Eureka flag which is blue and white, like the main part of the building. The gold obviously symbols the miners and the red for blood that was spilled after some miners died.

Our tour ended at the edge of the river which gave a good view of the Melbourne skyline. It was an enjoyable tour and we learnt a lot.

After the tour we wandered round for a bit before returning to the hostel around half 4. Today was the first day I'd had to get changed before going back out. Both Lauren and myself had felt cold for the first day in a while. When we went back out I had a cardigan and leggings on.

We walked down to the summer night market where we had some food, browsed the stalls and watched some performances to celebrate the Chinese new year. Then we walked back to the hostel to get an early night as we have to be up early tomorrow.

*Internet's playing up. Will post some photos soon!*