Friday 31 August 2012

YARRA VALLEY VISTAS

The Yarra Valley is the name given to the region surrounding the Yarra River in Victoria, Australia. The river originates approximately 90 kilometres east of the City of Melbourne and flows towards it and out into Port Phillip Bay. The name Yarra Valley is usually used in reference to the upper regions surrounding the Yarra River and generally does not encompass the lower regions including the city and suburban areas, where the topography flattens out, or the upper reaches which are in inaccessible bushland.

The Yarra Valley a popular day-trip and tourist area, featuring a range of natural features and agricultural produce, as well as the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail.The Yarra Valley is host to a thriving wine growing industry. The area's relatively cool climate makes it particularly suited to the production of high-quality chardonnay, pinot noir and sparkling wine. Yarra Valley towns fall under the Nillumbik and Yarra Ranges Shire Councils. Major towns include Yarra Glen, Healesville and Warburton.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.



Thursday 30 August 2012

FAIRFIELD, AROUND THE STATION

Fairfield "Village" is a community-focussed shopping precinct in the inner suburb Fairfield, which is ideally suited for the young families that reside in the local community. From Station Street and surrounding Wingrove, Gillies and Duncan Streets; the Village offers a diverse range of restaurants, cafés, fresh produce, clothing stores and business services.The Village is a haven for locals and visitors alike who frequent the precinct to shop, dine and enjoy time out with loved ones. Located within proximity to the famous Fairfield Boathouse and Yarra Bend Park, Fairfield Village is a family friendly place to escape the pace of everyday life and experience a truly unique atmosphere.

In this series of photos taken in the early morning some of the shops and the train station are shown.

This post is part of the Signs, Signs meme.





Wednesday 29 August 2012

WEBB BRIDGE, DOCKLANDS


Webb Bridge is an award winning bridge designed by Denton Corker Marshall, in collaboration with artist Robert Owen, forming a cycling and pedestrian link to the main part of Docklands, through Docklands Park. It is the conversion of the former Webb Bridge rail link. The bridge is near the Charles Grimes Bridge, over the Yarra.

This post is part of the Water World Wednesday meme,
And also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
And also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.

PS: I am travelling at the moment so I am not able to visit your blogs as much as I would have wished to.

Tuesday 28 August 2012

LONSDALE ST

St Francis’ Church (at 326 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne) is the oldest Catholic Church in Victoria and the oldest church on its original site in Melbourne. For over 160 years, St Francis’ has been an important place of prayer and worship in the centre of the city of Melbourne. In 1929, St Francis’ Church became a eucharistic shrine in the care of the Blessed Sacrament Congregation.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

Monday 27 August 2012

PICCADILLY CIRCUS MURAL

Piccadilly Circus Coats on 264 Rathdowne St, Carlton Nth, offers an extensive range of quality ladies and men’s coats for all ages. Ever since I can remember passing by this place, I have looked at the mural that adorns the corner of the shop and illustrates a glowing wintry scene of Victorian London at Piccadilly Circus. The mural always cheers me up for some reason! It was unfortunate that recently the mural was spoiled by taggers, but I was glad to see the damage repaired.

This post is part of the Monday Murals meme,
and also par tof the Mellow Yellow Monday meme.







Sunday 26 August 2012

MOUNT DANDENONG

Mount Dandenong is both a mountain and small township/suburb of Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 35 km east from Melbourne's central business district. At the 2006 Census, Mount Dandenong had a population of 1,276.The mountain, upon which the suburb is located is 633 metres tall. The mountain lends its name to the entire range of which it is a part, the Dandenong Ranges. Light to moderate snowfalls occur on Mount Dandenong a few times most years, mostly frequently between late winter and late spring. The area around Mount Dandenong experienced a highly unusual summer snow fall on Christmas Day 2006.

Originally the town was to be named Mount Corhanwarrabul, but due to the problems that were foreseen with the spelling and pronunciation of this name, the Surveyor-General's office opted to name it Mount Dandenong. However, today there is still a Mount Corhanwarrabul, which is on the site of Burkes Lookout. The town of Mount Dandenong was settled in 1893, along with a neighbouring town, Olinda. It was around this time that the Government established 10-acre farms that would be used to harvest timber. By around 1900 the town had its own general store and primary school. The Post Office, opened in 1902, was closed and replaced by one at Kalorama in 1991. In 1922 the first motorcars were seen in operation in Mount Dandenong.

Around 2002 it was proposed that the word "Melbourne" be erected in large letters at the peak of the mountain in the style of the Hollywood sign, visible from the city centre. However this was met with outrage from local residents and was not pursued!

This post is part of the Scenic Sunday meme.
















Saturday 25 August 2012

AT SOUTHERN CROSS

Southern Cross Station is the most important rail terminal in Victoria and has been redeveloped into a world-class public transport interchange, with fast rail connections to regional Victorian centres and new facilities for rail, taxi and bus passengers. Now more than just a railway station, Southern Cross Station is a combination railway, shopping centre and bus terminal. The shopping centre includes supermarkets, DFO - Direct Factory Outlet and over 100 other shops, bars and restaurants.

On Spencer Street between Collins and La Trobe Streets at the western boundary of the central business district, it is the hub of the state's regional railway network, serving as a terminus for long-distance V/Line trains. It also serves the twice-daily Countrylink XPT service to Sydney, and The Overland to Adelaide three times per week. It has a bus station with 24-hour Skybus service to Melbourne airport.

Southern Cross is one of five stations forming the City Loop, a mostly underground railway that encircles the CBD. Southern Cross and Flinders Street are the only stations in the Loop that are above ground.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.









Friday 24 August 2012

SUNRISE, BOURKE ST

Bourke Street is one of Melbourne's best known streets. Historically been regarded as Melbourne's "second street", with the main street being Collins Street and "busier than Bourke Street" is a popular catchphrase. Bourke Street has traditionally been Melbourne's entertainment hub. In its heyday it was the location of many of Melbourne's theatres, cinemas as well as a major retail shopping precinct. Today the street remains an entertainment hub best known as the location of the Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne's main pedestrian mall and one of the city's main tourist destinations.  Bourke Street is named for Sir Richard Bourke, the Governor of New South Wales (and thus, of Melbourne as well) in 1837 during the drafting of the Hoddle Grid.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.



Thursday 23 August 2012

MELBOURNE WELCOMES OLYMPIANS

Yesterday, at Federation Square the City of Melbourne celebrated our Olympic Athletes who have returned form London. Hundreds of people turned out to cheer on their favourite athletes. Gold medal winners Anna Meares and Sally Pearson were the headline acts at Federation Square.

Sydney became the first Australian city to officially welcome home Olympic athletes on Monday, and Brisbane will hold a parade on Friday. Buoyed by the reception, star athletes in Melbourne say it has spurred them on to compete again at Rio in 2016.

The crowd got into the spirit of things by wearing blue wigs, waving boxing kangaroo flags and cheering loudly as the athletes filed past. Melbourne once again lived up to its name as the sporting capital of Australia.

This post is part of the Signs, Signs meme.








Wednesday 22 August 2012

GOULBURN RIVER, VICTORIA

The Goulburn River is a major inland river in Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of the Goulburn River rise in the western end of the Victoria Alps, near Mount Buller making it the longest river in Victoria at 654km. The Eildon Dam creates Lake Eildon, a major storage of water for irrigation. From Lake Eildon, most of the irrigation water goes to Goulburn Weir and Waranga Basin.

North of Eildon the Goulburn River enters the northern plains of Victoria and eventually flows into the Murray River near Echuca. This area is a very productive irrigated agricultural area. The Goulburn River was named after Henry Goulburn (19 March 1784 – 12 January 1856;   an English Conservative statesman and a member of the Peelite faction after 1846).

Tributaries of the river include the Broken, Rubicon, Delatite, Howqua, Jamieson and Yea Rivers. Much of the flow is extracted, and the river is very heavily regulated, which has strongly affected the river's ecosystem. With recent years being some of the driest on record in the basin, there has been even further stress on the river's ecosystem. The river passes through some Victorian country towns like Seymour, Nagambie and Shepparton.

This post is part of the Water World Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.