PORT PHILLIP BAY

Port Phillip Bay and South Melbourne, viewed from the 25th floor of an apartment in Southbank. I'm stretching the zoom capability of my phone camera as you can see in the first photo. I've tried to clean up the photo with AI in the second image. Moral of the story, if you want best results use a dedicated camera with a decent zoom lens. It was a grey Winter's day, by the way...

Nevertheless, one can see that South Melbourne is a lovely old suburb with many trees and gardens as well as closeness to the sea. The Victorian Town Hall clock tower is evidence of many heritage buildings in this locale.

This photo is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

COASTERS

An amazing variety of coasters for sale at the South Melbourne Market.

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

SOUTH MELBOURNE

South Melbourne viewed from Southbank. The Victorian building with the clocktower is the South Melbourne Town Hall.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

FLORIST

At the South Melbourne Market, "Azalea" florist shop always has wonderful flowers. These beauties in the foreground right are Australian natives, the scarlet Banksia coccinea taking pride of place at the top.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

WALKER FOUNTAIN

The Walker fountain was presented by Ron and Barbara Walker, Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Melbourne (1974-1975) to the people of Victoria, opened by the Hon. Lindsay Thompson, C.M.P.,M.P., Premier of Victoria on the 18.12.1981.

It is in the King's Domain in South Melbourne, at the corner of Linlithgow Ave and St Kilda Rd, diagonally opposite the National Gallery of Victoria. The fountain is part of the City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection and comprises 46 underwater lights and 144 individual streams of water.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the My Corner of the World meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

SEAGULL

It's very unkind to call seagulls "rats with wings", unless of course you really like rats! In any case, they are all over the seaside suburbs in Melbourne and yes, they do raid the rubbish bins!

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

AT THE STH MELBOURNE MARKET

Established in 1867, South Melbourne Market is the quintessential village market, a place where people come not only to purchase fresh food, but to meet, eat, drink, shop, discover, share and connect. Open every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8am. 

Each aisle is full of authentic traders who display their wares with pride and passion. Quirky and playful characters are found behind the counters, delivering old fashioned customer service with a smile. 

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme,

and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

PORT PHILLIP BAY

View of Port Phillip Bay from Southbank, looking towards the Southwest, across South Melbourne. Winter sunshine and some keen sailors braving the chilly sea breezes.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

WHIRLIGIGS

 Whirl, whirl whirligigs, the Lockdown is over! Perfect Spring weather to celebrate it too!

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

CHRISTMAS APPROACHING

At the South Melbourne Market, with restrictions easing it's easier to get into the Christmas season spirit and remember the good old times pre-COVID-19! 

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

STH MELBOURNE TOWN HALL

South Melbourne Town Hall is a civic building located on Bank Street in South Melbourne, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. It is of state heritage significance to Victoria being listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

The Town Hall was built between 1879-80 to the design of noted Melbourne architect Charles Webb. It was built to house what was then known as the Emerald Hill Town Council, as well as a Public Hall, a Mechanics Institute and Library, the Post and Telegraph Department, the Police Department and Courthouse and Fire Brigade. In the 1930s some interior elements were refurbished and new council chamber furniture was installed, designed by Oakley and Parkes.

The Town Hall was built on an elevated site, the centrepiece of a formally planned block, with a forecourt in the form of a small curved park. It was built in the Victorian Academic Classical style with French Second Empire features, dominated by a very tall multi-stage clock tower. The building is on the Victorian Heritage Register, along with the park and the 1905 Boer War memorial in front. In 1994, the Cities of South Melbourne, Port Melbourne and St Kilda were amalgamated to form the new City of Port Phillip. The new council administration was centred at the St Kilda Town Hall, with only secondary offices retained at the South Melbourne Town Hall.

That same year, the Federal Government created the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), which became the main occupant of the building. ANAM is the national centre for the further development of musicians with outstanding talent in Australia, and the hall has become a concert venue. The building was restored in 2004 thanks to a state government heritage grant, enabling the reinstatement of the decorative roof and iron cresting (removed in 1945), and restoration of the original ochre exterior colour.

In 2012 Multicultural Arts Victoria, Victoria's peak arts organisation promoting cultural diversity in the arts, moved their home to the South Melbourne Town Hall. In 2018, a significant part of the internal roof collapsed and parts of the building were closed off for many months whilst significant construction works were carried out (earlier that year, substantial works were completed on updating the lift which broke down frequently).

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,

and also part of the Friday Photo Journal meme.

AT THE STH MELBOURNE MARKET

The South Melbourne market is a covered food and general goods market located in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It began operating in 1867, and is a Victorian style of building with wood and red brick. The market has undergone various refurbishments in its lifetime, some of necessity, after numerous fires. The worst of these was in 1981 when two of the original sheds were destroyed and, later in the year, stalls were damaged by bombs. In 2007/2008, the market's produce areas were redesigned, and in 2012 a new roof was added to reduce leaking and heat load.

With almost 150 stalls operated by small business owners, and 2 hours free parking in the undercover rooftop car park, the market features a huge range of products. As well as that, one may find interesting touches of art and culture int he market, including some quirky murals. The market is just 10 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD and is easily accessible by tram, bus, bike, foot or car.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,

and also part of the Blue Monday meme,

and also part of the Through my Lens meme,

and also part of the Seasons meme.

BROCCOLI

Shopping for broccoli in the South Melbourne Market.

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.

SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET

The South Melbourne market is a covered food and general goods market located in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It began operating in 1867, and is a Victorian style of building with wood and red brick. The market has undergone various refurbishments in its lifetime, some of necessity, after numerous fires. The worst of these was in 1981 when two of the original sheds were destroyed and, later in the year, stalls were damaged by bombs. In 2007/2008, the market's produce areas were redesigned, and in 2012 a new roof was added to reduce leaking and heat load.

With almost 150 stalls operated by small business owners, and 2 hours free parking in the undercover rooftop car park, the market features a huge range of products. As well as that, one may find interesting touches of art and culture int he market, including some quirky murals. The market is just 10 minutes from Melbourne’s CBD and is easily accessible by tram, bus, bike, foot or car.

This post is part of the Monday Murals meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

MURAL IN SOUTH MELBOURNE

I was rushing to an appointment a few days ago and out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a rather large mural adorning the wall of a little lane that led to the parking lot behind the large office on Market St, close to Clarendon St. The brilliant blues was what caught my eye first.

At the risk of being late for my appointment, I did take some photos. Just as well as I did as I had to rush off again afterwards. It was raining too, by that time.

The mural is a tribute to Salvador Dalí, with several signature thematic devices: Melting clock, hatching egg, distorted skulls, etc. There is however, a fixation on chairs and armchairs that run through the imagery. I was wondering whether the mural was connected with a furniture shop nearby?

This post is part of the Monday Murals meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.