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.

WINTRY YARRA

Yarra River at Alphington on a wintry morning. As the crow flies, the City (CBD) is about 6 km downstream We are lucky to have such a wonderful swathe of nature reserve along the couyrse of our City's river.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

PORT PHILLIP BAY

The Bay viewed from from the 25th floor of a Southbank tower. The lovely Victorian building with the clock tower is the South Melbourne Town Hall.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

SUNRISE ROWING

Rowing on the Yarra River at sunrise. Many of the rowing clubs of the Universities and private schools have clubhouses in the City on the banks of the Yarra east of Princes Bridge.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

MORDIALLOC

Mordialloc is a beachside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 24 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Kingston local government area. Mordialloc recorded a population of 8,886 at the 2021 census.

The namesaked Mordialloc Creek (seen here) is arguably the most significant feature of the suburb. Home to Pompei's boat works, Mordialloc Creek has a rich history of traditional wooden boat building. Many classic boats line the banks of the creek. The creek mouth section below Nepean Highway is also home to the Mordialloc Motor Yacht Club and Mordialloc Sailing Club, and the creek drains into the Beaumaris Bay flanked by the Mordialloc Pier.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

FUN IN THE SUN, MORNINGTON

Mornington is a seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, located 57 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. It is in the local government area of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.

Mornington is known for its "village" atmosphere and its beautiful beaches. Mornington is a popular tourist destination with Melburnians who often make day trips to visit the area's bay beaches and wineries. The town centre runs into the foreshore area and local beach. Several conserved areas on the waterfront and hinterland preserve native flora and fauna.

Mornington is an attractive destination for shopping and features some excellent restaurants and cafes. The north of Mornington is also home to several horse breeders and stables. It has a modern library, cinema and numerous parks, gardens and historical buildings, many of which are open to the public. It holds several annual festivals, and holds a market day in the main street every Wednesday, which attracts hundreds of people.

Mornington has an active Yacht club (Mornington Yacht Club), located at Schnapper Point, catering for sailors of all levels and abilities, from beginners - “Tackers”, through to those competing at ocean racing level. The club hosts many state, National, & International regattas, as it provides a good location in sheltered, pristine waters. 2014 saw the successful running of the largest single class Yachting regatta ever held in the Southern Hemisphere - the Optimist National Championships. The Optimist is a youth class and drew over 2000 people to the Club and Mornington shire.

This post is part of the "Roentare’s Water Meme"

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,

and also part of the Nature Notes meme

SUMMER MAKES AN ENTRANCE

We have had a maximum temperature of 32˚C today and it felt very summery. We were warned by our meteorologists that Australia will experience a hotter than average Summer this year. Being by the seaside on days like today is lovely, but that sun can scorch!

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

FAIRFIELD BOATHOUSE

Fairfield Boathouse was established in 1908 by John St Clair as a picnic, camping and refreshment room area. John St Clair was a piano tuner from Smith St, Fitzroy, with a vision. He firstly wrote a letter to the Premier suggesting that he open a refreshment room and boat shed area, with motor boats at Fairfield Park.

The Premier had to seek the approval form Yarra Bend Hospital of the Insane because the proposal for the boat shed was actually on the hospital grounds. The Premier gave his permission for the boat shed project to go ahead. Mr St Clair built the boat shed and six years later Fairfield Park was set aside from the same grounds. However Mr St Clair had seven troubled years with Crown Bailiffs over building permits.

Eventually in 1915 the Heidelberg council bought him out. In 1923 the boathouse was raised by 12 feet to help minimise flood damage, a frequent threat to boathouses along the Yarra. Boat and canoe carnivals and open air carnivals were common sights at Fairfield until the 1950’s. Boating popularity declined until finally the Fairfield boathouse was closed in 1980 as it was declared unfit for human habitation.

In 1985 the boathouse was restored and re-opened. The derelict building had recently housed squatters and possums. The project took 30,000 hours of restoration work. Meticulous work and an eye for detail was required for rebuilding. Even the gardens have been restored to encourage native birds. It now enjoys renewed popularity and is a pleasure to visit.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

YARRA RIVER

At the Fairfield Boathouse on the Yarra River in Fairfield one fine Spring day. Yarra Bend Park surrounds the River as it comes to the City (≈4 km from the CBD) and is a beautiful and extensive nature reserve.

This post is part of the Roentare’s Water Meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Nature Notes meme.

YARRA SUNRISE

Sunrise on the River Yarra in the City. Rowing on the river is the thing to do for College and University students associated with the old school Rowing Clubs on the crack of dawn.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

SEAGULL

The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) also known simply as "seagull" in Australia, is the most common gull seen in Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull (Larus pacificus), which also lives in Australia.

The silver gull should not be confused with the herring gull, which is called "silver gull" in many other languages (scientific name Larus argentatus, German Silbermöwe, French Goéland argenté, Dutch zilvermeeuw), but is a much larger, robust gull with no overlap in range.

This post is part of the Saturday Critters meme

FUN IN THE SUN

In Mornington, making the most of the sunny, warm, fine day.

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

MORNINGTON BEACH

The Mornington Peninsula's rainbow-coloured bathing boxes have provided a colourful backdrop to countless swims and lazy beach days all along the coast of Port Phillip Bay. While technically no more than a shed, with no water or electricity, many of the historic bathing boxes have been passed down through generations and remain in high demand. Found on beaches from Mount Eliza and Dromana to Rosebud and Portsea, these iconic bathing boxes are the peninsula's symbol of summer and have become a tourist attraction in their own right.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

SUNRISE ON THE YARRA

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

ON THE BAY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

SUMMER IN THE CITY

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

SUNRISE

On the Yarra River in the City, looking towards the East (of course!).

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme

MORNINGTON

Mornington is a seaside town on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, located 57 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district. It is in the local government area of the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.Mornington is known for its "village" atmosphere and its beautiful beaches. Mornington is a popular tourist destination with Melburnians who often make day trips to visit the area's bay beaches and wineries.

The town centre runs into the foreshore area and local beach.  Mornington is an attractive destination for shopping and features some excellent restaurants and cafes. The north of Mornington is also home to several horse breeders and stables. It has a modern library, cinema and numerous parks, gardens and historical buildings, many of which are open to the public. It holds several annual festivals, and holds a market day in the main street every Wednesday, which attracts hundreds of people.  

Mornington has an active Yacht club (Mornington Yacht Club), located at Schnapper Point, catering for sailors of all levels and abilities, from beginners - “Tackers”, through to those competing at ocean racing level. The club hosts many state, National, & International regattas, as it provides a good location in sheltered, pristine waters. 2014 saw the successful running of the largest single class Yachting regatta ever held in the Southern Hemisphere - the Optimist National Championships. The Optimist is a youth class and drew over 2000 people to the Club and Mornington shire.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme

OPHELIA

"Ophelia" is Deborah Halpern’s sculpture inspired by Ophelia from Hamlet and is synonymous with Melbourne. So much so that in 1996 it was picked by Tourism Victoria as the official “face of Melbourne” and appeared all over marketing campaigns for several years. The colourful, Picasso-esque mosaic has been a favourite at Southbank since it was installed in the early ‘90s and, after a major restoration in 2012, was moved to a more prominent position just outside Southgate shopping centre’s riverside entrance.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

LIFE IN THE CITY

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme