RAINY NIGHT

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.

RAINY DAY

Looking towards the City on Royal Parade, in Parkville. The famous Melbourne elms are beginning to turn yellow as a prelude to Winter. Yet they are still going strong, remaining free of Dutch elm disease!

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

RAINY NIGHT

It's been raining on and off all day today and it's quite cold. The rain persisted in the evening and it's raining tonight as I'm posting this. A classic image of wintry Melbourne today, composed of four separate photos assembled into a Photoshop collage.

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

ACLAND ST

Acland Street is a street in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, which enjoys great popularity as a recreational area, mainly due to its many restaurants and its proximity to the entertainment areas along St Kilda beach.

Acland Street runs on a north-west to south-east axis between Fitzroy and Barkly Streets. It was one of the first streets laid out when St Kilda was surveyed in 1842. The north-west end of the street is largely residential, and features many fine houses from the late 19th century, some of them converted to flats or other uses, such as the Linden Gallery, and earlier, Acland Street Gallery, which was at number 18, and closed in 1990.

The south-east end of the street, between Carlisle and Barkly Streets, is a commercial strip, with many cafés, cake shops, venues, retail outlets and restaurants. The section of Acland Street between Barkly Street and Carlisle Street is a tram zone where route 96 terminates.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

TRAM RIDE

A visit to Melbourne would not be complete without riding on the trams, one of the city's modes of public transport. The tramway network is centred around the Melbourne central business district (CBD) and consists of 1,763 tram stops across 24 routes, with 493 trams and 250 kilometres of double tram track which served a patronage of 206 million over the year 2017-2018. It is the largest operational urban tram network in the world and one of the most used. Trams are the second most utilised form of public transport in Melbourne after the city's metropolitan commuter railway network.

Here, is an E-class tram which is a three-section, four-bogie articulated trams that was first introduced to the Melbourne tram network in 2013, built at the Dandenong rolling stock factory of Bombardier Transportation (later Alstom) with the propulsion systems and bogies coming from Bombardier/Alstom factories in Germany.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

MELBOURNE TRAM

On Swanston St, outside the University of Melbourne, looking South. Early on Saturday morning and it's quiet there!

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

IN PRAHRAN

Chapel Street is straight and runs for over 4.14 kilometres along an approximate north-south alignment from the Yarra River in the north to Brighton Road in the south, traversing the south east suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, St Kilda and St Kilda East. Major street crossings are Alexandra Avenue, Toorak Road, Commercial Road, High Street, Dandenong Road, Alma Road, Inkerman Street and Carlisle Street. Tram route 78 travels along the entire length of Chapel Street, between Richmond and St Kilda. The Sandringham line railway stations of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor and Balaclava are all within 300 metres of Chapel Street.

Prahran takes its name from Pur-ra-ran, a Boonwurrung Aboriginal word which was thought to mean "land partially surrounded by water". When naming began the suburbs spelling was intended to be Praharan and pronounced Pur-ra-ran, but a spelling mistake on a government form lead to the name Prahran.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

ARMADALE TOWN HALL

Armadale is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 7 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Armadale recorded a population of 9,368 at the 2021 census. The suburb has its own railway station, as well as Toorak railway station, which is also in Armadale. The suburb is also well served by trams and buses. It is bordered by Glenferrie Road to the east, Orrong Road to the west, Malvern Road to the north and Dandenong Road/Princes Highway to the south.

Armadale is considered one of Melbourne's premier blue chip areas, with High Street, its main thoroughfare, containing high-end antique and fashion stores, hair salons, exclusive restaurants and galleries. Glenferrie Road, a divider between Armadale and neighbouring suburb Malvern, is well known for its shopping and restaurants. Armadale contains and is in close proximity to a number of Melbourne's leading private schools, including Lauriston Girls' School and the King David School. Armadale also contains a number of parks, including Toorak Park, Victory Square Reserve, Armadale Reserve and the Union Street Gardens.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

AT THE WINDSOR

The Hotel Windsor is a luxury hotel in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Opened in 1884, the Windsor is notable for being Melbourne's only surviving purpose-built "grand" Victorian era hotel. The Windsor is situated on Bourke Hill in the Parliament Precinct on Spring Street, and is a Melbourne landmark of high Victorian architecture. For much of the 20th century, the hotel, dubbed the Duchess of Spring Street, was one of the most favoured and luxurious hotels in Melbourne. It has hosted many notable national and international guests, and has a 5-star rating.

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

IN THE CITY

In the City, outside the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, looking towards the North.

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

CITY

 At the crossroads of Elizabeth and Collins Sts in the City.

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

TRAM IN WINTER

It's Winter and the elms have lost almost all of their leaves on Royal Parade, one the world's last remaining avenues lined by century-old elms. Unfortunately many of these trees are nearing the end of their lives. An intensive replanting effort is needed to keep these magnificent trees growing on this road that leads to the City.

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.

SWANSTON ST

Swanston Street is a major thoroughfare in the centre of Melbourne, Australia. It is one of the main streets of the Melbourne central business district and was laid out in 1837 as part of the original Hoddle Grid. The street vertically bisects Melbourne's city centre and is famous as the world's busiest tram corridor, for its heritage buildings and as a shopping strip.

Swanston Street runs roughly north-south in-between Russell Street to the east and Elizabeth Street to the west. To the south it becomes St Kilda Road after the intersection with Flinders Street, whilst the road's northern end is in the suburb of Carlton at Melbourne Cemetery. This northern section was originally named Madeline Street. The street is named after merchant, banker and politician Charles Swanston.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

BOURKE ST

At the top end of Bourke St, watching the trams go by. As it gets closer to Christmas, the City is becoming more congested and to see the road relatively free of cars and pedestrians is quite unusual this time of the year...

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme.

MELBOURNE TRAMS

Melbourne's tram system began operations in 1885, when the first cable line operated by the Melbourne Tramway and Omnibus Company opened for business. The cable tram system grew to be very comprehensive and operated successfully for 55 years. Electric trams Australia's first electric tram line, from Box Hill Station to Doncaster, was built by a group of land developers using equipment left over from the Great Exhibition of 1888. It opened in 1889.

At this time the line must have been right out in the sticks, since Box Hill itself was many kilometres beyond the existing tram system. It had one or two problems, such as arguments with land owners who fenced over the line and pulled down the power lines, and poor reliability, since its owners knew nothing about running a tram system, and it died by 1896. The only hint now that there was ever a tram system in the Doncaster area is a road along the former route - Tram Road.

The first serious electric trams in Melbourne began in 1906 with the North Melbourne Electric Tramway and Lighting Company (NMETL) who built a line from the edge of the cable system out towards Essendon, and the Victorian Railways who built a line from St. Kilda to Brighton. The NMETL, a British concern, was interested in selling electricity to customers along the route (and the same motive led to the establishment of the Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong electric tram systems). The company commenced operations with single bogie saloon cars (later classified U-class) and unpopular "toast-rack" cars (later classified V-class).

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

VISIT MELBOURNE!

A trip to Melbourne is a very rewarding experience for tourists, travellers or jet-setters. There is plenty to discover in Melbourne's secret laneways and rooftops, the cultural hub of Federation Square, buzzing bars, boutiques and eateries, and the iconic MCG. It's great to experience St Kilda, the Royal Botanic Gardens, bohemian Brunswick Street and the nation-stopping excitement of the Spring Racing Carnival. Always fun to join world class events such as the Australian Grand Prix or relax on a day trip to the Mornington Peninsula or to Phillip Island for fairy penguins...

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

BOURKE ST TRAMS

The Melbourne tramway network is a major form of public transport in Melbourne. As of June 2011, the network consisted of 250 km of track, 487 trams, 30 routes, and 1,763 tram stops. It is the largest urban tramway network in the world, ahead of the networks in St. Petersburg (240 km), Berlin (190 km), Moscow (181 km) and Vienna (172 km). Trams are the second most used form of public transport in overall boardings in Melbourne after the commuter railway network, with a total of 182.7 million passenger trips—a 4.2% year-on-year patronage decline—in the 2012–2013 year.

Trams have operated continuously in Melbourne since 1884, with the opening of a horse tram line in Fairfield. Since then they have become a distinctive part of Melbourne's character and feature in tourism and travel advertising. Melbourne's cable tram system opened in 1885, and expanded to one of the largest in the world. The first electric tram line opened in 1889, but closed only a few years later in 1894. In 1906 electric tram systems were opened in St Kilda and Essendon, marking the start of continuous operation of Melbourne's electric trams. Here are a couple of trams on Bourke St, mid-city.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

ROYAL ARCADE

Royal Arcade is a heritage shopping arcade in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria. Originally constructed in 1869, the arcade connects Little Collins Street to the Bourke Street Mall, with a perpendicular passage running to Elizabeth Street in the west. It also connects to the smaller Hub Arcade near the Little Collins Street end.

Originally designed by Charles Webb, the arcade features a high glass roof and windowed stores. At the south end, the arcade features effigies of mythical figures Gog and Magog and a clock which chimes each hour. The arcade was restored between 2002-04 which resulted in additional natural light and consistency of the shopfronts.

It is a significant Victorian era arcade, listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. In addition, Melbourne's Golden Mile heritage walk runs through the arcade. Along with Melbourne's other arcade, the Block Arcade, and Melbourne's lanes, it is a tourist icon of the city. Royal Arcade is famous for its fashion stores as well as specialty stores such as tarot card reading store.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

FITZROY RONE MURAL

Fitzroy is a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, 2 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District in the local government area of the City of Yarra. At the 2011 Census, Fitzroy had a population of 9,430. Planned as Melbourne's first suburb, it was later also one of the city's first areas to gain municipal status. It occupies Melbourne's smallest and most densely populated suburban area, just 100 ha, bordered by Alexandra Parade (north), Victoria Parade (south), Smith Street (east) and Nicholson Street.

It has a long associations with the working class and is currently inhabited by a wide variety of ethnicities and socio-economic groups and is known for a culture of bohemianism, being the main home of Melbourne's Fringe Festival. Its commercial heart is Brunswick Street, which is one of Melbourne's major retail, eating, and entertainment strips. It has undergone waves of both urban renewal and gentrification since the 1950s.

In response to past planning practices, much of the suburb is now a historic preservation precinct, with many individual buildings and streetscapes covered by Heritage Overlays. Its built environment is diverse and features some of the finest examples of Victorian era architecture in Melbourne. The most recent changes to Fitzroy are mandated by the Melbourne 2030 Metropolitan Strategy, in which both Brunswick Street and nearby Smith Street are designated for redevelopment as Activity centres. It was named after Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy, the Governor of New South Wales from 1846 to 1855.

Melbourne born street art extraordinaire ‘Rone’ has become famous for his meticulous mural paintings of beautiful women. According to Rone, his work attempts to ‘locate the friction point between beauty and decay, the lavish and despoiled, creating an iconic form of urban art with a strongly emotional bent.’ You can find this particular masterpiece off Gertrude St. in Fitzroy.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

CITY EVENING

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Saturday Silhouettes meme.