PRINCES BRIDGE, MORNING

Princes Bridge, originally Prince's Bridge, is an important bridge in central Melbourne, Australia that spans the Yarra River. It is built on the site of one of the oldest river crossings in Australia. The bridge connects Swanston Street on the north bank of the Yarra River to St Kilda Road on the south bank, and carries road, tram and pedestrian traffic. The present bridge was built in 1888 and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Because of its position, Princes Bridge is often a focal point for celebratory events in Melbourne such as the Moomba Festival, New Years Eve and many celebrations taking place on the Yarra River where it flows through the city.

This post is part of the Sunday Bridges meme.

CITY SKYLINE

The days have started to get longer. It may not be appreciable yet, however, it is reassuring that we have a few more seconds of daylight than the same day last week. The Winter of course is still to show his teeth and cold gray days are ahead. In the meantime, on my early morning walks, I think I can see the sky a little brighter each day...

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

SUPERMOON RISING

Last Sunday evening we went over to the Darebin Parklands in order to see the supermoon rising. A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The term "supermoon" is not astronomical, but originated in modern astrology. The moon will not be so close again until August 10, 2014. Supermoons occur about once every 14 full moons in a full moon cycle.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

CHINESE DELIVERY

In multicultural Melbourne, we eat well. Delicious food from more than 100 different nationalities is here to tempt the most jaded of palates. Even our take-aways is gourmet as this delivery service shows. Catchy logo and a humorous, self-deprecating tag-line...

This post is part of the Signs, Signs meme.

VIEWS TOWARDS PORT PHILLIP

These are the views towards Port Phillip Bay from an apartment tower in Southbank. A little Winter sunshine is all it takes to get the yachtsmen out on Albert Park Lake and the Bay. The ship is on its way out of port towards the heads and out of the Bay about 50 km out tot he South.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme.

CITY VIEW

This is the view of the City from the top of the Redmond Barry Building at the University of Melbourne.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.

RBA NOLAN MURAL

The “Eureka Stockade” mural by Sir Sydney Nolan (1917-1993) is exhibited in the ground floor foyer of the Reserve Bank of Australia building at 60 Collins St in Melbourne. It was completed in London in 1965 and it fashioned in jewellery enamel on copper panels. It is 20 metres long by 3.6 metres high on 66 panels, using 102 kg of enamel on 1.5 tonnes of heavy gauge copper sheet.

It is a line drawing in enamel executed by the artist with fingers and thumbs in the manner of primitive “sand paintings”. The panels were then fired at 800˚C and then cleaned and fitted to one another so that a transparent enamel could be laid on top. The panels were then re-fired at different temperatures to give the background different shades of colour. Two enamellers collaborated with the artist on this work: Patrick Furse and Robin Banks, using Ms Banks’ studio.

The Eureka Rebellion in the year 1854 was a historically significant organised rebellion of gold miners of Ballarat against the colonial authority of the United Kingdom. The Battle of Eureka Stockade (by which the rebellion is popularly known) was fought between miners and the Colonial forces of Australia on 3 December 1854 at Eureka Lead and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict. Resulting in the deaths of at least 27 people, the majority of which were insurgents, it was the most significant conflict in the colonial history of Victoria.
The event was the culmination of civil disobedience in the Ballarat region during the Victorian gold rush with miners objecting to the expense of a Miner’s Licence, taxation (via the licence) without representation and the actions of the government and its agents (the police and military). The local rebellion in Ballarat grew from a Ballarat Reform League movement and culminated in the erection by the rebels of a crude battlement and a swift and deadly siege by colonial forces.

Mass public support for the captured rebels in the colony’s capital of Melbourne when they were placed on trial resulted in the introduction of the Electoral Act 1856, which mandated full white male suffrage for elections for the lower house in the Victorian parliament, the second instituted political democracy in Australia. As such, the Eureka Rebellion is controversially identified with the birth of democracy in Australia and interpreted by some as a political revolt.

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme.

WINTRY SUNRISE

Sunrise in Yarra Bend Park on a Winter's morning was a magical experience. The cold crisp air, the dewy grass, the tall gum trees and of course the golden sunlight all added up to give magnificent views.

This post is part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme.

TOUR DE CRAWF

Shane Crawford, legendary Brownlow medallist, BCNA Ambassador and The AFL Footy Show personality, has left Melbourne to complete his biggest challenge yet when he rides his bike across Australia to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA). The 3,600 kilometre "Tour de Crawf "– Ride to the other side is a gruelling 22-day marathon in which Shane will average 170 kilometres a day and will see him pass through towns such as Bendigo, Swan Hill, Mildura, Berri, Port Augusta, Kimba, Penong, Eucla, Madura, Norseman, Kalgoorlie, Yellowdine and Kellerberrin.

Last Thursday morning by the banks of the Yarra, a function was held to publicise this fund raising event and to also gather donations for the great work that the Breast Cancer Network Australia is doing. You too can donate to this worthy cause here.

This post is part of the Pink Saturday meme.

SOLSTICE SUNSET

Today in Melbourne, we experienced the Winter Solstice. The sun set at 5:08 pm and it was when the Sun reached the northernmost declination in its yearly journey through the Earth's sky. A June solstice marks the astronomical beginning of summer in the Northern hemisphere and winter in the Southern. It also brought us the South's shortest day, that is the shortest period between sunrise and sunset. It is also the official beginning of Winter in the Souther Hemisphere.

We went on top of the hill at All Nations Park in Northcote to enjoy the sunset, which was quite spectacular. The evening was quite cold though, the temperature about 5˚C. Worldwide, interpretation of the Solstices has varied from culture to culture, but many cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around this time.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

SOUTHBANK LANDING

As we approach the WInter Solstice, the riverside walks occur in the cold and dark mornings, with fewer people around. Nevertheless, the crispness of the air and the sun rising make for a relaxing and serene time. Gulls never seem to sleep or rest...

This is Southbank Landing, where a lot of the river ferries and pleasure boats stop to allow passenger to board or alight.

This post is part of the Signs, Signs meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Winged meme.

ABBOTSFORD CONVENT

The Abbotsford Convent is located in Abbotsford, Victoria, an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Australia. The Convent is in a bend of the Yarra River west of Yarra Bend Park, with the Collingwood Children's Farm to its north and east, the river and parklands to its south and housing to its west.

During the 19th and part of the 20th century the 6.8 hectare site was occupied by one of the largest convents in Victoria. Today the site and its buildings are used as an arts, educational and cultural hub, the grounds, historic buildings and gardens are occupied by and host artisans; community and cultural events and cultural institutions, a community classical music radio station (3MBS), a Steiner School (Sophia Mundi), live music performances, a gallery, theatre, markets, bakery, bar, cafe and an organic pay-as-you-feel restaurant.

There are 11 buildings on the site; the Convent, Convent Annexe, St Euphrasia, Providence, Rosina, St Mary's, Mercator, Magdalen Laundries, Sacred Heart, Industrial School and St Anne's. And all of this by the Yarra River, only about 3 km from the City centre.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
And also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme.

WOOLLY TREES IN PARKVILLE

It's WInter in Melbourne and even the trees are rugging up to keep warm. It seems that some enterprising "yarn artists" are decorating the tree trunks with their crocheted concoctions to brighten up the dull streets. The group call themselves "Yarn Corner" and are part of a worldwide movement known as "Yarn Bombing", which began in 2004. Yarn bombing (and also called: Yarnbombing, yarnstorming, guerrilla knitting, urban knitting or graffiti knitting) is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted or crocheted yarn or fibre rather than paint or chalk.

These pieces are around the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital precinct of Parkville. It amused me for 2-3 minutes :-)

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