GPO REFLECTION

Melbourne General Post Office (also known as Melbourne GPO) is located on the corner of Elizabeth and Bourke Street in Melbourne CBD, Australia and is currently listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. The former purpose built post office building currently functions as a shopping mall, having been redeveloped by adaptive reuse in 2004.

The architectural style of the building is Classical with French Second Empire influences and was designed in the Victorian period by architect A.E Johnson. Its historical significance is also due to incorporating distinct sections built over a period of 48 years between 1859 and 1907, and multilayered architecture, as a result of the four floors being constructed at different times. A distinctive architectural element is the clock tower which dominates the intersection of the two streets. Its location is still used as a point of reference for the measure of distances from the centre of Melbourne.

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

SUNRISE

Sunrise in Yarra Bend Park is lovely to experience, with a touch of the countryside in the midst of the City.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

MELBOURNE STREET TREES 43 - WATTLE

Wattles, also called acacias, are amazing native plants. More than 850 species of wattle grow in Australia, ranging from ground covers and charming shrubs to giant trees that provide fine timber and screening. With this number of species and many cultivars there is a wattle for just about any garden in Australia.

Most wattles are quick growing, short-lived plants that will usually last for about seven to 12 years. Some species, however, are longer lived. If planted in a thicket, they will self-sow, which will mean that short lived plants are quickly replaced. Wattles are tolerant of a broad range of conditions.

While there are wattle species which flower throughout the year, the winter-flowering species are particularly attractive in the landscape, where their bright yellow or cream flowers bring colour to the garden at a time when many of the more traditionally grown plants are bare or not flowering. Currently, in the late winter of Melbourne, the gold of the wattle flowering is beautiful in the green, wet landscape.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

YARRA BEND PARK

At Yarra Bend Park, the largest area of natural vegetation near the city of Melbourne, the landscape varies from steep, wild river escarpments to open woodlands, formal parkland, playing fields and golf courses. It has over 16km of river frontage, and superb views of the city and the Dandenongs from the higher areas.

Yarra Bend Park is located in inner Melbourne beside the suburbs of Kew and Fairfield. The Park can be accessed via car from the Yarra Boulevard, Kew or Yarra Bend Road, Fairfield. Buses provide access via Studley Park Road, Kew and Heidelberg Road, Fairfield.

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

YARRA VALLEY

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.

Included in the Yarra Valley is the sub-region of Upper Yarra (or the Upper Yarra Valley) which encompasses the towns of the former Shire of Upper Yarra in the catchment area upstream of and including Woori Yallock. 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.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday.

EARLY SPRING MORNING

The morning today was lovely, not too cold and sunny, with a definite smell of Spring in the air. I went for a walk along the banks of the Yarra in the City and took in the sunshine and the fresh air...

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme.

VIEWS OF QUEENS BRIDGE

The Queens Bridge is a historic road bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The bridge was built in 1889 and has five wrought iron plate girder spans, and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.The bridge was built by contractor David Munro, and replaced a timber footbridge built in 1860.

The bridge is a very flat arch, and has five spans constructed of wrought iron plate girders. The bridge rests on iron cylinders filled with concrete, in groups of eight, with arched bracing between. It connects Market Street and William Street on the north bank to Queensbridge Street to the south. Trams on route 55 also cross the bridge.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.

CROWN CASINO

Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex is a large casino and entertainment precinct located on the south bank of the Yarra River, in Melbourne, Australia. Crown Casino is a unit of Crown Limited.

Crown's casino complex opened in 1997, after moving from a temporary location that opened in 1994 and was on north bank of the Yarra. It is one of the central features of the Southbank area in the central business district and the Crown Promenade fronts onto the waterfront as part of Southbank Promenade.

Children under 18 are permitted into the entertainment and shopping section of complex, but not into the gaming area or areas serving alcohol. The entire complex has a space of 510,000 m² which is equivalent to 2 city blocks, making it the largest casino complex in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme.

DAFFODIL DAY 2013

Friday August 23 is Daffodil Day in Australia. This corresponds with the flowering time of these beautiful Spring bulbs in southern Australia, and just as they are a symbol of hope of the Spring to follow Winter, they have been adopted as a powerful symbol of hope for cancer patients. Daffodil Day is one of Australia’s best-known and most popular charity events devoted to fundraising for research into cancer.

Each day more than 100 Australians will die of cancer. Daffodil Day raises funds for the Cancer Council to continue its work in cancer research, providing patient support programs and cancer prevention programs available to all Australians. Daffodil Day helps grow hope for better treatments, hope for more survivors, hope for a cure for all cancers.

To the Cancer Council, the daffodil represents hope for a cancer-free future. Everyone can help in the fight against cancer by participating in Daffodil Day. Daffodil Day merchandise is on sale throughout August, and people can donate to Daffodil Day at any time.

In Federation Square in Melbourne, the Cancer Council has constructed a daffodil garden of hope. People can write their messages of hope for cancer sufferers, be they friends, family members or even themselves, while the blooming daffodils provide a ray of sunshine in even the dullest of gray Winter days. I hope that I see a day where cancer is no longer a death sentence for many people, where treatments are effective and relatively free of side-effects, where people can take an active role in effectively preventing cancer…

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
And also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

A TOUCH OF SPRING

We are experiencing some cold, wet, late Winter weather currently. Spring is in sight though as we are getting all of the blossoming trees and the wattle flowers out in full force. Here is some wild flowering plum.

The wild plum, or Prunus americana, is known as the American plum and is indigenous to North America. These deciduous trees grow wild in the central and eastern portions of the United States, but they have been introduced around the world. They produce a sweet fruit enjoyed by both wildlife and people. The wild plum can be grown either as a shrub with many trunks or as a tree with a single trunk.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.