Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or [locally] just The Bay), is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers 1,930 square kilometres and the shore stretches roughly 264 km. Although it is extremely shallow for its size, most of the bay is navigable. The deepest portion is only 24 metres, and half the region is shallower than 8 m. The volume of the water in the bay is around 25 cubic kilometres.
There is considerable sea traffic on the bay with commercial vessels, navy vessels and cruise ships, but also all manner of pleasure craft. We are experiencing some beautiful sunny, warm and fair Autumn days at the moment, perfect for sea sports. These photos were taken from Southbank and look towards the Southwest.
This post is part of the Blue Monday meme.
The Fairfield Pipe Bridge, crossing the Yarra, is about 5 km east of Melbourne's CBD, located just south of the Fairfield Boat House. It was built in 1878 to carry water from the Yan Yean Reservoir to Kew. The bridge was washed away in the bad floods of 1934. A new pipe bridge was built close to the site of the original bridge. The original pylons were later demolished and no signs remain of the first pipe bridge.
The narrow bridge is open to pedestrians, and although no bicycles are to be ridden on it, I have on more than one occasion nearly collided with a rampant cyclist going full boar on the bridge.
This post is part of the Sunday Bridges meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.
Darebin Parklands, in Fairfield and Ivanhoe, has a natural bush and country feel that is unique given it is only 7km from the Melbourne CBD. There are hidden treasures within the park including remnant orchards and crops that were grown on the fringe of a growing city during the mid-1800s. A dairy farm, vineyard, quarry and tip site were all at times active industries within the bounds of the park, and clues of this can still be found if one knows where to look.
There are changing moods at different times of the day and one can see the changing seasons reflected in the vegetation. Whatever the time and whatever the season, it's always beautiful there...
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.
Cestrum is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Solanaceae. They are native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas, from the southernmost United States (Florida, Texas: Day-blooming Cestrum, C. diurnum) south to the Bío-Bío Region in central Chile (Green Cestrum, C. parqui). They are colloquially known as cestrums or jessamines (from "jasmine", due to their fragrant flowers). They are shrubs growing to 1–4 m tall. Most are evergreen, a few are deciduous. All parts of the plants are toxic, causing severe gastroenteritis if eaten.
The photos below are of the less common variety of Purple Cestrum (Cestrum x cultum 'Cretan Purple'). Compare this to the more common, green Cestrum nocturnum ('Lady of the Night'). The flowers of 'Cretan Purple' are violet/lavender in colour, and it will flower repeatedly over the Summer. Grow in a well-drained fertile soil in sun or part shade. Place in a sheltered position, such as against a sunny wall, or a sheltered border. It is frost-hardy.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
Situated on the sunny southern shore of the Yarra, Southbank offers a tranquil retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city. A perfect waterside venue to watch the people passing by. It's a great place to enjoy lunch, or a spot of retail therapy at nearby Southgate (a popular restaurant and shopping destination), before heading to one of the nearby art galleries, or theatres for a night out.
This is also a perfect place for buskers and street performers to set up and put on a show. This street entertainer is blowing giant bubbles in front of the red amphiteatrette.
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.
Since 1886, St John’s Primary School has served the families and parish of Clifton Hill with a vision of school as a way of life. Today, St John’s is a vibrant mix of the old and the new, maintaining the Catholic tradition.
The mural is located on the front of the School, facing Queen's Parade on Clifton Hill and has been created by Colleen Burke, who is a Melbourne-based artist and creator. Burke originally trained in Theatre and Theatre Design at Rusden, followed by studies in Fine Art and also Textile Design at RMIT. Burke has been commissioned to produce events and designs and to curate exhibitions for Melbourne Fringe, The L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne Museum, State of Design Festival and the Melbourne International Arts Festival. See: colleenburke.net.au
The mural, which Burke created with the help of the schoolchildren celebrates the Christian values of Love, Hope, Faith and Charity and contains some charming images and beautifully vibrant colours.
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.
The Queens Bridge is a historic road bridge over the Yarra River in the Melbourne CBD. 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 Sunday Bridges meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.
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 we see three W7-class trams on La Trobe Street in a rear view mirror reflection.
This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
The full moon nearest tot he Autumnal Equinox is called the Harvest Moon or Fruit Moon, as this relates to the agricultural tasks engaged in at this time of the year. We have had our full moon of the harvest a few days ago in Melbourne and I managed to snap these shots from our upstairs window. In the first photo, the bright star is the planet Jupiter.
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.
