At Alimentari Delicatessen and Goods Store at 304 Smith Street Collingwood VIC 3066. It's a delightful place to eat, drink, and shop for various goodies, meet friends and enjoy the terrific atmosphere. Very good, very Melbourne...
The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Aboriginal: Birrarung, and Wongete) is a perennial river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river are where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches. From its source in the Yarra Ranges, it flows 242 kilometres west through the Yarra Valley which opens out into plains as it winds its way through Greater Melbourne before emptying into Hobsons Bay in northernmost Port Phillip
The river was a major food source and meeting place for indigenous Australians from prehistoric times. Shortly after the arrival of European settlers land clearing forced the remaining Wurundjeri to neighbouring territories and away from the river. Originally called Birrarung by the Wurundjeri, the current name was mistranslated from another Wurundjeri term in the Boonwurrung language; Yarro-yarro, meaning "ever-flowing".
Here is the River at Collingwood as it winds its way through the Yarra Bend Park. On either side are images of paths along the left and right banks of the river. It's lovely to see the bright greens of late Spring and the river filled with the good rains we've had lately.
This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Through my Lens meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.
The mural below
is found in Collingwood, at the corner of Campbell and Perry Sts, as indicated by
the red asterisk in the first image below. The artist is Gus Eagleton and the
following artist statement is from his website, which statement I quote:
“As an artist, I
take on the role of philosopher, with the idiotic intention of transcending
incomprehensible conceptual barriers through visual representation.
Endeavouring to understand life itself through images expressionistically
within the conceived idea. Central to my latest body of work is an interest in
the dichotomies of order and disorder in relation to people, and the tension
between these poles that manifest in the urban landscape.
Statement: As economic
growth fluxuates so too does infrastructure, infrastructure like a living
organism both expands and deteriorates always one step behind society. Sky
risers ascend and the long forgotten remnants of the old world deteriorate,
acting as a cultural doppelganger shadowing cultural traits and trends. By constructing
paintings I do not wish to undermine a deeper understanding of the history and
life that is captured by the city around us. Instead I aim to portray actions
placed together with life experience and personality within a location.
Everyday we take action, while remaining on the move; we suggest fluency and
ease in the city.
My paintings
capture, in one moment, the crossing cars, the comings and goings of people,
oblivious busyness. Allowing us a glimpse at aesthetic beauty and perhaps even
a look into the human condition. My style is a direct relationship to me as a
person, both precise and to the point as well as un-restricting and expressive.
For me the street relates to life always changing it for better and for worse.
I want to help the viewer to delve deeper to see the beauty that life has to
offer. Casting a side the monotonous issues that arise to look at the bigger
picture.”
This post is part of the Monday Murals meme,
And just for fun if we invert the colours, here is what happens!
The Campbell St mural wall that I have featured twice before, here and here, has been overpainted yet again. It seems that Collingwood street artists like this location, as do taggers that ruin the murals. The new one seems to be some freakish, ultrajingoistic fancy of a super kangaroo. Poor thing looks a bit jaundiced and irascible...
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme.
A kayak is a small, narrow boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic Inuktitut language, where it is the word 'qajaq'. The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler. The cockpit is sometimes covered by a spray deck that prevents the entry of water from waves or spray and makes it possible for suitably skilled kayakers to roll the kayak: that is, to capsize and right it without it filling with water or ejecting the paddler. The kayak was first used by the indigenous Aleut, Inuit, Yupik and possibly Ainu hunters in subarctic regions of the world.
Kayaking on the Yarra River in Melbourne is a very popular pastime and there are many clubs catering to this sport. Most of the Yarra is navigable, but this area close to Dights Falls in Collingwood provides a barrier between the upper and lower reaches of the River. The man in the blue kayak had a little mishap here, but the experienced instructor in the red kayak had him right soon again. The trees in yellow bloom are wattles (= mimosas/acacias).
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.
Acacia longifolia is a species of Acacia native to southeastern Australia, from the extreme southeast of Queensland, eastern New South Wales, eastern and southern Victoria, and southeastern South Australia. Common names for it include Long-leaved wattle, Acacia Trinervis, Aroma Doble, Golden Wattle, Coast Wattle, Sallow Wattle and Sydney Golden Wattle. It is not listed as being a threatened species, and is considered invasive in Portugal and South Africa. It is a tree that grows very quickly reaching 7–10 m in five to six years.
This tree is widely cultivated in subtropical regions of the world. Its uses include prevention of soil erosion, food (flowers, seeds and seed pods), yellow dye (from the flowers), green dye (pods) and wood. The flower colour derives from the organic compound kaempferol. The tree's bark has limited use in tanning, primarily for sheepskin. It is useful for securing uninhabited sand in coastal areas, primarily where there are not too many hard frosts.
It is a highly attractive small tree or large rounded shrub. There is a striking flower display in late winter when nearly the entire plant is covered in flowers. It tolerates a range of soils provided they are not overly alkaline. Grows best in full sun, may get a bit thin and stretched in shaded conditions. Frost tolerant. Borers may be an issue in older trees. Other useful applications include erosion control and windbreaks, it is a low maintenance plant. This species is a nitrogen fixer. Heavy flowering provides resources for a wide range of invertebrates, particularly bees. Seed pods and seeds are eaten by parrots. Older plants attract wood boring insects.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Trees & Bushes meme.
In Campbell St, Collingwood, right across the road from the zebra mural I showed you last week, is a group of murals that are quite striking and colourful. Not as much to my taste as the jaunty zebra mural, but nevertheless, they do provide an interesting vista.
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Monday Murals meme.
Smith Street is a street in inner northern Melbourne.It runs north-south from Victoria Parade at its southernmost end to Queens Parade. Between Victoria Parade and Alexandra Parade, it forms the boundary between Fitzroy and Collingwood; the short segment north of Alexandra Parade is in Clifton Hill.
By the 1860s, Smith Street was a busy and popular suburban shopping strip. Smith Street is now host to restaurants and cafés and also has numerous shops selling cheap household goods. North of Johnston Street there are factory outlets selling athletic and fashion clothing. Parts of Smith Street also serve as a meeting place for the local Indigenous Australian community.
Smith Street is somewhat more downmarket than nearby Brunswick Street and has not become as fashionable though it is slowly gentrifying. During the late 1990s, Smith Street was frequented by heroin users and dealers. This earned it the sobriquet 'Smack Street', which, whilst arguably no longer apt, has stuck. In the last few years a number of bars and clubs have emerged on Smith Street, including “a bar called Barry”, “Scarlet” and until its closure in 2004; the all night venue Republika.
The mural by Mike Maka is in Smith St, Collingwood and is one which is frequently overpainted and "refreshed". Here you can see a previous mural by the same artist on the same piece of tiled wall. And here is another mural by Mike Maka in Clifton Hill. The latest "Death Burger" mural seems to be a grim reminder of the plight of the environment and the toxins with which we pollute it - that no doubt end up in our food. The inclusion of money in the mural and the burger symbolism point towards fast food, commercialisation of nutrition and the dire results on health that this has. The green fish (depicted in the previous and now overpainted mural) is labelled "Ever-fresh" and strikes a strong note of irony...
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.
