SOUTH YARRA POST OFFICE

This distinctive "castle" building is the former South Yarra Post Office, a historic heritage landmark located at 162 Toorak Road. Designed in 1890 by architect A.J. MacDonald for the Public Works Department and completed by 1893, it is of an eclectic style: The rear of the building features a unique blend of Scottish Baronial, American Romanesque, and Art Nouveau design elements, making it resemble a miniature medieval fortress hanging over the train tracks.

It is situated directly adjacent to the South Yarra railway station cutting, visible from passing suburban trains (from which train this photo was taken). While it no longer operates as a civic post office, the red-brick building is legally protected under the local heritage overlay.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

12 APOSTLES

The Great Ocean Road is an Australian National Heritage listed 243-kilometre stretch of road along the south-eastern coast of Australia between the Victorian cities of Torquay and Warrnambool. The road was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932, and is the world's largest war memorial; dedicated to casualties of World War I.

It is an important tourist attraction in the region, which winds through varying terrain alongside the coast, and provides access to several prominent landmarks; including the nationally significant Twelve Apostles rock formations. The Twelve Apostles is a collection of miocene limestone rock stacks jutting from the water in Port Campbell National Park, between Princetown and Peterborough on the Great Ocean Road.

The Apostles were formed by erosion: The harsh weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually eroded the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs, which then became arches, which in turn collapsed; leaving rock stacks up to 45 metres high. The site was known as the Sow and Piglets until 1922 (Muttonbird Island, near Loch Ard Gorge, was the Sow, and the smaller rock stacks the Piglets); after which it was renamed to The Apostles for tourism purposes. The formation eventually became known as the Twelve Apostles, despite only ever having nine stacks.

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

"CESTRIA" MANSION

"Cestria" is a Victorian mansion in Hawthorn, is one of the first and arguably the greatest American Romanesque Revival houses in Australia. It is of architectural significance for the survival of many interior features, especially the woodwork of the entrance/stair hall with its mahogany and American walnut staircase. The large west dining-room is also substantially intact with wallpapers and decoration from the time of the first owner.

"Cestria" was built for the wealthy biscuit manufacturer Thomas B Guest in 1891. Architect EG Kilburn of the partnership Ellerker and Kilburn signed the drawings. Kilburn had recently visited America, and the buildings he saw during his stay undoubtedly influenced the final design. "Cestria" followed close on the heels of Kilburn's American Romanesque design for an extension at the Priory Ladies School, St Kilda, which was finished in July 1890.

"Cestria" is architecturally significant as the greatest domestic example of the American Romanesque style of architecture in Victoria. Cestria is particularly significant as a reaction against the prevailing popularity of the Italianate style, which was characterised by cement rendered walls, parapets teetering with urns and other decorative features, and by cast iron. Cestria is significant for the part it played in the debate about an appropriate national style of architecture. It was hailed in contemporary building journals as being eminently suited to the Australian climate. The emergence of the American Romanesque and other red brick styles was central to the question of adapting an existing style to Australian requirements rather than creating a new one.

"Cestria" is located in a neighbourhood which contains a number of outstanding examples of Victorian and early Federation-style villas, combined with a series of well-designed and visually striking interwar houses and flats. Anchored by the visually prominent boulevard-like stretch of Glenferrie Road climbing past Scotch College, the place is representative of the changing patterns of development from the second half of the nineteenth century through to the interwar period.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme.

MELBOURNE EXHIBITION BUILDING

Originally designed for the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880, the Exhibition buildings and the surrounding Carlton Gardens are now World Heritage listed. The Royal Exhibition Building is Australia's only World Heritage listed building. Completed in 1880 for Melbourne's first International Exhibition, it was the site of Australia's first Federal Parliament in 1901. With its meticulously restored interior, expansive galleries and soaring dome, it continues to offer a magnificent setting for trade shows, fairs and cultural events.

The Exhibition Fountain by Josef Hochgurtel is of Portland cement built in 1880. Josef Hochgurtel was born in Cologne, Germany, and trained under Herr Fuels, who modelled the Cologne Cathedral. In creating the Exhibition Fountain, he was assisted by August Saupe, who had worked on similar pieces in Berlin, Dresden and Copenhagen. The colossal fountain stands some 10 metres high on the south side of the Royal Exhibition Building, outside the Great Hall. It was constructed for the first of Melbourne’s two grand international world fairs. The fountain’s visual elements were designed to display the young colony’s confidence and advancement, simultaneously signalling the purpose of world fairs to display the produce and industry of nations.

Here it is hosting the Affordable Art Fair held in Melbourne recently.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday meme

MORNINGTON BEACH

The Mornington Peninsula's rainbow-coloured bathing boxes have provided a colourful backdrop to countless swims and lazy beach days all along the coast of Port Phillip Bay. While technically no more than a shed, with no water or electricity, many of the historic bathing boxes have been passed down through generations and remain in high demand. Found on beaches from Mount Eliza and Dromana to Rosebud and Portsea, these iconic bathing boxes are the peninsula's symbol of summer and have become a tourist attraction in their own right.

This post is part of the My Sunday Best meme

AT THE QUEEN VIC

The Queen Victoria Market (also known colloquially as Vic Market or Queen Vic) is a major landmark in the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Covering over seven hectares (17 acres), it is the largest open air market in the Southern Hemisphere. Constructed in stages from the 1860s and officially opened in 1878, the Queen Victoria Market is the last remaining major market in the CBD, and along with Prahran Market and South Melbourne Market, the last of the city's Victorian era markets still operating. It is listed on both the Victorian Heritage Register and the National Heritage List, and is one of Melbourne's major tourist sites, attracting approximately 10 million visitors annually.

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