St Andrews is a town in Victoria, Australia, 36 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District. Its local government area is the Shire of Nillumbik. At the 2011 Census, St Andrews had a population of 1,138. St Andrews is well known for its alternative market, which is open every Saturday from 8am to 2pm. It also contains a hotel, primary school, bakery, CFA, general store and a community centre, as well as the small church from which the town takes its name.
Originally called Queenstown, the area was surveyed in 1858 and a town proclaimed on 25 February 1861. St Andrew Post Office had opened earlier on 1 January 1856 and was renamed St Andrews in 1923. It experienced population growth during the Victorian gold rush, when prospectors mined the hills around the town. The first discovery of gold in Queenstown was recorded in The Herald on 9 and 11 March 1855 and was attributed to a George Boston and two Scotsmen.
On 7 February 2009 a major bushfire destroyed houses on Ninks, Muller, Jacksons and Wild Dog Creek Roads, as well as Buttermans Track and Olives Lane. Its progression toward the town centre was halted by a southerly wind change, which saved the rest of the town, but drove the fire front further east, destroying the towns of Kinglake and Marysville.
This post is part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.
Dights Falls is located in Melbourne, Victoria just downstream of the junction of the Yarra River with Merri Creek, about 2 km east of the City. At this point the river narrows and is constricted between 800,000 year old volcanic, basaltic lava flow and a much older steep, Silurian, sedimentary spur.
Prior to European settlement, the area was occupied by the indigenous Wurundjeri tribe of the Kulin nation. The rock falls would have provided the Aboriginal people with a natural river crossing and place to trap migrating fish. It was also a meeting place for many clans where they would trade, settle disputes and exchange brides.
In January 1803, Charles Grimes, the deputy surveyor-general of New South Wales, was sent to Port Phillip to survey the area. Sailing on the schooner Cumberland, under the command of Acting Lieutenant Charles Robbins, the party entered Port Phillip on 20 January 1803. Grimes explored the Yarra by boat for several miles until he reached Dights Falls on 8 February. On a ridge above the falls, 250 metres to the east, is a historic marker commemorating the “first white men to discover the river Yarra reaching Yarra Falls on 8th February, 1803.
Also to make the first crossing near here with the cattle by the first overlanders John Gardiner, Joseph Hawdon and Captain John Hepburn in December 1836”. In the 1840s, an artificial weir was built on the natural bar of basalt boulders to provide water to the “Ceres” flour mill, one of the first in Victoria. In the early 1840s John Dight established Melbourne’s first water-powered flour mill on the site. In 1888 “Yarra Falls Roller Mills” built a water-turbine powered mill, which was the largest and most sophisticated of the thirty two water powered mills built in Victoria before 1900.
This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
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,
and also part of the Scenic Sunday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.
It was Chinese New Year's Eve yesterday and today the Year of the Snake begins. The year will be 4711 of the Chinese Calendar. Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival. Chinese New Year is the main Chinese festival of the year and it is not a religious event.
As the Chinese use the Lunar calendar for their festivals the date of Chinese New Year changes from year to year. The date corresponds to the new moon in either late January or February. Traditionally, celebrations last for fifteen days, ending on the date of the full moon. In China the public holiday lasts for three days and is the biggest celebration of the year.
Melbourne, with its large Chinese community, celebrates the New Year with much joy and great festivity. Yesterday we were at Southbank in front of the Crown Casino foreshore where all sorts of events were taking place. Now in its eleventh year, Crown’s Chinese New Year Festival and Riverwalk Hawker’s Bazaar has become an annual tradition in Melbourne’s Lunar New Year celebrations and has continued to expand its offerings. To celebrate the Year of the Snake, Crown Riverwalk features a series of activities and entertainment including cooking demonstrations, 45 food and market style stalls, a host of cultural activities, exhibitions and live entertainment including roving and interactive performances.
Crown’s Atrium was transformed with an elaborate Chinese aerial structure, clustered with delicate spring flowers, lucky charms, firecrackers and stunning internally lit lanterns. To commemorate the Year of The Snake, Crown has added to the Atrium decorative display, a 30-metre gold snake hand cut in perforated floral motifs symbolising nature's beauty and surrounded by eight lucky gold coins.
This post is part of the Scenic Sunday meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme.
Camberwell Sunday Market is a popular trash and treasure market held every Sunday by the Rotary Club of Balwyn, in the carpark at the rear of Burke and Riversdale roads, Camberwell. Only second hand goods, or hand-crafted goods, specifically made by the stallholder, excluding food is sold at the market so its great for vintage clothing, crockery and books as well as unusual things like photo albums, typewriters and ornaments.
You never know what you'll find there and with a bit of luck and digging you might uncover that hidden vintage gem. Some stall owners are happy to haggle so you might be able to save a few dollars. It's easy to spend the whole morning wandering through the markets in time for lunch at one of the many cafés and restaurants on Burke Road. The Camberwell Sunday Market raises funds for a wide range of charities raising over $9m for the community.
Make sure you take along a hat or a parasol because in Summer the sun can be quite fierce and you may go searching for the shady café before not too long!
This post is part of the Scenic Sunday meme,
A $75,000 public art sculpture installed last October in Darebin Parklands has divided residents, with some saying the egg-shaped work looks out of place in bushland. Darebin council’s art and culture department commissioned the artwork, "The Nest" which was made by artists David Bell and Gary Tippett from recycled materials. The artwork itself has been praised by residents, but some have criticised the location chosen. Darebin Parklands Association president Ingrid Svendsen said there was no community desire for artwork in the park and said the push came from council bureaucrats.
Council’s acting director of city design and environment, David Shepard, said the council had received positive feedback from parklands users. He said the council’s Public Art Strategy involved a ‘‘very detailed’’ community consultation process. Love it or hate it, it is a very imposing structure and it commands attention from several key viewpoints. Besides which, it is very photogenic, I think you'll agree with me...
This post is part of the Scenic Sunday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.
