MELBOURNE AIRPORT

Melbourne Airport (IATA: MEL, ICAO: YMML), also known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne and the second busiest in Australia. It was opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport.

Melbourne Airport is the sole international airport of the four airports serving the Melbourne metropolitan area. The airport is 23 kilometres from the city centre. The airport has its own postcode—Melbourne Airport, Victoria (postcode 3045). This is adjacent to the suburb of Tullamarine. The Melbourne—Sydney air route is the fourth most-travelled passenger air route in the world and the second busiest in the Asia Pacific region.

The airport features direct flights to 33 destinations in all states and territories of Australia in addition to numerous destinations in Oceania, Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. Melbourne is the most common destination for the airports of five of Australia's seven other capital cities.  Melbourne serves as a major hub for Qantas and Virgin Australia, while Jetstar Airways and Tiger Airways Australia utilise the airport as home base. Melbourne is the busiest airport for international export freight as of August 2011, while second busiest for import freight. The airport comprises four terminals: one international terminal, two domestic terminals and one budget domestic terminal.

As I do a fair bit of travel for my job, I am often in Melbourne Airport and I love the window seats on aircraft as I can take photos with my trusty pocket camera...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme hosted by the lovely Sylvia and friends.

WINTER SOLSTICE IN MELBOURNE

We've had windy and rainy weather last night, and the rain continued to fall this morning. Quite appropriate considering it's Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. There was a cancellation of two trains at my station this morning, but I still managed to get into the City before 7:00 am. It was very crowded on the trains and at the Flinders Street Station, and look at those rows of umbrellas! A very dark and wet Winter morning in the City!

This post is part of Lesley's Signs, Signs meme,
and also part of Pat's Things in a Row meme.

BOTANIC GARDENS WATER FEATURES

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are internationally renowned botanical gardens located near the centre of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the south bank of the Yarra River. They are 38 hectares of landscaped gardens consisting of a mix of native and non-native vegetation including over 10,000 individual species. They are widely regarded as the finest botanical gardens in Australia, and among the best in the world. However, the gardens are also noted for their historical contribution to the introduction of invasive species.

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne are adjacent to a larger group of parklands directly south-east of the city, between St. Kilda Road and the Yarra River known as the Domain Parklands, which includes: Kings Domain, Alexandra Gardens and  Queen Victoria Gardens.

There are numerous water features in the gardens, including a large ornamental lake, home to eels and many birds.

This post is part of Kim's Water World Wednesday meme,
and also part of Susan's Outdoor Wednesday meme,

and also part of Nature Footsteps Waters meme.

JOHN PASCOE FAWKNER'S GRAVE

John Pascoe Fawkner (20 October 1792 – 4 September 1869) was an early pioneer, businessman and politician of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In 1835 he financed a party of free settlers from Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania), to sail to the mainland in his ship, Enterprize. Fawkner's party sailed to Port Phillip and up the Yarra River to found a settlement which became the city of Melbourne.

When the Enterprize was ready to leave in August 1835, at the last moment creditors prevented Fawkner from joining the voyage. On board the Enterprize as it departed George Town, were Captain John Lancey, Master Mariner (Fawkner’s representative); George Evans, builder; William Jackson and Robert Marr, carpenters; Evan Evans, servant to George Evans; and Fawkner’s servants, Charles Wyse, ploughman, Thomas Morgan, general servant, James Gilbert, blacksmith and his pregnant wife, Mary, under Captain Peter Hunter. On 15 August 1835, Enterprize entered the Yarra River. After being hauled upstream, she moored at the foot of the present day William Street. On 30 August 1835 the settlers disembarked to build their store and clear land to grow vegetables. The Fawkners arrived in the Port Phillip District, on Friday, 16 October 1835, on the second trip of the Enterprize. Fawkner's diary reads: 'Warped up to the Basin, landed 2 cows, 2 calves and the 2 horses.'

Fawkner was keen to secure his place in history. He opened Melbourne's first hotel on the corner of William St and Flinders Lane. He published the Melbourne Advertiser on 1 January 1838 which was the district's first newspaper. The Advertiser's first nine or ten weekly editions were handwritten in ink. An old wood press and some type were eventually obtained from Launceston and the first printed edition appeared on 5 March 1838. It was to last for a further 17 editions when it was closed down on 23 April 1838 for want of a newspaper license from Sydney. The Port Phillip Patriot and Melbourne Advertiser was commenced on 6 February 1839 by newly licensed John Pascoe Fawkner. It was published daily commencing on 15 May 1845.

John Fawkner and Mrs Eliza Fawkner in 1856 as painted by William Strutt

Fawkner acquired a property in 1839 as one of eleven lots in the subdivision of the Coburg district by the government surveyor, Robert Hoddle. The property was called Pascoeville, and was bounded approximately by the Moonee Ponds Creek, Gaffney Street, Northumberland Road and the western prolongation of Boundary Road. He lived at his farmhouse and at his townhouse in Collingwood between 1840 and 1855. In 1845 he served as a member of the Market Commission in the Town Council.


In 1851 Fawkner was elected to the first Legislative Council of the Port Phillip District (Talbot electorate), and in 1856 he was elected to the first Parliament of the self-governing colony of Victoria, as MLC for Central Province, the seat he held until his death on 4 September 1869. In Melbourne as in Launceston, he made many enemies, before dying as the grand old man of the colony on 4 September 1869 in Smith Street, Collingwood at the age of 77. At his funeral over 200 carriages were present, and 15,000 persons were reported to have lined the streets on his burial day, 8 September 1869. He was buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery. He and Eliza did not have any children.

Melbourne General Cemetery is quite enormous...

So it is good to have these handy guides around the place!

This post is part of Julie's Taphophile Tragics meme.

RIPPON LEA ESTATE

Rippon Lea Estate is a historic property located in Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia. It is under the care of the National Trust of Australia. See my post on Rippon Lea Estate on my other Photoblog for more history and photos of both mansion and gardens.


This post is part of the Mellow Yellow Monday meme.

DAREBIN PARKLANDS

Darebin Parklands is one of Darebin’s premier conservation parks sited along the Darebin Creek. The park is managed by the Darebin Creek Management Committee which the Cities of Darebin and Banyule are members. Darebin Parklands is a wonderful setting for walks and escaping into the natural environment, and is located only 5km from Melbourne's CBD, in the inner suburban heartland.

The park has a full time Ranger coordinating the Education Centre which details the parks rich history and committment to conservation and environmental sustainability. The Darebin Creek Trail runs through the centre of the park and provides shared trail access through to Bundoora Park 10km to the north.

This post is part of Louis' Sunday Bridges meme,
and also the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Scenic Sunday meme.

A WALK IN THE CITY

As I have been travelling for work and have also been extremely busy, I have missed a couple of entries here and have been very remiss in visiting all of your blogs to admire your great photos. I hope to catch up slowly. Here are some photos from my archives of a walk around Melbourne city.

This post is part of the Challenge Walk in the Street meme.

BALLOONS IN MELBOURNE

A sunrise hot air balloon flight over Melbourne is a remarkable experience. There are few major cities in the world that can be traversed by hot air balloon and there certainly is no better way to take in Australia's second largest city. In the early morning light balloons drifting by the array of parks and gardens that make Melbourne the world's most liveable city are a sight to behold.

We regularly get them flying over our garden, where I took these photos. One of these days, we'll take flight ourselves...

This post is part of Sylvia's Skywatch Friday meme.

CITY VIEW, MELBOURNE

On my way back to Melbourne, at Perth airport. I feel homesick! :-) This is a lovely view of the city from the southern banks of the Yarra River. The building with the dome is one of my favourites in the City. Watch this space for more shots of this lovely building.

This post is part of Kim's Water World Wednesday meme,
and part of Susan's Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and part of the Nature Footsteps Waters meme.

MELBOURNE'S CHINATOWN

Chinatown is a distinctive and well known area of Melbourne which dates back to the gold rush days of the 1850s. Chinatown Melbourne is the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world. Chinatown's essential character and main focus is along Little Bourke Street with alleys that link the area to Bourke Street and Lonsdale Street.

Melbourne's Chinatown is notable as the oldest Chinatown in Australia, the oldest continuous Chinese settlement in Australia, and the second longest continuous Chinese settlement in the western world, only because San Francisco's Chinatown was nearly, but not completely destroyed by the 1906 earthquake. In 2010, the ground floor of the Chinese Museum was remodelled as a visitor centre for Melbourne's Chinatown.

Numerous Chinese restaurants and other business find a home here and it's always nice to walk along this little piece of China right in the middle of Melbourne's CBD.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.