Organised
by the Melbourne Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, the Melbourne Chinese
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, now in its 23rd year, is an annual
multicultural celebration for all ages and is one of the most highly
anticipated events in Melbourne.
The
Festival showcases Asian culture, traditions and cuisines, as well as
encouraging communities from all across Melbourne to join in celebrating
the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, traditionally a time for family
and friends to gather and admire the mid-autumn harvest moon. It also
promotes community harmony, strengthening the understanding of Asian -
Australian culture.
With
over 60 marquees, the event will include various international cuisines,
arts and crafts, lantern decorating, as well as a full entertainment
program - including the Opening Ceremony, lion dancing, live
performances, games, competitions and SBS broadcasting van.
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
Walking in Melbourne lanes early in the morning is part of the Melbourne experience that no tourist should miss. This is Degraves Street, which is named after Charles and William Degraves, pioneer merchants who settled in Melbourne from Hobart, Tasmania in 1849. William Degraves (1821–1883) was also a large-scale grazier and a member of Victoria's Legislative Council between 1860 and 1874.
It is a short, narrow laneway, running north from Flinders Street to Flinders Lane in the central business district of Melbourne. The cobbled bluestone alley forms a busy alternative thoroughfare for commuters disembarking from Flinders Street Station toward the shopping areas of The Block on Collins Street and Bourke Street Mall, loosely connecting with Centre Place, a similar lane just across Flinders Lane.
The lane features bars, cafes, and restaurants and many of the taller old buildings have been converted into loft style apartments in the 1990s, adding further life to the street.
This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Mandarin Orange Monday meme,
and also part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.
Built in 1989 the Southgate pedestrian bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne provides the main pedestrian link for thousands of workers and tourists between Flinders Street Station and the Southgate business and entertainment precinct.
The padlocks on the bridge are a new addition and apparently are placed there by people as an indication of a special relationship.
This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.
The Darebin Parklands straddle Alphington and Ivanhoe, approximately 10 kilometres northeast of the City of Melbourne, and they are a district park covering an area of 33 hectares. Darebin Creek flows through the Parklands, to join the Yarra River, at Alphington. The Darebin Parklands are highly regarded for its social, recreation, education, conservation, water quality management, cultural and heritage values.
The Parklands have a rich history as the homeland of the Wurundjeri Willam people and for cattle and sheep grazing, orchard and market garden use post European settlement. The southern section of the Darebin Parklands was developed as a bluestone quarry in 1890 and following the closure of the quarry in 1965, the land was leased to the Northcote Council as a municipal garbage tip which reached its capacity by 1975.
In the 1970’s the site was marked as a potential freeway or an area for industrial or residential development. Following this classification, local residents moved to protect the area and in 1973, formed the Rockbeare Park Conservation Group. The group pushed for the acquisition of land on the Alphington side and in 1975 the Whitlam Government funded the purchase of land for the park. A management committee was formed which included both adjoining Councils and community representatives. In 2001, the Darebin Parklands Committee of Management joined the Darebin Creek Co- ordinating Committee to form the Darebin Creek Management Committee. The Darebin Parkland’s rich history has contributed greatly to it being such a special and highly valued place today.
These Parklands are within walking distance of our house and we often go there to enjoy a piece of nature right in the middle of the City.
This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
When one walks the same route regularly, it is surprising how different it may look depending on the weather, the time of day, the season, the light available, whether other people are around and whether there is something extraneous that may may make the familiar, unfamiliar.
This is the view from Princes Bridge in Melbourne city, looking towards the East and gazing across the Yarra River. The rising sun paints a wonderful tableau of colourful, shifting shapes, while the reflections in the river make for a perfect counterfoil. The seagulls flying overhead are a bonus.
This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.
Echium candicans (syn. Echium fastuosum J.Jacq.), commonly known as "pride of Madeira", is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to the island of Madeira. It is a large herbaceous biennial subshrub, growing to 1.5–2.5 m, found in Madeira's far east.
In the first year after germination the plant produces a broad rosette of leaves. In the second and subsequent years more or less woody flowering stalks are produced clothed in rough leaves. The flower head is large and covered with blue flowers having red stamens. It is much visited by bees and butterflies for its nectar. White-flowered cultivars are also seen.
Echium candicans is cultivated in the horticulture trade and widely available throughout the world as an ornamental plant for traditional and drought tolerant water conserving gardens. It is particularly suitable for coastal planting, and is a popular ornamental in coastal California. With a minimum temperature requirement of 5–7 °C, in frost-prone areas it needs some winter protection. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
In New Zealand it is a common garden escape onto road-side verges and shingle banks in northern South Island (and probably elsewhere). In the state of Victoria, Australia, it is considered to be a high weed risk and an alert has been posted by the Department of Primary Industries. It is grown widely in parks and gardens, nevertheless.
This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.
City Baths, in Melbourne, Australia, is a historically and architecturally significant building. Located at 420 Swanston Street, it is an instantly recognisable Melbourne landmark.The Melbourne City Council opened the first Melbourne City Baths on 9 January 1860, which housed public baths. The objective was to stop people from bathing in the Yarra River, which by the 1850s had become quite polluted and the cause of an epidemic of typhoid fever which hit the city resulting in many deaths. However, people continued to swim and drink the water.
The Baths were leased to a private operator, but lack of maintenance resulted in such deterioration of the building that the Baths were closed in 1899. New baths designed by John James Clark were opened on 23 March 1904. Strict separation of men and women was maintained, right down to separate street entrances. Two classes of facilities were maintained, with second class baths in the basement and first class baths on the main floor. The popularity of the swimming pool increased with the introduction of mixed bathing in 1947.
The Baths now house a swimming pool, spa, sauna, squash courts and a gymnasium. To cater for all types of swimmers, the swimming pool is divided into four lanes: an aqua play lane, a medium lane, a fast lane and a slow lane (or aquatic education, when swimming lessons are given).
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.
This strange mural is on Campbell St, Collingwood, at the corner with Johnson St.
This post is part of the Monday Murals meme.
Sunday was a fine day, with lots of Spring sunshine. A walk to the Parklands near our house was a good idea shared by lots of other people. It seemed every person and their dog was there! This little dog was a little reluctant to into the creek after the first dip. Water was still cold!
This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Camera Critters meme.
