An extraordinary life
by iandsmith
Melbourne's parks have much to offer and, along with parks in cities everywhere, there are gems if you care to look. This statue commemorates one of Australia's great writers, Adam Lindsay Gordon, whose own life reads life a novel.
He was born in 1833 at Fayal in the Azores where his mother's father had a plantation. He completed his education in England and was sent by his father to South Australia in 1853 to enlist in the mounted police.
Unhappy with that he traded in horses from Victoria and resold them in South Australia before he had a fall, was hospitalized and ended up marrying his nurse before he got an inheritance from home on the death of his mother.
He was briefly a member of Parliament and lived in Western Australia and Ballarat before moving to Melbourne. During his time in Ballarat he suffered a severe head injury in a riding accident (his third serious fall), was bankrupted by a fire in the livery stable at Ballarat and lost his infant daughter. The day after the publication of his poems "Bush Ballads and Galloping Rhymes" he committed suicide on Brighton Beach in Melbourne. He is the only Australian poet to be honoured with a bust in the Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey in London
I'm ashamed to say that I had read barely none of his works but plan to correct that in the near future.
A poignant epithet is emblazoned at the base of this statue: "Two things stand like stone, kindness in another's trouble, courage in your own." For you, a sample of his work,
"We had run him for seven miles and more
As hard as our nags could split;
At the start they were all too weary and sore,
And his was quite fresh and fit.
Young Marsden's pony had had enough
On the plain, where the chase was hot;
We breasted the swell of the Bittern's Bluff,
And Mark couldn't raise a trot;
When the sea, like a splendid silver shield,
To the south-west suddenly lay;
On the brow of the Beetle the chestnut reel'd,
And I bid good-bye to M'Crea --
And I was alone when the mare fell lame,
With a pointed flint in her shoe,
On the Stony Flats: I had lost the game,
And what was a man to do? "
from "Wolf and Hound"
Yarra River Cruises
by Kate-Me
There are several points on the Yarra where you can catch one of the cruise boats.
This one was moored just at the steps below Federation Square.
It's about $15 for 1 hour's cruising for this boat.
(There are also many harbour cruises, and now with the new Docklands area development, another new great waterfront is emerging with many more boating/pleasure craft opportunities, with bluer views and more glamourous 'Sydney like' atmosphere. The Yarra here has really improved its image (I used to remember this river as brown and dirty and not much to be proud of). Now it's starting to remind me a tiny bit of Paris, even....I like it!
Giants
by l_joo
In the Victoria Market I saw for the first time the big gigantic size of Sweet Pepper (Paprika) , in my country it was half the size or less but here it looks giant, amazing works, my friend told me it was by scientific skills. Other than sweet pepper, chilli, garlic, onion, etc are also bigger, unusual to me, probably I was too bumpkin, but anyway I just want to build a tip to show what Victoria Market have.
Keep abreast of all the...
by cutestmidget
Keep abreast of all the current eventst in Melbourne by reading the daily newspaper, The Age, which you can purchase just about everywhere for only $1.00, or you can do what I am doing over here in France, and read it online everyday... :)
McClelland Sculpture Park
by craic
This beautiful place is in Greater Melbourne but it is a long way from the centre. It's at Lang Warrin, 4 k from Frankston.
It is sometimes called the Elizabeth Murdoch (Rupert's mum) Sculpture Park because she was a major patron. Her big house (the garden is sometimes opened for charity) is just around the corner.
DON'T GO ON A MONDAY! We went there for lunch on a Monday and the inside gallery and coffee bar are closed. Mind you can still wander the grounds and see the beautiful stuff dotted around here and there.
If we had known the cafe was closed on a Monday we would have bought a picnic because there were very few people there, more or less just us, and there are many shady trees and delightful places to settle down and enjoy the peace.
It would be possible to get there by public transport, train and then bus, but it would be an epic of human endurance, so best to go when you have the use of a car.
A really lovely place.
Entrance to the inside gallery is by donation.
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at the butterfly farm
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