Category Archives: Museums

Watch House Experience (Melbourne, Australia)

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City Watch House

Our Old Melbourne Gaol ticket – Crime and Justice Experience covered entry to two buildings – the Old Melbourne Gaol (Melbourne’s oldest prison) and the City Watch House.  The two buildings are part of a precinct, the heart of crime, law and order in Melbourne since the 1840’s, that also includes the historic Magistrate’s Court (as it is part of the RMIT complex, it can only be visited during school holidays).

Check out “Old Melbourne Gaol“

Crowd waiting outside the entrance to the Watch House

The Watch House tour ran on a timetable (which vary and are not published, but usually starts every half hour from 10:30 AM) and, at the specified time, we left the Gaol and proceeded to the Watch House, opposite the Russell Street Police Station, for the “Watch House Experience.”

Corridor leading to the holding cells

The former City Watch House, built in 1909, operated between 1913 until its closure in 1994.  The city’s most notorious criminals such as bush ranger Ned Kelly, notorious 1920s gangster Leslie “Squizzy” Taylor, multiple murderer Julian Knight and underworld hitman Victor Peirce have spent time within its walls.  On October 2007, together with the former Magistrates Court, it was opened as a museum and they have been combined as the Old Melbourne Gaol Crime and Justice Experience.

Jandy, Grace and the author at the City Watch House

The Watch House has, for almost a century, operated as Melbourne’s central custody center or “holding place” where felons were brought to face justice, whether arrested in the streets of Melbourne for minor misdemeanors or being brought before the court for significant crimes. The Watch House tour delightfully takes us through the intake process in a fun recreation.

The author inside his holding cell

We all headed out back along Russell Street to now join a large 15 to 20-group of people now gathering together outside for the Watch House Experience.

The stainless steel toilet at the cell’s corner

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be arrested?  Our Watch House Experience, a 30 to 40-min. interactive experience like no other, gave us an opportunity to explore this confronting place and its people from different perspectives, through role-play, multi-media interpretation and self-exploration. The Watch House was to be our first step into the criminal justice system.  Here’s a narrative of our experience and the sharp and witty monologue we received:

The door of the Watch House soon opened, revealing the imposing figure of a stern looking lady “sergeant on duty,” her hands clasped behind her back and feet planted firmly on the floor.  “Right you horrible bunch of criminals,” she snarled at us. “Welcome to your new home until the courts decide what to do with you, you miscreants, you scum of society, you lowest of the low. Follow me! Women to the left, men to the right.”

Shuffling in, with our backs pressed against the damp brick walls, we lined up shoulder to shoulder.  Then our “sergeant on duty,” parading up and down in front of us, told us “No talking. No coughing. No laughing. No spitting. No burping. And absolutely no farting!” When you “upset” the sergeant, you might find your stay “unpleasant.”

We were then led up to the station desk and handed cards detailing the profiles of criminals (car thieves, robbers, people causing public disturbance, drug dealers, drunks, etc.), all based on real people, we had to “act” during processing as we reported our “crime.”  We were then led along another corridor where we had to place our belongings on the floor and then stand, with our arms outstretched and our backs against the wall, all ready for inspection.

Again parading up and down in front of us, our sergeant again issued another command, marching us to the main cell block where “us prisoners” were divided into smaller groups and crammed and locked into dark, grim, cold, damp and mildew-covered cells, “for the night,” hoping that the guard will choose to let us out for good behavior.  The cells were empty save from the original hard narrow benches lining the walls and, in one corner, an exposed stainless-steel toilet,  just as they would have been in 1994 when they were last used.  Only the smallest of windows gave us minimal light.

In these briefest of dark moments, we had enough opportunity to realize that this was not the kind of place anyone would choose to be in (imagine having to use the toilet in front of everyone). Some cells have tissues stuck to the ceiling (prisoners would hang burning twists of toilet paper because matches were banned), explicit drawings of women, graffiti (I Hate Coper C–ts) and political slogans (such as a drawing of an Aboriginal man in chains next to the words “Our Land, Your Law”).  Thus, we were greatly relieved when we heard the sound of the key turning in the lock and opening our cell door.

The exercise yard

Once out, we were then moved to the men’s exercise yard.  This small concrete enclosure, with strips of light only coming from metal ceiling grills, also had a single toilet in the corner, with a small wall on one side to preserve any remaining modesty, plus a row of three equally exposed shower heads attached to the wall.

Mug shot of the author

After this role play, we self guided ourselves through the watch house, taking in sound points and multi-media imagery that was educational and informative. In every respect, the Watch House’s original Minimalist interior hasn’t changed in the 20 years since they were last used, the 25 cells and exercise yard being mostly left as they were.  Truly, it was a unique encounter with the justice system but was also good fun.

Grace

At the end of the tour, we took, free of charge, mug shots of ourselves holding a board with a prisoner number on.   At a mocked-up cell, you can have professional photos taken and have it available for purchase at the exit.  We then walked through the court yard towards the main building.

Jandy

City Watch House: 345 – 355 Russell St., Melbourne (Map). Tel: 03 8663 7228.  Admission: $28 (adults), $23 (concession), $15 (children, 5-15 years), $65 (family, 2 adults + 2 children), $48 (1 adult ++ 2 children) and $5 (extra child on family tickets). *Parents note – adult themes can be confronting for children.

Old Melbourne Gaol (Australia)

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The Old Melbourne Gaol

One of the highlights of our last day in Melbourne was our Old Melbourne Gaol – Crime and Justice Experience (in 2010, it won the heritage and cultural tourism category at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards in Hobart) which included the Watch House Experience. The Old Melbourne Gaol, consisting of a bluestone building and courtyard, is located next to the old City Police Watch House and City Courts buildings.

Exterior of the Old Melbourne Gaol

In 1957, the Old Melbourne Gaol was listed by the National Trust of Australia on its heritage register and, as of 2010, was recognized as Victoria’s oldest surviving penal establishment.  It attracts approximately 140,000 visitors per year.

Check out “Watch House Experience”

Historical plaque

It was first constructed starting in 1839 but the present Melbourne Gaol is the second on the site. Though it was used briefly during World War II (the gaol was used as a military prison for soldiers found to be absent without leave), it formally ceased operating as a prison in 1929 when the conditions were no longer deemed acceptable.

National Trust of Australia (Victoria) plaque

This is the only remaining piece of the cell blocks still standing but other remaining buildings from the prison complex, as well as the original arched jail entry gate (around the corner off of Victoria Street) are now part of the RMIT University complex.

The only penal fortress in the area and an imposing symbol of the city’s unforgiving justice system, the jail became the holding house for everyone from short-term prisoners, mentally ill lunatics to some of the colony’s most notorious and hardened criminals and serial killers.

Scaled Model of Old Melbourne Gaol

It also housed up to twenty children at a time (including those imprisoned for petty theft or vagrancy) or simply those staying with a convicted parent.

The youngest prisoner recorded was the three-year-old Michael Crimmins, who spent 6 months in the prison in 1857 for being idle and disorderly. Babies under twelve months old were allowed to be with their mothers. In 1851, the 13- and 14-year-old O’Dowd sisters were imprisoned because they had nowhere else to go.

Edward “Ned” Kelly, an Australian outlaw, gang leader and convicted police murderer, was one of the last bushrangers and, by far, the most famous. He is best known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armor during his final shootout with the police.

During its operation as a prison from 1842 to 1924, it held and executed (a total of 135 people were executed by hanging) some of Australia’s most notorious criminals, including bushranger Ned Kelly (executed November 11, 1880) and serial killer Frederick Bailey Deeming (executed May 23, 1892).

Frederick Bailey Deeming Exhibit. An English-born Australian gasfitter and murderer, Deeming was convicted and executed for the murder of a woman in Melbourne, Australia. He is also remembered today because he was suspected, by some, of being the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

Along with co-accused Julian Cross and David Gedge, Elizabeth Scott became the first woman to be hanged in Victoria (November 11, 1863).  The last person to be executed was Angus Murray on April 14, 1924, the same year the gaol was closed.

Emma Williams Exhibit. Hanged on November 4, 1895, aged twenty-seven, the anguished Emma drowned her baby son, on August 1895, because he was a “nuisance” and cried when she had clients (she was a prostitute).

The three-storey Old Melbourne Gaol, reopened as a public museum (under the management of the National Trust of Australia, Victoria) On March 2,1972, displays information and various  memorabilia of the prisoners (including death masks, an iron mask and a pair of leather gloves designed to prevent inmates from practicing self-abuse) and staff.

Death masks. A likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person’s face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse.

At one time the museum displayed what was believed, at the time, to be Ned Kelly’s skull, before it was stolen from its glass cabinet in 1978; as well as the pencil used by wrongly convicted Colin Campbell Ross to write a letter protesting his innocence (which he threw over the prison walls), before being executed.

Death Mask of Ned Kelly

Throughout the three floors, we explored a number of cells with displays of various bits of historical information regarding the prison and its inmates on display.

The Lashing Triangle. In the 1800s, the most common form of punishment was the lash where prisoners received 25 lashes for minor infringements and 50 for more serious crimes. They were tied to this 3-beamed triangle (known as being “married to the three sisters”) and dealt the blows which would often strip the flesh from a man’s back. Many became seriously ill or died as a result.

In addition to information, it also includes memorabilia. Notably, it still includes Ned Kelly’s death mask, pistol and replica of his suit of armor.

Locks

While inside the jail, we also took time to look at their gross (some have hairs sticking out of them) and fascinating collection of death masks, plaster casts made from the executed prisoners as part of the phrenological study of hanged felons.

Basilio Bondietti Exhibit. He was executed on December 11, 1876 for the murder of his mate, Carlo Cormisto, at Sandy Creek, near Seymour.

Fatta Chand Exhibit. This 24 year old Indian man was executed on April 27, 1891 for murdering his Hindu partner Juggo Moll near Healesville last November 1890.

Notable for me is the mask of Filipi (Felipe?) Castillo, a Filipino migrant (Filipinos settled in Australia as early as the 1880s). Born in Manila in 1869, he was sentenced to death on September 16, 1889 for the theft and murder of Annie Thornton.

Filipi Castillo Exhibit

The hangman’s beam, which claimed some 133 lives, has a rope dangling eerily above the trap door. You even can try on replicas of Ned Kelly’s famous armor suit, which makes for a fun photo opp.

Replicas of Ned Kelly’s famous armor suit for children to wear

Old Melbourne Gaol: 377 Russell Street (between Victoria Street and La Trobe Street), Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia. Open daily (closed Christmas Day and Good Friday), 9.30 AM to 5 PM (Last entry suggested at 3:30 PM). Tel: 03 9656 9889 (Mondays – Friday). E-mail: bookings@nattrust.com.au. Website: www.oldmelbournegaol.com.au. Admission: $28 (adults), $23 (concession), $15 (children, 5-15 years), $65 (family, 2 adults + 2 children), $48 (1 adult ++ 2 children) and $5 (extra child on family tickets). A Virtual Reality headset is available for mobility challenged visitors courtesy of the State Trustees Australia Foundation. Note: the old entrance archway sits on the university campus, so please be respectful of the students that may be in class.

How to Get There: For bus, use the Old Melbourne Gaol stop directly in front of the compound. For the City Tram, you can use either the RMIT University stop or the Russell Street stop off of the No. 30 & 35 tram. There is no on-site parking available but paid street parking is offered along La Trobe Street.

Melbourne Chinatown (Australia)

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Melbourne Chinatown

Melbourne’s Chinatown, an ethnic enclave in the Central Business District (CBD), is centered at the eastern end of Little Bourke Street and extends between the corners of Swanston and Spring Streets.

Little Bourke Street

Established in the 1850s during the Victorian gold rush, it consists of numerous laneways, alleys and arcades and is still home to many Chinese restaurants, a number of Asian grocery stores, Chinese medicine and herbalist centers, cultural venues and places of worship. Today, Little Bourke Street is a bustling collection of Asian restaurants and cafes mingled with an eclectic mix of Chinese run businesses, car parks and building sites.

Another entrance arch to Chinatown. The building on the left houses the Da Fu Peking Duck Restaurant

There are also bookstores, fashion boutiques and other retail outlets in arcades such as the Village Center, The Target Centre and Paramount Plaza. A number of nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings, often with recently designed Chinoiserie facades, also still stand. Some of the older clan societies, political societies and Chinese churches are still operational.

The author with grandson Kyle

Here are some interesting trivia regarding Melbourne’s Chinatown:

  • Chinatown is the longest continuous Chinese settlement in the Western World
  • It is the oldest Chinatown in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • Its Chinese Museum is home to Dai Loong and the Millennium Dragon, the largest Chinese dragonin the world.
  • In the 1880s, Tom Roberts, one of the leading figures of Australian Impressionism, created sketches of life in Little Bourke Street.
  • Fergus Hume‘s The Mystery of a Hansom Cab(1886), one of the most famous mystery crime novels of the Victorian era, is based largely on the author’s observations of life in Little Bourke Street, including the Chinese Quarter.
  • Little Bourke Street is featured prominently in Charles Bradley‘s 1891 crime novel The Belgrave Place.
  • Elinor Mordaunt‘s 1919 novel The Ginger Jar, set in Little Bourke Street,  is about a love affair between a Chinese Australian hawker and a European woman.
  • A pivotal scene of the 1911 silent film The Double Event, directed by  J. Lincoln, takes place in Melbourne’s Chinatown.
  • The 1997 Hong Kong action film Nice Guy, starring Jackie Chan, is set in Melbourne, with several scenes shot in Chinatown.

Playing an important role in establishing the culture of Chinese immigrants in Australia, Melbourne’s Chinatown is a major tourist attraction known for its architectural heritage, annual festivals and cuisines of Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Indian, Malaysian, Vietnamese and Korean origins.

One of Chinatown’s 5 arches

Chinatown’s 5 key arches, which clearly announce the entrance to Chinatown, are an important statement of the City of Melbourne’s commitment to Chinatown.  They have been restored to their former glory with added modern touches including red neon lighting on the columns.

Chinese Museum

The Chinese Museum  or Museum of Chinese Australian History, housed in a 4-storey building built by the Cohen Bros in 1890 and used as a warehouse for the manufacture of furniture, is a history museum  established in 1985 and refurbished in 2010.  It presents the history of Australians of Chinese ancestry and, since 2010, its ground floor has also acted as a visitor centre for Melbourne’s Chinatown.

A pair of fu dogs at the museum entrance

Its extensive collection of Chinese clothing and textiles, photographs, documents and artifacts reflects the social fabric and activities of the Chinese community in Australia from the 1850s.  The museum also has a temporary exhibition space in which local and international artists can present work that engages with the Chinese culture.

Statue of Dr. Sun Yat Sen

Outside the Museum’s entrance is a memorial statue of Dr Sun Yat-sen, unveiled in 2011 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China. The traditional Chinese New Year Lion Dance has always ended at this spot, but will now end with a blessing of the statue.

One building of architectural and historical significance in Chinatown is the 2-storey Chinese Mission Church.  Built in 1872 by the Wesleyan Methodists, it is known today as the Chinese Parish Office of the Uniting Church.  This Gothic-style church has simple pointed arch windows and slate roof by architects Crouch and Wilson, and is an early example of polychromatic brickwork incorporating diaper work to the facade and polychromatic voussoirs to the windows.

Chinese Mission Church

Chinatown: Little Bourke St., Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia. Tel: +61 474 043 600.

Chinese Museum:  22 Cohen Place, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia. Tel: +61 3 9662 2888

Chinese Mission Church: 196 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne City, Victoria, Australia

 

Federation Square (Melbourne, Australia)

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Federation Square

Federation Square, a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district, covers an area of 3.2 ha (7.9 acres) and was built above busy railway lines and across the road from Flinders Street station.

It incorporates major cultural institutions (Ian Potter Centre, ACMI, Koorie Heritage Trust, etc.) as well as cafes and bars, in a series of buildings centered around a large paved square, and a glass walled atrium.

Check out “Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia“

Melbourne’s central city grid was designed without a central public square, long seen as a missing element. From the 1920s there were proposals to roof the railway yards on the southeast corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets for a public square, with more detailed proposals prepared in the 1950s and 1960s.

In the 1960s, the Melbourne City Council decided that the best place for the City Square was the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, opposite the town hall. The first temporary square opened in 1968, and a permanent version opened in 1981. It was however not considered a great success, and was redeveloped in the 1990s as a smaller simpler space in front of a new large hotel.

Meanwhile, in the late 1960s, a small part of the railway lines had been partly roofed by the construction of the Princes Gate Towers, known as the Gas & Fuel Buildings after their major tenant, the Gas and Fuel Corporation, over the old Princes Bridge station.

This included a plaza on the corner, which was elevated above the street and little used. Between the plaza and Batman Avenue, which ran along the north bank of the Yarra River, were the extensive Jolimont Railway Yards, and the through train lines running into Flinders Street station under Swanston Street.

This open public square had its beginnings in 1996 when the then Premier Jeff Kennett announced that the Gas & Fuel Buildings would be demolished, the rail yards roofed and a complex including arts facilities and a large public space to be named Federation Square would be built.

Lobby of Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia

It was opened in 2001, in time to celebrate the centenary of Australia’s Federation, and included performing arts facilities, a gallery, a cinemedia center, the public space, a glazed winter garden, and ancillary cafe and retail spaces.

Built at a cost of approximately $467 million (over four times the original estimate of between $110 and $128 million), its main funding came primarily from the state government, some from the federal government, $64 million from the City of Melbourne while private operators and sponsors paid for fit outs or naming rights. The square was opened on October 26, 2002.

Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) – Australia’s national museum of film, video games, digital culture and art

In 2006, the vaults under Princes Walk (a former roadway) were redeveloped by Federation Wharf into a large bar, with extensive outdoor areas on the Yarra riverbank, with elevator access to Federation Square.

In October 2011, Elizabeth II visited Federation Square. On October 2018, an interim decision to list Fed Square to the Victorian Heritage Register resulted in the square being formally listed in August 2019.

Occupying roughly a whole urban block bounded by Swanston, Flinders, and Russell Streets and the Yarra River, Federation Square is directly opposite Flinders Street station and St Paul’s Cathedral.

The precinct’s layout was designed to connect Melbourne’s historical central district with the Yarra River and Birrarung Marr, a new park.

Its complex and irregular design had gently angled ‘cranked’ geometries (predominating in both the planning and the facade treatment of the various buildings and the winter gardens that surrounded and defined the open spaces) while a series of ‘shards’ provided vertical accents.

Interconnected laneways and stairways and the winter garden connects Flinders Street to the Yarra River. The open square, arranged as a gently sloping amphitheater, is focused on a large viewing screen for public events, with a secondary sloped plaza area on the main corner.

The 1.3 m. high bronze statue of the Fearless Girl by Kristen Visbal

Federation Square: intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets.

Ian Potter Center: NGV Australia (Melbourne)

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Ian Potter Centre – NGV Australia

The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, an  art gallery that houses the Australian part of the art collection of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), is a legacy of the businessman and philanthropist Sir Ian Potter. It presents the story of Australian art through a comprehensive program of temporary exhibitions and extensive displays.

Check out “Federation Square”

Museum entrance

The country’s first public art museum dedicated to Australian art, it houses one of the oldest and most well known art collections in the country and has almost 25,000 Australian artworks, including paintings, sculpture, prints, photography, fashion and textiles.

Museum lobby

At one time, approximately 800 works are displayed in the new building and many of these are rotated frequently to show the full breadth and diversity of Australian art, and to provide visitors with fresh insights. The NGV’s international works are displayed at the NGV International on St Kilda Road.

The author at the museum

The collection, also acknowledging the power, primacy and cultural diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, presents some of Indigenous art’s major historical and contemporary works. The collection includes works in a range of media by male and female artists, including William Barak, Judy Watson, Emily Kngwarray and Uta Uta Tjangala.

Autumn Memories (Frederick McCubbin)

Well-known and superb works featured at the Ian Potter Centre include  non-Indigenous art, from the Colonial period to the present day, including some of the genre’s most iconic paintings such as Frederick McCubbin‘s poignant triptych The Pioneer (1904), Tom Roberts‘ Shearing the Rams (1890), and works from Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Albert Tucker, Arthur Streeton, John Perceval, Margaret Preston, Bill Henson, Howard Arkley and Fred Williams.

The Bathers (E. Phillips Fox)

The Ian Potter Centre, designed by Lab Architecture Studio in association with Bates Smart of Melbourne, headed by Peter Davidson and Donald Bates, has earned the designers the RAIA National Award for Interior Architecture as well as the Marion Mahony Interior Architecture Award.

Black Sun (Inge King)

There was plenty to see in the normal free exhibitions so, unless you have a particular interest in the special ones, you’ll still see lots and enjoy the visit.

Faun and Nymph (Rayner Hoff, bronze)

As we arrived just a little over an hour before closing time during our visit, we just saw the free exhibits which were Lucy McRae Body Architect, Petrina Hicks: Bleached Gothic, Olympia: Photographs by Polixeni Papapetrou, Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV, Roger Kemp: Visionary Modernist, The Joseph Brown Collection, Civilization: The Way We Live Now, 20th Century Australian Art and Late 20th and 21st Century Australian Art.

Check out “Lucy McRae Body Architect Exhibit,” “Petrina Hicks: Bleached Gothic Exhibit,” “Olympia: Photographs by Polixeni Papapetrou Exhibit,” “Marking Time: Indigenous Art from the NGV Exhibit,” “Roger Kemp: Visionary Modernist Exhibit,” The Joseph Brown Collection Exhibit,” “Civilization: The Way We Live Now Exhibit,” “20th Century Australian Art Exhibit” and “Late 20th and 21st Century Australian Art Exhibit.”

Marking Time: Indigenous Art From the NGV (Level 3, August 17, 20 19 – June 14, 2020) explores drawings and markings of figures, signs or text made on public surfaces across Indigenous Australia, from rock face to now.

Marking Time

Reko Rennie and Brook Andrew translated incisions, on carved trees or shields, into bold neon icons, whereas Josh Muir and Hannah Brontë used video art to communicate voices of dissent, create dialogue between groups and to effect change.

Marking Time

The Joseph Brown Collection (Level 2) displays the outstanding private collection of Australian art of artist, soldier, scholar, connoisseur, successful businessman and art dealer Dr Joseph Brown AO OBE, donated in May 2004, the most generous single gift of works of art ever made to a public gallery in Australia.

The Joseph Brown Collection

The Joseph Brown Collection

Civilization: The Way We Live Now (Ground Level, September 13, 2019 – February 2, 2020), an international photography exhibition of monumental scale, exhibits over 200 original photographs of over 100 contemporary photographers from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Civilization – The Way We Live Now

In this increasingly globalized world, the exhibition explores photographers’ representations of life in cities as its key theme and presents a journey through the shared aspects of life in the urban environment.

Bryan, Cheska and Kyle at the Civilization: The Way We Live Now exhibit

The modern and bright Crossbar Café, on Level 3, has lovely views of the Yarra River.

White Sacred Baboon (Brett Whiteley)

Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia: Federation Square, Flinders St. and Russell St., Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia. Open daily, 10 AM- 5 PM. Closed Christmas Day and Good Friday. Admission to the permanent collection is free. Fees may apply to special exhibitions, as advertized. Tel: 8620 2222. E-mail: enquiries@ngv.vic.gov.au. Website: www.ngv.vic.gov.au.

Royal Exhibition Building (Melbourne, Australia)

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Royal Exhibition Building

We took a break from our tour of the Melbourne Museum and proceeded to the foyer, with other tourists, to meet up with our guide for the 2 PM  tour of the adjacent Royal Exhibition Building (“the REB”), the largest item in Museum Victoria’s collection. It was drizzling when we crossed over to the other side.The building, sitting on 64 acres at the north-eastern edge of the central business district, is 150 m. long and is flanked by Victoria, Carlton and Rathdowne Streets.  When we arrived, the Great Hall was being set up for a scheduled exam, with desks being arranged.

Check out “Melbourne Museum” and “Carlton Gardens”

Here are some interesting trivia regarding this building:

  • It is the first building in Australia to be awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, being one of the last remaining major 19th-century exhibition buildings in the world.
  • The building is the largest design of Reed and Barnes Architecture.
  • When electric lighting was installed in 1888 for the Centennial International Exhibition, it became one of the first in the world that was accessible during night time.
  • It is the world’s most complete surviving site from the International Exhibition movement 1851–1914
  • The building is one of the world’s oldest remaining exhibition pavilions
  • When it was built, the Great Hall was the largest building in Australia, and the highest building in Melbourne.

Plaque Commemorating the Laying of the Foundation Stone

This building, built in 1879-80 as part of the international exhibition movement (between 1851 and 1915, it presented over 50 exhibitions around the globe), is representative of the money and pride Victoria had in the 1870s.

Plaque Commemorating the Centenary of the Melbourne Museum

Designed by architect Joseph Reed of Reed and Barnes Architecture (they also designed the Melbourne Town Hall, the State Library of Victoria and the Baroque style gardens), the Royal Exhibition Building is composed of brick, timber, steel and slate.

The building’s soaring dome

Its soaring dome was modeled on Brunelleschi’s dome at the 15th century Florence Cathedral while the main pavilions were influenced by the style of Rundbogenstil  (a round-arched architectural style combining elements from Byzantine, Romanesque, Lombardic and Italian Renaissance buildings) and several buildings from Normandy, Caen and Paris.

The building, with the scale of the French Beaux Arts, has a Latin cross-shaped cruciform plan.  The long, nave-like wings are symmetrically placed east-west about the central dome with a shorter wing to the north.

Grace and Jandy in front of the building

The building consists of a Great Hall, of over 12,000 sq. m., flanked by lower annexes to the north on the east and west sides, and many temporary galleries between.  The Great Hall, still in beautiful condition, is crowned by an octagonal drum and dome.

The Great Hall

The dome, rising 68 m. and 18.3 m. across, has a double shell and was formed using a cast iron and timber frame. There was a viewing platform around the dome that allowed visitors to survey the progress of the booming city.  Windows in the drum of the dome, at the crossing, bring in sunlight for a bright open space.

Our tour guide

The sober interior, painted in the color scheme of 1901, has murals.  The great dome, painted to represent the sky, has the words (surviving from 1888) “Victoria Welcomes All Nations” underneath plus four mottos suitable for a new nation: Dei gracia (“By the Grace of God”), Carpe diem (“Seize the Day”), Aude sapere (“Dare to be Wise”) and Benigno numine (“With Benign Power”). A frieze shows the products of agriculture and hints at the wealth of the new nation.

Pendentive: Hercules

Pendentive: Venus

At the pendentives are the mythological figures of Hercules, Venus, Mars and Mercury while on the arches are lunettes (half-moon shaped spaces where the arches meet cornices) rich with allegorical symbolism representing The Arts Applied to Peace in the north, The Arts Applied to War in the south, Federation (showing Britannia welcoming the six federated states as young women) at the west and Government (showings Knowledge enthroned, surrounded by figures representing the arts, education and defense) in the east.

Lunette: Arts Applied to Peace (North)

Lunette: Government (East)

Eight women, in draped costumes, symbolize the Four Seasons, Night and Morning, and Justice and Truth. Under the dome are plaster heads (including an Indigenous Australian, a Chinese man, and an Indian) from the first decorative scheme of 1880.

Lunette: Arts Applied to War (South)

Lunette: Federation (West)

Throughout the 20th century, smaller sections and wings of the building were subject to demolition and fire.  However, the main building, known as the Great Hall, survived.

Justice

Throughout the 1990s and in 2004, it received restoration. Renovations include the timber flooring, building services, externals, and stonework. For safety, most timber staircases have been replaced by concrete. Through all renovations though, the site has continued to be very authentic.

Truth

Here is the historical timeline of the building:

  • On December 1877, a completion was announced for the design of a suitable building for Melbourne’s proposed international exhibition. Eighteen entries were received and the winner was Joseph Reed
  • On February 19, 1879, the foundation stone was laid by Victorian governor George Bowen.
  • Built by David Mitchell (who also built Scots’ Churchand St Patrick’s Cathedral), it was completed in just 18 months.
  • On October 1, 1880, it was opened by the Marquess of Normanby, the governor, the Melbourne International Exhibition. The walls then were left bare and windows and door joinery colored green.
  • In 1885, an aquarium, museum and picture gallery was opened at eastern annex of the Exhibition Building.
  • On August 1, 1888, the building hosted the Centennial International Exhibition celebrating a century of European settlement in Australia. Its decoration was by interior designer John Ross Anderson (also known for the interior design of the ANZ ‘Gothic’ Bank) and the walls were painted for the first time.  The exhibition closed on January 31, 1889.
  • On May 9, 1901, following the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on January 1, the formal opening of the first Parliament of Australia, witnessed by the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V) and 12,000 guests, was held there. After the official opening, the Federal Parliament moved to the Victorian State Parliament House. For the next 26 years, Victorian Parliament moved to the Exhibition Building.
  • In 1902, the building hosted the Australian Federal International Exhibition.
  • On February 4, 1919, the Exhibition Building was turned into a hospital to treat Melburnians struck down by the Spanish flu.
  • In 1948, via a vote by members of the Melbourne City Council, it was narrowly decided not to demolish the building.
  • In 1953, the wing of the building which once housed Melbourne Aquariumburnt down.
  • In 1956, it was a venue for the 1956 Summer Olympics, hosting the basketball, weightlifting, wrestling, and the fencing part of the modern pentathlon
  • In the 1970s, the western annex was demolished.
  • In 1979, the grand ballroom, the last remaining original annex, was demolished amid controversy.
  • On October 1, 1980 during a visit to Victoria, Princess Alexandraof Kent unveiled a plaque which commemorated both the opening of the new mirror-glass “Centennial Hall” (which replaced the grand ballroom) and the centenary of the building. She also unveiled a second plaque commemorating the bestowal of the title “Royal” on the building by Her Majesty the Queen.
  • In 1987, the first conservation assessment of the building was undertaken by Alan Willingham.
  • On July 1, 2004, the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens was granted listing as a World Heritage Site. The heritage listing states that “The Royal Exhibition Building is the only major extant nineteenth-century exhibition building in Australia. It is one of the few major nineteenth-century exhibition buildings to survive worldwide.”
  • In October 2009, Museum Victoria embarked upon a major project to restore the former German Garden (covered by asphalt in the 1950s for car parking) of the Western Forecourt.

Winter

Still in use today as a commercial exhibition venue, the Royal Exhibition Building hosts various exhibitions and other events on a regular basis such as the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. It is closely tied with events at the The Melbourne Museum which offers regular tours here.

The dome

The Royal Exhibition Building is also used as an exam hall for the University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne High School, Nossal High School, Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School and Suzanne Cory High School.

However, the building is no longer Melbourne’s largest commercial exhibition centre. The Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, located in Southbank to the south of the Melbourne central business district, is the modern alternative.

Royal Exhibition Building: 9 Nicholson St. cor. Victoria Parade, Carlton Gardens, Melbourne 3053, Australia. Admission (purchased at Melbourne Museum): $10 (adults), $8 (concession) and $7 (child/member).  Tours may not run when the building is in use for certain events and exhibitions. Tel: 13 11 02.

Melbourne Museum (Australia)

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Jandy at Melbourne Museum

The Melbourne Museum, a natural and cultural history museum axially aligned with the adjacent Italianate Royal Exhibition Building (and referencing it, along with the skyscrapers of Melbourne’s central business district, with its monumental scale and protruding vertical facets), provides a place for education, history, culture and society to engage with each other in a contemporary setting.

Check out “Royal Exhibition Building“

The museum complex

A project of the Government of Victoria (on behalf of Museums Victoria who administrates the venue), it is a rich response to Melbourne’s urban condition and is now an important part of Melbourne’s soft infrastructure.

The is located on the site of the former Melbourne Exhibition Speedway (which operated from November 5, 1928 until March 7, 1936).

Here are some interesting trivia regarding the museum:

  • It is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere
  • The museum is also one of Victoria’s top 10 destinations for travelers
  • The museum is consistently ranked as one of the most popular museums and tourist attractions in Australia, winning ‘Best Tourist Attraction’ at the Australian Tourism Awards in 2011
  • Since 2016, it housed the world’s largest IMAXTheatre screen.
  • Melbourne Museum was one of the venues of Festival Melbourne 2006, a citywide art festival held in conjunction of the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which was held in Melbourne.
  • During the years 2010–2011, it received 1,428,238 visitors and, for that, received the RACV Award for major tourist attraction.
  • During 2010–2011, Melbourne Museum’s Science and Life gallery was honored with the Large Permanent Exhibition Award due to its outstanding design and flow.

Jandy and Kyle

The Melbourne Museum, a Post-Modernist building, was designed by Denton Corker Marshall Architects, who specializes in city planning and urban design, mainly concerns their practice with responding to social desires. One of Denton Corker Marshall’s award-winning projects, the sticks and blades that make up the Melbourne Museum are hallmarks of Denton Corker Marshall’s architecture.

Its construction was managed by Baulderstone Hornibrook.   Officially opened on October 21, 2000 by the Hon. Steve Bracks, the Premier of Victoria at the time, it was completed in 2001.

The museum building, arranged in an individual layout (referencing Melbourne’s iconic Hoddle Grid, which allows the importance of each component of the buildings historical, cultural and social significance to be read in loosely equal hierarchy and individuality), features a grid-like order that embraces eccentric metal clad forms extruding out and creating an irregular sculptural composition with moments of abstract color throughout the building.

The building, dissected into different spaces (so an individual can navigate through and around the building in an orthogonal manner), was designed as both a single building and a network of individual buildings integrated into the landscape of the Carlton Gardens, a large public park.

Check out “Carlton Gardens“

The two very long and very high, sloping canopies (or blades), each acting to guide visitors from the street into the museum, are the most prominent element of the building, rising up from the centrally placed entrance opposite the north door of the Royal Exhibition Building. Another larger blade-like roof, on the northern side of the building, rises up from the center to the north, a landmark of similar scale to the central Florentine dome of the Royal Exhibition building.

Beside the main entrance is a prototype, constructed in 1947, of a CAC (Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation) delivery van.

A florist delivery van called the CAC Deliverette

A 3.86 m. high statue of Mercury, modeled by sculptor and painter C. Douglas Richardson, was inspired by Giambologna‘s bronze statue, made in Florence in 1580. Made of 20 pieces of beaten copper which were riveted together and cast by W.H. Rooke of Melbourne, circa 1899, it was donated to the museum by David Syme & Co. Ltd. On April 14, 1997.

Bronze statue of Mercury

Suspended over the entrance foyer is the full scale replica of John Duigan‘s 1910 biplane (the first Australia-built airplane to fly), built by Ronald Lloyd Lewis between 1984 and 1995, and donated to the museum in 1999.

Duigan Biplane Replica

Outside the main galleries are various displays relating to Victoria’s and Australia’s history, including CSIRAC (an early computer built in Australia) and a large, articulated skeleton of a pygmy blue whale at the Main Foyer.

Skeleton of Pygmy Blue Whale

At the Upper Level Balcony are some wind turbine models. A wind turbine model, commissioned by Pacific Hydro Limited, Melbourne, circa 2001, and was made in Denmark.

Wind Tubine Model

This model, based on contemporary wind turbines that were installed in Victoria during the early 2000s, is 5.5 m. high, has a rotor diameter of 4 m. and  is powered by a small electric motor.  Its white pole supports 3 white slimline blades.

Another windmill model, modeled on the Baker Run-in-Oil type (“Oilbath” is painted on the vane) steel windmill (first made in 1923), was made by William McCook, 1970-1990, and was constructed from metal with a rotating wheel and vane.

Federation Tapestry. L-R: “Making Do”(2001) and “Now Exploration & Settlement Underway” (2001)

The almost 41 m. long Federation Tapestry, created by 22 artist-weavers who spent an estimated 20,000 hours at their looms) from the internationally acclaimed Victorian Tapestry Workshop (renamed the Australian Tapestry Workshop in 2010), South Melbourne, was commissioned to mark the centenary of Australia’s Federation.

L-R: “Alone in the Bush”” (Reg Mombassa, 2001) and “Ngak Ngak in Limmen Bight Country” (2001)

The images, in 10 panels, range from Aboriginal dream time legends to a solitary shepherd in the bush with his sheep and dog, from the clamor and rejoicing that marked Federation in 1901 to the enigmatic ‘Sorry’ etched across the sky above the sails of the Sydney Opera House in the year 2000.

Federation Handbells

The beautifully crafted Federation Handbells, originally commissioned by Arts Victoria for the 2001 Centenary of Federation, are the world’s first true harmonic bells. Cast in silicon bronze, each set of bells have a unique design and pitch, covering two chromatic piano octaves (from E to E). Played by striking them with a mallet, the bells can be played in the style of a xylophone by a single musician controlling a set of bells, or each musician can play one bell. Ranging in size from 120 to 180 mm. high, they have an average weight of 1kg. each.

Dinosaur Walk

The 384 sq. m. Science and Life Gallery, at the west end, showcases six exhibitions – Bugs Alive, Marine Life, Dinosaur Walk, Wild: Amazing Animals in a Changing World, 600 Million Years and Dynamic Earth

Tarbosaurus bataar

The Dinosaur Walk, one of the highlights, houses a skeleton of a Diprotodon (a giant wombat-like creature) and skeletons of  10 dinosaurs such as the Tarbosaurus (Giant meat eater, Tyrannosauridae), Mamenchisaurus (Giant sauropod), Tsintaosaurus, Hadrosaurid, Pteranodon, Gallimimus and Hypsilophodon, 3 pterosaurs, one mammal-like reptile and Australian megafauna.

Wild – Amazing Animals in a Changing World

Wild: Amazing Animals in a Changing World, a permanent exhibit, presents the fragile state of Australian biodiversity, environment, and climate through the display of more than 750 animal specimens, in a spectacular vertical array, from around the world from a natural history collection, arranged in a striking theatrical style, interactive and can be viewed from many angles. It also examines how they are affected by climate change and human activity, and what we can do to help them.

Amazing Animals of Eurasia and North America

Here, we saw the wildlife (birds, reptiles, mammals and amphibians) of Victoria’s unique environments displayed by biogeographic regions. On the panoramic navigators, we looked up each animal and saw which animals are thriving and which are merely surviving and learn what you can do to help them. We also learned about the migration of shorebirds over thousands of kilometers as they move between their feeding and nesting grounds

Sam the Koala

On permanent display in Wild are a Malleefowl nest, the Murray Cod (the Murray river’s biggest resident) and the taxidermied mount of Sam the Koala, a a female koala from the forests of Mirboo North and symbol of the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.

Marine Life- Exploring Our Seas

The Marine Life: Exploring our Seas Exhibit shows the wonderful life of marine Victoria and covers how Victoria’s marine creatures use camouflage, speed, poisons and spines to evade predators. Here, we investigate underwater ecosystems, inspect animal adaptations, explore marine habitats such as stunning sponge gardens and vibrant seagrass beds, and examine sharks jaws and a giant 10 m. long squid.

10 meter long squid

The 600 Million Years: Victoria Evolves Exhibit, opened in 2010, depicts the origins of Life in Victoria through fossils, models, animatronics (such as an animatronic Qantassaurus, a small dinosaur that lived in Victoria some 120 million years ago) and animations (shows how these animals moved, ate and battled to survive). Things that can be touched include the teeth of a giant shark, the skeleton of Archaeopteryx, and a sea floor that ended up high in the Grampian Mountains.

600 Million Years – Victoria Evolves

Starting with the explosion of life in the sea, you’ll see multicellular life, extraordinary body forms that have no living ancestors today, and early forms of ancient groups like crinoids, bryozoans and cephalopods. Next, we follow the evolution of life as it moved from sea to land and then diversified into the mammals, reptiles, birds and plants we know today.  We also learn about the geological processes that moved landmasses, built mountains and transformed rocks.

Deserts and Ice

Rocks and fossils show how the climate of Victoria has changed, from glacial to tropical and everything between, and the effects of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs 65.5 million years ago.

Sandstone (Grampian Ranges – Silurian)

Fossils and specimens from the museum’s collections include irreplaceable skulls of giant megafauna, early whales and marsuipials long-gone from Australia’s mainland and some more prehistoric animals such as the Muttaburrasaurus, Tiktaalik and Anomalocaris.

Bugs Alive

The Bugs Alive! Exhibition, created in 2004, showcases the roles and life-cycles of the the invertebrates, a critically important animal group.  It features 50 living displays with an even greater number of species.

The Melbourne Gallery, at the east end, exhibits the mounted hide of Phar Lap, a beautiful chestnut gelding and race horse that won 37 races from 51 starts in 3 years, including the Melbourne Cup, during the depression era.

Phar Lap

The Melbourne Story explores the history of Melbourne and Victoria from the time of earliest contact between white settlers and local Indigenous people during early 19th century through to present day.

Little Lon, a predominantly working class area, was characterised by a series of laneways, with small properties packed together creating crowded and unsanitary conditions.

The museum is also custodian of artifacts excavated from ‘Little Lon’ is an inner-city block in Melbourne bordered by Lonsdale, Exhibition, Little Lonsdale and Spring Streets. The city’s “Red Light District,” Little Lon was also home to the city’s poorest residents and recently arrived immigrants from Ireland, Italy, China and Syria.

Model of the SS Orcades, an ocean liner serving primarily the UK – Australia – New Zealand route

The Mind and Body Gallery, a gallery regarding the human body, is the world’s first exhibition about the mind. The “Mind: Enter the Labyrinth,” a permanent exhibition, explores how the mind works and offers ways to understand such illnesses as bipolar disorder and depression.

The Ames room is a neat illusion because it can be instantiated in real space, as has been done in numerous science museums

“Empathy booths” show videos of actors performing real-life stories prepared by SANE, a mental-health advocacy group. Among its 300 exhibits are artworks, on loan from the Cunningham Dax psychiatric art collection, which include paintings by a 16-year-old girl, completed just before she committed suicide.

Mind and Body Gallery

The Evolution Gallery, at the upper level, features the exhibition “Darwin to DNA” which shows the roles of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in developing the theory of evolution. Displayed in historical showcases are actual animal specimens, that they collected, which helped them interpret evolutionary processes and patterns. The photos and specimens also illustrate conditions necessary for evolution, making youl consider how evolution acts upon genetic mutations.

Cunningham Dax psychiatric art collection

DNA evidence, which challenges previous notions of the uniqueness of humans and the concept of race and helps us examine the relationships between species, is also highlighted by this exhibition.

Forest Gallery

The Forest Gallery, the centerpiece of the museum building, is a living temperate Victorian forest environment, complete with hundreds of living plants and live animals such as birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates and other fauna.

This massive living and breathing exhibition, offering a window into the tall forests of eastern Victoria, is home to the ongoing Forest Secrets exhibition which examines the agents of change within the forests.

Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre

The Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre, planned in collaboration with many Aboriginal people, including the traditional owners of Melbourne (the Boonwurrung and the Woi wurrung), includes galleries with exhibitions by and about the Koorie people and other Aboriginal peoples of Victoria.

Bunjilaka Welcome Rug

At the foyer/reception area is the amazing Bunjilaka Welcome Rug designed by artist Vicki Couzens to provide a focus and gathering point for welcoming visitors to Bunjilaka. The design symbolizes the pathway that people take to gather for a ceremony, dance or song.

Wurreka (Judy Watson)

Spanning the north wall of Birrarung Gallery and surrounding the entry to First Peoples is Wurreka, a zinc wall of 74 etched panels, each reflecting imagery from Aboriginal cultural heritage and landscapes of Victoria, designed by Waanyi artist Judy Watson from Queensland.

Te Pasifika Gallery

From the First Peoples gallery is the light filled Te Pasifika Gallery, a bright soaring space. This exhibition, which highlights the history and finely carved water crafts of Pacific island nations including Fiji, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Solomon Islands and Aotearoa (New Zealand), was developed in collaboration with the Pacific Island Advisory Group and community members in 1997 and was opened in 2001.

Here, we gaze up at the life-size crab claw sails, containing motifs of Melanesia in the north east, Micronesia in the North and Polynesia in the South East, created by the Victorian Pacific Island Council and community, and walk underneath exquisite canoes from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Niue and the Marquesas Islands.

Te Pasifika Gallery

The Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery, housings exhibitions aimed at 3 to 8 year olds, combines hands-on exploration and discovery, open-ended play-based learning, extraordinary immersive environments and unique museum collection objects.

Te Pasifika Gallery

The Touring Hall, where international touring exhibitions are displayed, has, in the past, exhibited “A Day In Pompeii” (June 26 to October 25, 2009, Melbourne Museum’s most popular temporary exhibition), “Hatching the Past: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies’ (May 30, 2008 to August 24, 2008), “The Great Wall of China: Dynasties, Dragons and Warriors” (March 23, 2007 to July 22, 2007), “Spirit of the Games: The Opening Ceremony Revealed” (March 18 to July 23, 2006) and “Dinosaurs from China” (2005).

Museum Market Cafe

In addition to its galleries, the museum also features the free Discovery Centre, a cafe (Museum Market Cafe), a souvenir shop (Museum Shop) and an IMAX Theatre screen showing movies and documentary films in large-screen 3-D format.

Museum Shop

Melbourne Museum: 11 Nicholson St., Carlton Gardens, 3053 Melbourne, Australia. Open daily, 10 AM – 5 PM (closed Good Friday and Christmas Day).

 

Nobbies Ocean Discovery Center – The Antarctic Journey (Melbourne, Australia)

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The Antarctic Journey

An immersive, dramatic and pedagogic exhibition, The Antarctic Journey, a joint venture between Phillip Island Nature Parks and WWF (one of the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organizations) Australia, is claimed to be the world’s first interactive virtual reality Antarctic experience.

Featuring over 159 sq. m. (1,700 sq. ft.) of digital high-definition screens showing footage of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, this $5 million project was opened in December 2015.

Structured around an artificial interior landscape, it draws its inspiration from the geology of this spectacular site and the incredible forces of wind and water that define this place.  The exhibition provokes questions about our natural world and the life of the southern oceans.

Here, I immersed myself in a spectacular multimedia wildlife experience as I embarked on a virtual journey to Antarctica, the world’s most extreme continent.

I enjoyed its fun, hands-on activities designed to entertain and educate.  Consisting of three distinct levels, the first level features Phillip Island as the gateway to Antarctica, although the island is almost 4,000 kms. (2,500 mi.) away from Antarctica.

At the second level, known as The Lab, I was able to “feel the freeze” as I entered the Antarctic Chill Zone, experiencing the same sort of conditions as an Antarctic researcher.

The Antarctic Chill Zone

Questions such as “What is more likely to sink – a bowling ball or a marble?,” “What is the Cocktail Party Effect?,” “How does my thermal image compare to an Emperor penguin?” and more are  answered by an array of hands on activities, ensuring that the unique wildlife, the ongoing research activities and the critically important conservation values of remote Antarctica come alive to guests.

At the Sound Lab and Research Station, I was offered an insight into the sights and sounds of Antarctic wildlife through animal calls, microscopes and fascinating specimens.

Sound Lab and Research Station

The unique wildlife, ongoing research activities, and the critically important conservation values of this remote continent, with the remarkable Antarctic landscape as the backdrop, came alive before my eyes.

The author at The Chamber

At The Chamber, the final, state of the art multimedia experience, I found myself blown away by the screen as I was enthralled by a breathtaking audio-visual spectacle which placed me right in the heart of the action level via cutting-edge “augmented reality” technology.

Whale Migration Game

I found myself able to stand on an ice floe and feel like I can reach out to pat a penguin, stroke a seal or marvel at a whale or shark, all of which appear on the screen with me, this up close and personal experience making me feel part of it all.

I felt that the animals were real and I can’t even imagine how they made the “augmented reality” screen. This complete immersion can only be described by me as stunning and breathtaking.

Nobbies Ocean Discovery Centre: Ventnor Road, Summerlands 3922, Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. Open 10 AM daily and closes approximately one hour before sunset each day to protect the native wildlife – approx. 4 PM (Winter), approx.5 PM (Autumn), approx. 6 PM (Spring) and approx. 7.30 PM (Summer). Admission (include daily guided tours, 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM): $18.00 (adult, 16 years+), $9.00 (child, 4-15 years), $45.00 (family – 2 adults and 2 children) and $12.60 (Australian Pensioner, ID required). A proportion from each Antarctic Journey ticket sale will go towards WWF-Australia’s conservation work including Antarctic whale research. The 20 min. guided tours commence by the Ticketing Desk.

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (Melbourne, Australia)

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Royal Botanic Gardens

From the Shrine of Remembrance, Grace, Jandy, Bryan, Cheska, Kyle and I walked to the nearby Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.  This  botanic gardens, across Melbourne and Cranbourne, is home to the State Botanical Collection which is housed in the National Herbarium of Victoria.

Check out “Shrine of Remembrance“

National Herbarium of Victoria

It includes 1.5 million preserved plants, algae and fungi, and Australia’s most comprehensive botanical library. Under the Royal Botanic Gardens Act 1991, the gardens are governed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Board who is responsible to the Minister for Environment.

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, founded in 1846, were initially intended to be a horticultural exhibition for the public to enjoy.  It was built on land reserved on the south side of the Yarra River for a new botanic garden.

Melbourne Observatory

Observatory House

Extending across 36 hectares (89 acres) that slope to the river with trees, garden beds, lakes and lawns, it displays, in 30 living plant collections, almost 50,000 individual plants (representing 8,500 different species).

Garden House

Visitor’s Center

Many seeds were traded between early European botanists such as Arthur and Von Mueller, who planted non-native species.

Bust of Baron Ferdinand von Mueller. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, KCMG was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria by Gov. Charles La Trobe in 1853 and, later, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens.

On occasions throughout the gardens history, the Queen and her grandfather, Dame Nellie Melba and Paderewski contributed plantings.

The author relaxing at a park bench

Since its earliest days, plant research and identification in the Royal Botanic Gardens was done primarily through the National Herbarium of Victoria which is based at the Gardens.

Asteraceae (Olearia pannosa)

The State Botanical Collection, also housed in the Herbarium, includes over 1.2 million dried plant specimens plus an extensive collection of books, journals and artworks.

Cockscomb Coral Tree (Erythrina crista galli)

Wolgan Snow Gum (Eucallyptus gregsoniana)

Research findings are published in the journal Mulleria, a scientific representation of the work done in the Gardens in any one year. More recently, the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology has been established to look at plants which specifically grow in urban environments.

Common Correa (Correa reflexa)

Enfield Grevillea (Grevillea bedggoodiana)

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, established in 1970, was built on land was acquired by the Gardens on Melbourne’s south-eastern urban fringe for the purpose of establishing a garden dedicated to Australian plants.

Kawaka (Liboocedrus plumosa)

Opened to the public in 1989, this generally wild site is significant for biodiversity conservation and focuses solely on Australian native plants.

Liliaceae (Asparagus desiflorus Myersii)

Here’s the historical timeline of the gardens:

  • In 1846, Charles La Trobe selected the site for the Royal Botanic Gardens from marshland and swamp. Initially, much of the native wetlands and swamp lands in the gardens were left.
  • In 1857, botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, the first director, created the National Herbarium of Victoria and planted a range of species from around the world.
  • In 1873, Director William Guilfoyle added tropical and temperate plants and changed the style of the Gardens to something more like the picturesque gardens that were around at that time.
  • In 1877, Sir Edmund Barton, Australia’s first Prime Minister, and Jane Ross were married at the Royal Botanic Gardens.
  • Around the turn of the 20th century, the native wetlands and swamplands were re-landscaped to create the Ornamental Lake.
  • In 1924, a shooting massacre, resulting in the death of four people, occurred at the Gardens.
  • In August 2010, the prominent  Separation Tree, a 300-year-old River Red Gum under which Victoria was declared a separate colony, was attacked by vandals
  • In 2013, the Separation Tree was attacked again by vandals.
  • By 2015, the Separation tree was dead and removal of the canopy and branches commenced.
  • In June 2015, the Gardens brought together the elements of the organization under the name Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. It incorporated Melbourne Gardens, Cranbourne Gardens, the National Herbarium of Victoria and the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology (ARCUE)

Marble Daisy Bush (Olearia astroloba)

Living collections at the Botanic Gardens include:

  • Australian Forest Walk
  • California Garden
  • Cacti and Succulents
  • Camellia Collection
  • Cycad Collection
  • Eucalypts
  • Fern Gully
  • Grey Garden
  • Herb Garden
  • Long Island
  • New Caledonia Collection
  • New Zealand Collection
  • Oak Lawn
  • Perennial Border
  • Roses
  • Southern China Collection
  • Tropical Display-Glasshouse
  • Viburnum Collection
  • Water Conservation Garden

Rose Pavilion

The gardens, including a mixture of native and non-native vegetation, invariably host a diverse range of both native and non-native fauna.

Rhamnaceae (Pomaderris subplicata)

Hosting over 10,000 floral species (the majority being non-native species), the gardens were the origin from which many introduced species spread throughout southeastern Australia.

Red Rod (Eremophila calorhabdos)

In the mid-19th century, seeds were traded between early European botanists studying the Australian flora.

Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden

The 5,000 sq. m. Ian Potter Foundation Children’s Garden, based in South Yarra, off the main site, was designed as a discovery area for children of all ages and abilities. For two months of the year (from the end of the Victorian July school holidays), this area is closed for rest and maintenance.

Running Postman (Kennedia Prostrata)

Royal Botanical Gardens: Spring St, East Melbourne VIC 3002, Australia. Open daily, 7:30 AM – 6:30PM.  Admission is free.

Rizal Park and Shrine (Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte)

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Rizal Park and Shrine

The highlight of our visit to Dapitan City was our tour of Rizal Park and Shrine (also known as the  José Rizal Memorial Protected Landscape), a protected landscape and memorial to the Philippines‘ national hero which preserves the farm site in barrio Talisay where José Rizal was exiled from 1892-1896 (4 years, 13 days and a few hours) after being accused by the Spanish colonial authorities of sedition and plotting the Philippine revolution in Manila.  Occupying a hilly peninsula facing the Dapitan Bay, it is located in the seaside barangay of Talisay, about a kilometer northwest from Dapitan city proper.

EGI president Eulalio “Loy” Ganzon, Ms. Mamel Yap and my wife Grace entering the shrine

After his stay at the Casa Real, Rizal was transferred to Talisay, staying in a 24-hectare estate in the seaside barangay Talisay, bordering on Dapitan Bay, which he acquired by purchase.  In August 1892, two months after arriving in Dapitan, Rizal together with Gov. Carnicero and Francisco Equilor (a Spaniard living in Dipolog), luckily won the second prize of PhP20,000, via a lotto ticket with the permutation 9736, of the government-owned Reales Loterías Españolas de Filipinas (English: Royal Spanish Lottery of the Philippines).

Touring the grounds of the shrine

Rizal’s share was PhP6,200 and he gave PhP2,000 to his father and PhP200 to Jose Ma. Basa, his friend in Hong Kong. His share also financially enabled him to buy (for PHp4,000), on July 17, 1892, the Talisay Estate, a 10-hectare piece of land, from Lucia Pagbangon, enlarging his property to 70 hectares.

Map of shrine

In March 1893, Rizal transferred to this place. Later on, his mother Doña Teodora Alonso, his sisters Narcisa, Maria and Trinidad, and nephews Teodosio, Estanislao, Mauricio and Prudencio from Calamba, Laguna came and lived with him in Talisay until 1896. Pio Valenzuela also visited Rizal here, confiding to him about their planned armed revolution and the group’s offer to help Rizal flee Dapitan.

An array of Masonic structures and symbols

On this land he built three houses and decided to be a farmer, clearing a part of the forest and planting a large number of fruit trees (mangoes, lanzones, guyabano, nangka, macopa, langka, santol, mangosteen, batuno, etc.), 6,000 hemp plants, 1,000 coconut trees, coffee and cacao.

Here, he established a hospital and a school for bright boys (beginning with 3 pupils, it increased to 16 and eventually 21, 16 of which did not pay tuition), collected botanical and zoological specimens (the Draco rizali, a flying dragon; Apogonia rizali, a small beetle and the Rhacophorus rizali, a rare frog, were named after him) for some European museums (especially the Dresden Museum).

He also gathered 346 shells of 203 species, created sculptures from clay (Oyang Dapitana and Mother’s Revenge), embarked in the business of buying and selling abaca and copra, drained the marshes to get rid of malaria that was infesting Dapitan, and wrote some of his poems, articles and scientific treatises, as well as letters to his family and friends.

The Casa Residencia with the comfort room at the rear

He also learned, as well as grammatically analyzed and compared, the Subanen, Bisaya and Melayu languages, adding to the 22 languages he already knew (Tagalog, Ilokano, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Dutch, Spanish, Catalan, Latin, Italian Greek, Chinese, English, Japanese, French , Portuguese, German, Swedish, Arabic and Russian).

It was also here that he fell in love with the 18 year old Josephine Bracken (her parents James Bracken and Elizabeth Jane MacBride were both Irish in citizenship), adopted daughter of George (who adopted Josephine after her mother died of childbirth), one of Rizal’s patients.  Rizal wrote the poem A Josefina for Josephine.

El Canto del Viajero (“Song of a Traveler”) – a poem by Dr. Jose Rizal written on a pathway. Rizal wrote it upon receiving the acceptance of his offer to go to Europe then to Cuba (then under a revolution) to help in the curing of patients suffering from a raging yellow fever epidemic.

His exile here ended when he departed, on the steamer Espana, for Manila, and eventually Cuba, on July 31, 1896. On the day of his departure, accompanied by Josephine, Narcisa, Angelica (Narcisa’s daughter), his three nephews and six pupils, a marching band solemnly played Frederic Chopin’s dolorous Marche funèbre as Dapitanons turned out en masse to see him off.

Rizal the Traveler (Julie Lluch)

On January 15, 1897, after Rizal’s execution on December 30, 1896, Rizal’s properties in Dapitan were confiscated.  Don Cosme Borromeo, a good friend of Rizal, was appointed custodian of the confiscated property.  After the end of Spanish rule, the Talisay hacienda and home were neglected.  However, in 1913, the place was converted into a public park to the memory of Rizal.  It was reconstructed during the term of Zamboanga Gov. Jose Aseniero (1925 to 1928), one of Rizal’s brightest pupils.

On September 3, 1940, Commonwealth President Manuel Luis Quezon, through Proclamation No. 616, reserved about 10 hectares (25 acres) of the land in Talisay and turned it into Rizal National Park.  On June 19, 1965, by virtue of Republic Act No. 4368, the administration of this shrine was turned over to the National Historical Commission (later National Historical Institute on September 24, 1972) from the National Heroes Commission.

On January 24, 1973, through Presidential Decree No. 105, the Rizal Shrine was then declared by then president Ferdinand E. Marcos as one of the National Shrines. On April 23, 2000, it was enlarged to its present size of 439 hectares (1,080 acres), with a buffer zone of 15 hectares (37 acres) and was declared, through Proclamation No. 279, as a protected landscape under the National Integrated Protected Areas System.

The park has a collection of five reconstructed houses of bamboo and nipa, originally built by José Rizal, as well as other auxiliary structures, all in their original location.

Casa Residencia

Casa Residencia, the faithfully reconstructed (in 1960) main house of Rizal, is the biggest structure in the place.  Rectangular in shape, it is made of bamboo, wood, nipa and palma brava leaves and is located at the foot of a verdant hill studded with baluno (Mangifera caesia) and bitaong (Callophylum inophylum) trees.

The house had three verandas  (front and sides) with views of the Dapitan Bay, a main room (8 sq. yards), a lone bedroom (with a replica of Rizal’s bed made of narra with intricate carvings) and a wooden staircase leading to the main house.

Manikin of Josephine Bracken seated at the sala (living room)

Hanging on the walls are framed photos of Rizal’s relatives, friends (including Fernando Blumentritt) and acquaintances as well as pictures of relics he or his relatives owned and used (including a hankerchief and a pin cushion of his sister, Saturnina). A comfort room, at the rear, is accessible by a bridge.

A side veranda

Jose and Josephine Bracken lived as husband and wife.  Jose’s mother, sisters Maria, Trinidad and Narcisa, and niece Angelica also stayed here during their visits and Jose asked his family to accept her as one of their own.

Cocina (outdoor kitchen)

The Cocina (outdoor kitchen), located to the left and a little lower than the main house, is about 14 ft. by 10 ft. and its walls are open from the waist up. With thatched roofing and open walls for ventilation, it features a traditional banggerahan (scullery) and kalan (firewood-fueled clay stove).

Casa Cuadrada

Casa Cuadrada (Square House), at the base of the hill, towards Rizal’s clinic, is about 14 by 14 ft. and doubled as a secondary dormitory for Rizal’s students.

Interior of Casa Cuadrada

The area underneath the hut served as vocational workshop where Rizal taught his students (2 – 4 PM) carpentry, Math, English, and Spanish. In turn, during recess, his students helped him with farming, feeding the chickens, building fires to drive away insects, pruning fruit trees and manuring the soil. Outside class hours, students had gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, stone- throwing, swimming, arnis and boating.

The octagonal Casa Redonda

The Casa Redonda, an octagonal stilt house which served as the pupil’s quarters, was later converted to a clinic where Rizal operated on George Taufer, Josephine Bracken’s foster father.

It was also here where he removed his mother’s cataracts. The house is 16 ft. wide, 16 ft. long and 7 ft. high.

Casa Redonda Pequena

The hexagonal Casa Redonda Pequaña, on the right of the main house, served as a chicken house that can accommodate a few dozen chickens.

Casitas Hospitales (Casitas de Salud)

The Casitas Hospitales (or Casitas de Salud) are two structures (one each for male and female) huts perched atop a low hill originally intended as tea houses but later converted into clinics to each accommodate 2 patients from far flung municipalities. Each has a floor area of 70 sq. ft..

Aqueduct system (Patubig sa Talisay)

The aqueduct system or lagoon, cutting across the shrine, feeds a water reservoir connected by bamboo tubes to the kitchen and lavatory.  It is 110 m. long and has inclined walls about 2.5 m. deep.  As a perito agrimensor (expert surveyor), Rizal applied his engineering knowledge by constructing this system of waterworks in 1895 with the help of his pupils.  The water system provided adequate and year-round water supply for Rizal‘s farm and household needs.

The top of the dam with the bust of Don Ricardo Carnincero and his wife on the left

It connects to the still existing and original dam where Rizal gave swimming lessons to his students.  Accessed by a long flight of cemented steps, its top has a bust of Don Ricardo Carnicero and his wife.  Near the dam is a four by 2.5-m. concrete water reservoir built in 1968. 

The natural, heart-shaped Mi Retiro Rock

Mi Retiro Rock, a natural heart-shaped rock reclaimed from the sea and set in an artificial lagoon, is where Rizal scribbled the beautiful poem Mi Retiro (A Mi Madre) which described his place of exile as a tranquil haven from political persecution, and the song Himmne a Talisay (Hymn to Talisay) written for his pupils and paying tribute to individual excellence and holistic education.

Rizal exchanged commitment vows with Josephine Bracken at Mi Retiro Rock. Rizal also spent many hours watching the sunset here.

Because they could not be married under the Catholic Church (Fr. Antonio Obach refused to marry them without the permission of the Bishop of Cebu), this is also where he exchanged commitment vows with Josephine Bracken. Rizal also spent many hours watching the sunset here.  It is also called Batong Lumayag because it appears to be afloat during high tide.

The 500-seat, open air amphitheater where lectures on Rizal are held

A 500-seat, semicircular and open-air amphitheater, built in 1978 by the city government from funds from the office of the Regional Commissioner headed by Rear Admiral Romulo M. Espaldon (Minister for Muslim Affairs), is located beyond Mi Retiro Rock.  Situated at the slope of a hill, it is 20 m.long and has eight elevated steps.  Lectures about the life of Rizal are conducted here, usually by the curator.

Visit of Pio Valenzuela to Dapitan (Julie Lluch). Pio was the emissary sent by Andres Bonifacio to Dapitan to inform Rizal of the plan of Katipunan during the meeting at a little river called Bitukang Manok. Valenzuela arrived in Dapitan on board the steamer Venus with Raymundo Mata, a blind man who came with Valenzuela to camouflage his mission. Rizal objected to Bonifacio’s project because the people were not ready for a revolution and arms and funds must first be collected before raising the cry of revolution..

Strategically located within the sprawling shrine are Julie Lluch’s beautiful life-size brass sculptures, all unveiled on June 19, 2016 (the 155th birth anniversary of Rizal), depicting José Rizal as traveler, Rizal and Pio Valenzuela in a huddle, and Josephine Bracken.

Museo ni Jose Rizal

The Museo ni Jose Rizal, an addition to the shrine, was built in 1971.  Located at the foot of a hill, near the shrine’s main gate, it houses all Rizaliana books, periodicals and other historical exhibits.  Part of the building serves as the office of the Rizal Shrine Curator.  The shrine is administered and maintained by the National Historical Institute (NHI).

Check out “Museo ni Jose Rizal“

Masonic structures and symbols, beside the museum, dedicated to Rizal.  Rizal was a prominent member of Masonry.

Members of organizations dedicated to the promotion of Rizal’s ideals (Knights of Rizal, Kababaihang Rizalista, Kabataang Pangarap ni Rizal, Kingdom of God Inc., etc.) live in a community atop the hill of the Rizal Shrine.

Other Masonic monuments

Rizal Park and Shrine: Brgy. Talisay, Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte. Open daily, 8 AM to 5 PM (The Museo ni Jose Rizal is closed on Mondays). Admission is free. 

How to Get There: The protected landscape and memorial is located some 9 kms. (5.6 mi.) north of the Dipolog Airport. It is accessible via the Dipolog–Oroquieta National Road and Jose Rizal Avenue in Dapitan.