(Happy 2011!)
Made from Tynong granite, sandstone from Redesdale, and stone from Buchan, the Shrine of Remembrance was built to honour the Australian men & women who served during the First World War. It is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in armed conflict. Completed in 1934, three hundred thousand people attended the opening ceremony when Melbourne only had a population of 1 million. The Shrine’s architectural design is based on two ancient Greek structures: theParthenon and the Tomb of Mausolus.
I proceeded towards the shrine along a grand walkway made of stone with trees lining the sides. The walkway turned into a grand terrace used for commemorative services, with three flagpoles off the left and The Cenotaph and Eternal Flame to the right.
Before walking up to the Sanctuary, I decided to see the Visitor’s Centre located beneath the Shrine. Inside is a gift shop, portrait gallery, washrooms, entrance to The Crypt, and the Gallery of Medals. The Gallery of Medals displays 4000 medals along a 40 metre wall, each symbolically representing 100 Australians who’ve served in war & peacekeeping and 6 who have died. Mathematically that works out to 400,000 people who’ve served and 24,000 who’ve died.
The Crypt is located beneath the Sanctuary and has bronze statue of a father and son as the centerpiece. The statue represents the two generations who served in the First & Second World Wars. The surrounding walls are decorated with panels listing every unit in the First & Second Australian Imperial Forces, displaying their colours and patches. The flags of the battalions and regiment are also displayed.
Leaving the Visitor Centre, I walked up to the Sanctuary to photograph the surrounding views. The photographs would have turned out better if the weather wasn’t so gloomy. In the middle of the Sanctuary lies the Stone of Remembrance with the inscription: Greater Love Hath No Man. Above the surrounding sixteen tall Ionic columns are twelve relief panels sculpted to depict the armed forces in battle and at work during the First World War.
I headed back the way I came, walking past the Marquis of Linlithgow Statue and arriving at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Sidney Myer was a Russian businessman and philanthropist, best known for creating the department store Myer. The Music Bowl was built in 1958 and has a seating capacity of 25,000: 2,150 fixed seats and the rest sit on a grassy hill. The venue is frequently used to host concerts of many different musical genres.
From there, I headed south to explore the 38 hectares that make up the Royal Botanic Gardens. Like in New Zealand, every major city in Australia has a botanic garden. In some areas of this garden, the dense vegetation reminded me of the Botanic Gardens I visited in Brisbane back in 2009. There’re lawns, lakes, plants, trees, and animals to look at and enjoy. After stopping at The Terrace café for an ice cream break, I came across a group of black swans standing on one foot. I tried asking them why they were doing that but received no reply. These birds are not scared of humans and will let you get really close for a photograph. If I ever end up with a country home next to a pond, I’m getting a black swan.
Once I had enough of looking at green vegetation and swamp water, I headed across the Yerra River towards East Melbourne where the Melbourne Sports & Entertainment Precinct is located. The precinct is home to 8 large indoor facilities (stadiums, arenas), open tennis courts, Melbourne Park, and Yarra Park. It is here where the AFL Grand Final (Australian rules football), Australian Open (tennis), and Boxing Day Test (cricket) are regularly held. The precinct was also the site of the 1956 Summer Olympics and 2006 Commonwealth Games.
The stadium that interested me the most was the recently completed AAMI Park (aka Melbourne Rectangular Stadium). Still non-existent on Google Earth, the stadium with its distinctive white geodesic domed roof was built to host rugby matches and has the capacity to seat 30,000 people.
Walking across a wide pedestrian bridge over 8 train tracks, I headed over to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the 10th largest stadium in the world with a seating capacity of 100,018. Known as “The G” by Melbournians, the stadium is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club, and is used for cricket, rugby, soccer, Australian rules football, and concerts. For sports enthusiasts, there are numerous bronze statues of famous Australian athletes (ie Haydn Bunton & Betty Cuthbert) to look at and the National Sports Museum to visit. By the time I got there, the museum was already closed but the gift shop was still open selling memorabilia at expensive prices.
Stepping out of ‘The G,’ I looked around Yarra Park and pondered where to go to next.
To Be Continued . . .
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