During our visit to Melbourne …
… for the ISSNIP 2009 conference, we stayed over at Travelodge Southbank Hotel.
And like most hotels, Travelodge provides a to-do list for tourists and their recommended top 10 great things to do and see in Melbourne, for free are
- Take the tram
- NGV Australia
- The Ian Potter Centre NGV Australia
- Australian Centre for the Moving Image
- The Australian Centre for Contemporary Art
- On your bike
- Queen Victoria Market
- Royal Botanic Gardens
- State Library of Victoria
- Yarra River Art
Although we didn’t had much time to go through the whole list, but as suggested, we managed to catch the free City Circle tram to take in the sights of Melbourne, …
… and had a short visit to the State Library of Victoria.
Besides being there for a free 15 minutes Internet access, we visited one of the most spectacular heritage spaces in the library, the La Trobe Reading Room.
Two exhibitions, Mirror of the World and The Changing Face of Victoria, were also on display.
We first went through the Mirror of the World exhibition where prints ranging from few thousand years old to the library’s oldest book were on display.
Then, we went over to the Changing Face of Victoria exhibition to check out Ned Kelly’s armour.
In addition to the suggested to-do/to-see list, we have came up with our very own to do/to see list for Melbourne. Obviously as tourists, the first place that we get to is the information centre, located at Federation Square.
Federation Square is a cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Australia. It comprises of a series of buildings containing a public broadcaster, art galleries, a museum, cinemas, exhibition spaces, auditorium, restaurants, bars and shops.
It was considered one of Australia’s engineering marvel as the majority of the precinct is built on top of a concrete deck over busy railway lines. However, it was recently voted as the 5th ugliest building in the world.
Moving further up towards Melbourne Central is the Shot Tower Museum.
Completed in 1890 and stands 50 metres high, …
… this historic building was saved from demolition in 1973 and was incorporated into the massive Melbourne Central shopping complex in 1991 underneath an 84m high conical glass roof. The tower itself has 327 steps to the top.
It was said that the tower produced six tonnes of lead weekly up until 1961, when the demand for the lead shot dwindled, due to new firearm regulations. It has now been converted into a museum, …
… showcasing traditional machineries, …
… while displaying historical information of the tower.
As for the photographic enthusiasts, a visit to Michaels World Famous Camera Museum is one not to be missed.
Visitors get to experience a unique journey through time, with an inspiring self tour of the museum ...
… which displays photographic and video-graphic equipments that age back to 1928. Common brands on display that are still surviving until today include Canon, Pentax, Nikon, Olympus and Leica.
Lesser known brands that were on display include Minolta, Yashica and Rollei.
On display were also some brands that I don’t even know exists, such as Exakta, Robot and Voigtlander.
I was surprised by the displays of Agfa (thought they only produce film) and Zeiss (thought they only produce lenses).
Other interesting displays include the tri-optic camera (???) …
… stereoscopic cameras, also known as a verascope, …
… Minolta’s Sub-miniature cameras …
… gold-plated cameras …
… a watch-sized film camera …
… a gun-sized camera …
… and many others.
All in all, the museum displays about 2000 pieces of equipment ranging from sub-miniatures to 12x15 inches in size. Next, we then caught the free Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle to the Shrine of Remembrance.
The Shrine was initially built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I …
… but is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war.
Although being called a shrine, it is one of the largest war memorials in Australia …
… which has a Sanctuary…
… and the Crypt.
Visitors are also allowed to go up the staircases …
… to the balcony.
Heading back down to the forecourt, we got a nice view of the Ceremonial Avenue with Melbourne’s skyline in the background.
Last but not the least, staying just a few metres away from the waterfront, it is quite obvious that a stroll around Melbourne’s lower Yarra River is a must.
Whether by day or by night, Yarra River is Melbourne’s recreational heart, with a whole host of attractions and icons. I guess nothing is more relaxing than walking along the river, taking in the breathtaking views.
Visitors also get to watch Crown’s fire display at night.
All in all, we reckon that we get to see more things within a day than during our trip to Mornington Peninsula the day before.
