Theme Day - Up-side-down - Tall ship, Enterprize (7)

Although an experienced scuba-diver, and an afficionado of marine archaeology, my friend, Diane, was hesitant about taking the one hour jaunt on "The Enterprize" on Port Phillip Bay, out of Portarlington. The weather was brewing, and this close to the heads, the waters have a treacherous reputation. The decision made, we boarded and headed for the dead-centre of the deck to mitigate the bluster and swell as nuch as possible.I walk with a stick, and wobble precariously at times, so did not move around for the duration. I did, however, move from the vertical to the horizontal, ie, I lay down on the cabin roof, which afforded some remarkable views of the rigging.

This is my contribution to the City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day. For further contributions to the July Theme of "Upside-Down" please visit the CDP Gallery.

Tall ship, Enterprize (5)

Of course, not all tall ship lovers, are lovers of the pitch and roll of onboard life. Some are landlubbers.

The organgrinder was probably more interested in the music, but was on hand to provide colour and atmosphere. The large fella, well he concentrated on these pinthings, once we were safely tied up once again. Any idea what the pins are for?

Tall ship, Enterprize (4)

The National Celtic Folk Festival is held at Portarlington, just south of Geelong, every Queen's Birthday Long Weekend (first weekend in June). It commenced in 2004. It has the usual array of market stalls, and off-beat acts, in addition to a vast array of Celtic performers, both from Australia and the British Isles.

On the tall ship, we were entertained by four musicians in total, but I only caught the name of two, Mandy Keating and Helen McLachlan. They performed before we cast off, and for the entirety of the trip, which gave me something enjoyable to focus my attention upon, rather than on the weather conditions. Helen brought out a mandolin, in addition to her guitar. I note she also plays the banjo, and Mandy the Irish flute. They were accompanied by the accordian and, back behind me, but not in a good position for my camera, there was a chap on the Irish Bagpipes!

Tall ship, Enterprize (3)

The crew of my tall ship were all volunteers. I guess they are a smidge like railway steam-engine afficionados: dedicated, yet bonkers.

They covered a wide range of ages, but seemed to be mainly older men, yet younger women.

Tall ship, Enterprize (2)

The other passengers ranged in age, including a suprising number of children. It seemed to be only the adults who "fed the fishies", so to speak. I can understand how this is an enjoyable activity for fathers to do with their offspring.

Portarlington is not too far inside the lip of the bay, and so wild and wooly weather at this time of the year was to be expected. The temperature climbed into double-figures - just. We only ventured a few hundred metres off-shore

Tall Ship, Enterprize (1)

Whilst in Melbourne at the beginning of June, I took a trip on a sailing ship. A one-hour trip. It was the only sailing that ventured out that day, as the weather brewed up nasty. Three fishermen lost their life when their dinghy overturned. We sailed off Portarlington, on the southern reaches of Port Phillip Bay, as part of the Portarlington Celtic Festival.

The "Enterprize" is the replica of John Pascoe Fawkner's Schooner Enterprize - the ship that sailed from Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in 1835 with the first permanent white settlers that started what has become the City of Melbourne. This is the first of seven posts about our trip on the tall-ship. The seventh post will be my July Theme Day offering for "Upside Down".

Eureka Skydeck - portrait of William Barak

No, your eyes do not deceive you. This is a portrait etched in the facade of the Portrait Building. Tasteful isn't it? It stands at the head of Swanston Street with a line-of-sight view of the Shrine of Remembrance way down on St Kilda Road. A nexus, in my mind, akin to the relationship between La Defense and Arc de Triomphe. Not sure that it cuts the mustard. The portrait is of indigenous leader, William Barak (1824-1903). I discovered it quite by serendip, whilst scanning the second image in this post. Can you see it, in the top LH corner? There are three other things to draw your attention to. Firstly, the conical tower on the centre-left. This glass cone covers the old Coop's Shot Tower, which ceased operating sometime just befor 1973. Secondly, the octagonal roof of the Melbourne City Library main reading room (mid-centre), which from the inside is totally stunning. Thirdly, just a smidge to the right and down from the library dome is the tiny remnant of the Queen Victoria Hospital. Yes, that little red, brick building with the turrets. It is now a women's centre. It used to occupy that entire city block. That includes those two behomeths, glaring down upon old Queen Vic.

This next image (I apologise for the reflected light in some of these shots), looks south, instead of north, and shows the view down to Albert Park Lake with the St Kilda pier in the background.

The image above shows the Yarra River snaking its way down from the Dandenongs, and through the city. In the foreground is the white spire of the Melbourne Arts Centre. On the far right, centre, in the midst of the parkland, is Government House. On the other side of the river there is a massive sporting complex which consists of the worm-like AAMI Park, home to anything which is neither AFL nor cricket. Sad they could not get a better name for this striking venue. To the left of this are all the facilities that make up the Rod Laver Arena, the home of the Australian Tennis Open in January each year. To the left of the tennis, is the mighty MCG, the home of cricket, and of Austraiam Rules football (AFL).

I included this next image because of the striking building code it illustrates. Why is there a swathe straight through the centre of the city, which is so more low-rise than the streets on either side? If you have any knowledge of this, please let me know.

Ah, now this next image shows a scarlet arc segment on the northern bank of the Yarra River. This delineates where the river turned from salty, to fresh when Melbourne was burgeoning. The ships with their eager migrants could go no further, and hence, that squat, 4-storey building on the other side of the blue trains, was the Customs and Immigration building. It is the third Customs House to occupy this site, and was occupied by Customs in 1858, the year after my 2x-great-grandparents arrived into Melbourne.

So, my camera and I have come the full-circle around the Eureka Skydeck, to be pointing, once again, out over Port Phillip Bay, with the "Spirit of Tasmania" moored at Station Pier, which was operating in 1854.

Finally, two buildings pretty much straight down the Eureka Tower, in Southbank. On the left is the Heritage-listed Mounted Police complex, with the octagonal corner return. This dates from 1912. On the right is a set of enclosed apartments in Kavanagh Street which has had its privacy totally compromised by my ability to see into their backyards!

The Eureka Skydeck - 88 floors up

One of my agenda requests for my short stay in Melbourne, was an aerial view of the city - without going in a plane. So we visited the Eureka Skydeck beside the Yarra River in the Southbank Precinct. Here are some of the claims from their own web-site: Eureka Skydeck 88 is the highest public vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere Eureka Tower is the world’s tallest residential building – 984.3ft / 300 metres in height The top of the Tower can flex up to 600mm in high winds There are two 300,000-litre water tanks on level 90 & 91 prevent any excess swaying 3,680 stairs – 92 storeys – 52,000 sq. metres of windows The glass on Eureka’s top 10 levels is 24 carat gold plated Eureka used 110,000 tonnes of concrete and weighs 200,000 tonnes. Tomorrow, some of the views! The sculpture is Richard Stringer's "Queen Bee".

Miss Fisher of Ripponlea

I have a confession to make: I have never watched the "Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries", nor have I read the books by Kerry Greenwood upon which the ABC series is based. Furthermore, I have not visited Ripponlea Estate, even though I lived next door in Elsternwick from 1971-1973. All very remiss of me, I am sure. However, I rectified that during my recent visit to Melbourne. And, of course, I only covered a small portion of this National Trust managed estate, so shall have to return during my next visit. Designed in 1868, the mansion is floridly ornate, but standing within its own 14 acres of lush, manicured gardens, all the aspects of the estate meld into a feast for the eye, and a balm for the weary soul. The estate was "given" to the National Trust in 1972, and entered upon the National Hertitage List in 2006.

For this first post on Ripponlea, I show the heritage orchard, which would have delighted my old, and deceased fruiterer father. There are dozens of apple and pear trees, the vast majority of which are totally new to me. And they are not manicured to within an inch of their life, but left to grow all higgedly-piggedly, as nature intended. At the end of the orchard, just before the hedged lanes into the fernery, there is a restored windmill, which affords a grand vista back over the orchard. And a peak at the mansion from the rear. More in my next post.

Goat cheeses from the Bellarine

Whilst in Melbourne for a four-day-weekend, my host and I packed a lot in. One of which was a visit to Drysdale Cheeses on the Bellarine Peninsula of Port Phillip Bay, between Geelong and Portarlington. My friend went into the tasting rooms, but being a country girl at heart, I headed straight for the goats.

There were about 30 of them in this close enclosure, the vast majority of which were in calf ready for a spring drop. The milk production at the moment is miniscule, for obvious reasons. The cheesery sells primarily to restaurants, and from the cellar-door. Is that a term that can be used for a cheesery? I love goat cheese, especially embedded within a beetroot and rocket salad, sprinkled with walnuts, and sweet corn niblets sliced from the cob. A good day's drive from Melbourne is to do the bay anti-clockwise. Go down to Drysdale and chat with the goats, take the Queenscliff-Sorrento ferry across the heads of Port Phillip Bay, and visit the Redhill Goat Cheesery on t'other side as you make your return to the big smoke.