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The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter
Archived
Newsletter No.121 - 1 April 2005
Contents
This week the Comedy Festival continues and there are motorcycle races at Phillip Island. (I believe they may be creating a new event for Vespa 125s to attract the cafe latte set.) Next week the International Flower and Garden show commences giving you a chance to trample all over the Carlton Gardens while observing all manner of unnatural things that can be done with cut flowers. Details in the mainstream media. If you are interested in heritage varieties of vegetables and flowers there is a festival at Heronswood. Details at Garden & Flower Shows. (At Easter we stumbled across a delightful planting of heritage roses in the middle of the main street in Bairnsdale.)
Naomi wrote: “Hi, Whilst wandering about the web (as is my wont ... better stop now, I'm sounding pretentious :) I came across (a site) which refers to Russell’s café as "Melbourne city’s oldest residence" I've been looking about for some more info on this cafe (including your as- always wonderfully teasing webpage) but haven't had much luck. Do you know anything about this "oldest residence"? My curiosity at this point could massacre a pride of lions.”
Russell's Café is a two story shop & residence and is one of the few remaining buildings in Melbourne from before the goldrush. Whether it is 'the oldest residence' depends on how you define it. For instance St Francis is the oldest church in Melbourne in continuous use and in its original position (but it is not the oldest church in Melbourne) so most journalists, popular guide books and tour guides just abbreviate this to “Melbourne’s oldest church”. Similarly the Duke of Wellington has the oldest continuous licence (even though there are current pubs that were trading before it) so the same sources simply call it “Melbourne’s oldest pub”. Russell’s Café was built in 1850-51 whereas you know from a previous newsletter that Mayor John Smith’s house was designed in 1849 (do pay attention). However Smith’s house is not currently used as a residence. Then there’s Captain Cook’s Cottage - a residence from a far earlier time. Thus while Russell's Café may not be the oldest residence in Melbourne it is probably “the oldest residence built in Melbourne still used as a residence”. “Pedantic trivia” I hear you say. Well, not quite. We often gain much more insight into Melbourne’s history by understanding the changing use of buildings over time than we do from compiling a list of ‘firsts’. In the meantime, thousands of Melbournians drive past Russell’s Café every day without realizing it is one of our few surviving buildings from before the goldrush and represented the ‘neighborhood character’ of the time. Well Naomi, that should have cured your curiosity. Now all you have to find out is who was Robert Russell, did he have anything to do with the cafe, what was his connection with the nearby St James Old Cathedral, why is the cathedral facing the wrong way, was Russell really responsible for the grid of Melbourne & not Hoddle and where is Russell's grave?
This weekend there is a music festival in the Alphington wetlands where the delicate call of the waterbirds will mix with cries of the roadies traipsing electrical cords through the mud. There is a wonderful Thai Festival at Fed Square and a community festival at Willy. Maling Road has a dance festival and there is a festival of kites at Bundoora. The organisers claim the kite festival is at “the highest point in Metropolitan Melbourne” but I suspect it is just the highest spot in continuous use in its original position. Details of all these at Festivals in Melbourne.
“nutter! (lucky you're a bloody funny and informative one, thanks for the newsletters)
Kerrie” “What would the Major General say!!! Well done, a good parody. I'm a great G&S fan, and have DVDs of their 10 most popular comic operas. Keep up the good work.
Geoff” “Agree with last post on NY romance, can we please hear from Jason? Lovin this newsletter still
Lisa” “Thank you for your wonderful description of how a synchrotron works. We used it to prime up our youngest and he had a fantastic day. Since then he’s been Eric the Electron and we won’t be surprised if he goes on to a career in science.
Graham”
Graham. Thanks for the feedback. Even if he doesn’t become a world class scientist, he can be a world class electron. “Your subscribers comments about the long lost romance/stalking are hilarious, I just pissed my pants laughing.
Elena” “I can't access your website from work (IT block the site for some hideous dictatorship reason), so I generally only find out about what's in your newsletter without being able to browse the full site.
That being said, I stumbled across something very interesting in Templestowe and I don't think you would have it on your site... It was the Accordion Enthusiast's Picnic in a park in Templestowe. Obviously, I found this to be a very exciting idea and thought your readers would like to know about it so that next time the Accordion Enthusiast's have one, lots of people can attend!
Keep up the great newsletter - I love them!
Cameron”
Thank you for this information Cameron. We will keep our eye out for this event so that subscribers can take that special someone on the ideal romantic outing.
This week Wendy Harmer has a launch event for her new book and Nits Jawary introduces us to a new manner of cookbook. Details at Literary Festivals.
"Thank you guys SO MUCH for information on the Queen Victoria Market. The market's own web site is extremely unfriendly. I'm glad someone has a good informative site up - and a site easily downloaded over a rural phone line.
Thanking you, Andrea” “Thank you for your information about the Preston market but as someone coming from the country I would like to know where will I be able to park? is there a designated area? is there on street parking and how long are the meter parking a areas for? what is the cost of parking / do I need small change for this? A small map of the market location in relation to the streets would also be helpful.
Thanking you E.L.” “I am looking for events which can use an aerial acrobat, a stunning looking woman and a powerful performer in Tissu and Rope.”
(I am going to engage them for a private dinner party. However the aerial acrobat and performer in Tissu and Rope will be surplus to requirements if anyone else would like use them on that date.)
When we can get away to the country it is often at short notice with no chance for pre-booking, so for that reason we keep a small tent in the car. You can pick up a serviceable two person dome tent for $20 to $50 on special at the major chains and they are usually fine for an overnight stay in clement weather. Thus during Easter we stayed at three different camp sites for $20 per night, took our own food and had a great break for virtually the cost of the petrol to run a small fuel efficient car. We choose to head towards the Gippsland Lakes. The scenery may not be quite as spectacular as the Great Ocean Road but we find it a much more interesting place for a holiday. Drift off to sleep listening to the sound of the sea – wake up to the dawn chorus of birds for $20 – not the sort of thing they promote on the plastic advertorial TV travel programs. One place we stayed was a little campground at near the lakes district. The owners weren’t there when we arrived but the regulars looked after us explaining that “the inmates are running the asylum while the owners are away”. We set up down by the river and proceeded over the road to the pub for a drink. There was the full range of locals and not a backpacker in sight – they were all down the Ocean Road staring at other backpackers. We woke to the view of mists drifting across the river and the sound of carolling magpies. The campsite has a communal kitchen and dining area (no TV – just books), a number of older buildings (hand split weatherboards) and cabins and the usual complement of regulars “we’ve been coming here for years”. The showers and toilets are not 5 star (in fact they’re not 3 star) but at that price who’s complaining. (You might choose to stay in a motel every third night). You can borrow a canoe and head downstream for a swim where the hot springs bubble up, negotiate with one of the fisherman for some freshly caught and cleaned fish in exchange for --- (fill in the blank), investigate the local heritage structures or take a bike along the rail trail. For those with a young family you might consider getting together with another family, find yourself such a campsite (one that you know won’t be overdeveloped ten years from now) and making it a regular holiday. You will find that you get to know other families; you pull your wagons into a circle and share facilities and the kids experience long lost summers far from the city and television with an excuse to be kids. Then when a strange person with a little tent and a white hat arrives you can explain that you’re one of the regulars and point out the best place to camp.
This weekend there is a major arts festival in Castlemaine (together with an associated fringe festival), a Balloon Festival at Mansfield, the Man From Snowy River Bush Festival in the high country, queer films at Bendigo, showjumping at Red Hill, cycling near Falls Creek, jazz food and wine at Anderson’s Mill, and a family picnic day at Cruden Farm. Details of all these at Events in Country Victoria.
Many Melbournians know that when Parliament House was being built, soon after the rebellions on the Ballarat goldfield, it contained number of security features such as a secret assembly chamber complete with escape tunnels. The threat of civil insurrection gradually faded but the security features were maintained. In fact when Tommy Bent became Prime Minister he had the escape tunnels enlarged. With Federation, the building became home to Federal Parliament until Canberra was built, and our State Parliament occupied the Exhibition Building. During that time the tunnel system was expanded to link Parliament House and the Exhibition Building and a number of additional exits added. It was possible to enter the tunnel at Parliament House, proceed 100m to the west, turn and proceed 100m to the north then proceed about 142m to the south-east and find yourself at an exit near Spencer Street Station nearly 2km from where you entered the system. When ‘rabbitos’ try to exterminate rabbits, they often find a rabbit hole, use a smoke machine to blow smoke down the hole, then observe the ‘pop holes’ where else the smoke emerges. They block off these holes then lay their bait or traps or send down the ferret. If you were to blow smoke down the tunnels underneath Parliament House or the Exhibition Building you would be amazed to see where it emerges. At White Hat we use the modern equivalent of a smoke machine – Freedom Of Information legislation. We have been able to track down some amazing facts about these tunnels. When the underground rail loop was built in the 1970s, it cut through two of these tunnels and they were blocked up. However with a new government in the 1990s led by Jeff Kennett and tens of thousands of threatening protesters outside Parliament House, Jeff ordered that one of these tunnels should be reinstated, enlarged and numbers of modern enhancements made. The exact nature of these enhancements was blacked out in our FOI documents. With the new Bracks government it was expected that this paranoid underground infrastructure would be dismantled, but for some reason they have maintained it. We have found that some of the exits for this system emerge in public buildings and that there is one entrance to the service section which provides limited but amazing views of this whole hidden structure underneath Melbourne. Next week, one of us from White Hat will take a select group through this service area. Because this is not an ‘officially sanctioned’ venture we would ask that those who wish to be part of the group should wear the identifying symbol of a purple ribbon somewhere on your clothing. We will meet at the corner of Latrobe and Lonsdale Streets. More details on this particular tunnel and tour can be found at Underground Tunnels in Melbourne.
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