The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter

Archived Newsletter No.147 - 21 October 2005

Contents

Festivals
4x4 Show
Open Cellar & Open Gardens
A Cheap Family Outing
Music
Backdrops
Major events
Reader feedback
Children’s activities
Country Victoria
The White Hat Quiz

Festivals

This Sunday is the North Melbourne Spring Fling. Details at Community Festivals in Melbourne. On Saturday there is a Creole Festival in Keysborough, and on Sunday there is a Greek Cultural Day at Fed Square and an Indian Diwali festival at Sandown. Details at Ethnic Festivals in Melbourne. And for those interested in Greek culture there is a free lecture on Wednesday at Melbourne Uni on Greek theatre and tragedy. Put that one in your diary. You don’t have to actually go – it’s just impressive to have there when publicly consulting your diary. Details at Forums in Melbourne.

4x4 Show

This week at Jeff’s Shed is the 4x4 and fishing show. Details in all the mainstream media.

Open Cellar & Open Garden

This weekend there is an Open Cellar at the Hills of Plenty winery together with jazz and something called “verandah music”. Go along and enjoy some wine but watch out for the verandah lizards. Details at Food & Wine in Victoria. In the high country there are a number of open garden in Alexandra. Details at Flower & Garden Festivals in Victoria.

A cheap family outing

We continue our occasional series on suggestions for inexpensive Sunday outings. This Sunday we suggest a picnic at Werribee Park Mansion.

Preparation:
Check the weather forecast – don’t let dad do it because he really wants to go to the 4x4 show.
Buy your Sunday Saver tickets ($2.50 each) in advance at a shop or premium station.
Prepare your picnic pack.
Prepare your clothes – you are going to be swanning around the grounds of a heritage mansion so teenage daughter can wear he new Jane Austen frock, mum can put some more gussets in that size 10 Laura Ashley outfit and littly can wear her fairy costume (she always wears her fairy costume).

On the day, take public transport to either Werribee or Hoppers Crossing Station. At regular intervals there should be a free shuttle bus to Werribee Park. If there is a bit of a wait you can always take in the many wonders of downtown Hoppers Crossing. There is free entry to the grounds this Sunday only, so need to rush things. Wander around – soak up the atmosphere – see if you can recognise any of the locations used for certain Australian Films. In fact, come the picnic it is time for teenage son to make your own home movie and take some photographs. (Very useful for those snooty friends and relatives – “Ah yes, well this is how our family often has a quiet Sunday lunch.”) You are not driving home, so you can allow yourself a second glass of bubbly – are those gussets holding? Time to head back home and wave condescendingly from the train window at the poor people. You don't need to mention that the whole outing cost you $2.50 per head plus the cost of your home made picnic lunch.

Details of the picnic day at Werribee Region.

Music

If you weren’t able to see Eric Clapton at the Arena – never mind. You can see Richard Clapton at the Platypus in Healesville. On Tuesday night there is a free orchestral concert at Kew Town Hall featuring Bartok’s Violin Concerto No.2 and Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben – a large tone poem based loosely on the life and works of White Hat. Details at Classical Music in Melbourne.

Backdrops

When I am working in the city I usually like to have a country backdrop on my computer, and similarly when working in the country I often prefer to have a city backdrop. Thus I thought it might be worth putting one of each on our website from time to time. You will find small versions of the photos at: Backdrops Those using the most common browsers and operating systems will need to right click and choose ‘save target as’ to download the full (large) file. Those using other systems probably know what to do, but let us know if you have trouble.

Can anyone tell us where the country scene is and why the opposite side of the river is referred to as “Medibank”? The scene is typical of many Victorian towns, and I read in a popular tourist book lately that “many Victorian towns have large rivers like this flowing through them”. What, of course, the “tourism writer of many years experience” had not realised was that these large bodies of water are usually created by weirs and the associated rivers are often not particularly large. Maybe we will send them a similar photograph of the ‘large river’ in the park next to Pentridge which we call the Merri Creek.

Major events

The Spring Racing Carnival continues but you don’t need me to tell you that. The Melbourne Festival is coming to an end and you may pick up some cheap last minute tickets.

Reader feedeback

“Hi this is not really feedback I suppose, merely a note to say that your news letter of events is always very good and the commentary/comments intelligent and 'on the money'. Thus this is a letter of "thanks and keep up the good work.
Regards, Jack”

"Hi Mr White Hat,
Thanks Mr White Hat for the heads up on the Station St, Festival, it was worth the visit just to see our very own Aussie version of the WWF (and I don't mean the World Wildlife Fund) complete with all the theatrics of crowd heckling and the obligatory water spit into at the adoring fans! Hilarious! Your prob sick of hearing from this passionate Melbournian, but I just had to ask if you had seen Melbourne’s very own 'Abandoned backpack'?? this should surely have the authorities scurrying to their fridge magnets. I was strolling down Little Bourke St yesterday and the shop "Platypus Outdoors" on the corner of Rankins Lane has this HUGE backpack on its verandah top. (opposite Map Land). I chuckled all the way to my boring meeting at the State Library. I might also add that this Backpackers Precinct in Little Bourke St is quite the place to check out the travelling generation with its own sub culture of outfitters and suppliers. Who needs the fine dining of Melbourne when you can carry a freeze dried 3 course meal in your back pocket!
Cheers Denise”

“Dear White Hat,
I love receiving your weekly newsletter, probably more so since you now send it a little later each Friday, thereby accelerating our interest. We are going to Queenscliff for the weekend and have booked on the Blues Train for our Saturday night entertainment. I am sure that you haven't given us a bum's steer.
LS”

Children's activities

This week there is a children’s ‘Romp & Stomp Day’ at Melbourne Museum and the following weekend at the Arts Centre is the Chookahs festival where “kids take over the Arts Centre”. If you work in a major Melbourne institution – be afraid – your place could be next. Details at Children's Events in Melbourne.

Country Victoria

This weekend is the Kilmore Art & Collectables Fair and the Battle of Trafalgar Festival in Gippsland. The following weekend there are tons of events in the country including the Wangaratta Jazz Festival. For details go to our home page, choose the drop-down menu under events in Victoria and select the weekend in question.

The White Hat Quiz

How well do you know Melbourne?

First to last week's quiz

Fame and greatness in Melbourne

1. Around 1930, a Melbourne person was generally regarded as ‘the greatest living Australian’. Who was this?
2. A major crime in Melbourne is usually referred to with the name ‘Great’. What crime was this?
3. Perhaps the most widely-known Melbournian (but not by name) throughout the world is the woman who burned the bails to create ‘The Ashes’. What was her name and where can you find a rotunda bearing her name?
4. Ruskin said “The first test of a truly great man is his humility”. Name a Melbourne scientist and inventor who retired last week and fitting this description.

We had lots of correct answers to last week’s quiz. I don’t know why you all bother. Knowing stuff like this will never win you a million dollars. Anyway, here is a quick summary of the answers.

Please note: This section of the newsletter has been removed as it forms part of a forthcoming publication or because it is forms part of our Questing activities. If you find yourself on a tour where the guide is White Hat Accredited they are likely to know the answer to many questions you may have in this area. All guides on White Hat Tours are White Hat Accredited.

Now to this week's quiz.

Where in Melbourne would you find:

1. A pub named after a prime minister?
2. An apartment block named after a Melbourne painter?
3. A suburb named after an American industrialist?
4. A bar named after an Australian poem?
5. A bridge named after a premier?
6. The scene of the Great Bookie Robbery?