The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter

Archived Newsletter No.150 - 11 November 2005

Contents

New markets
Myers Christmas Windows
Tolerance
Talks
Who can you trust?
Entertainment
Melbourne’s Hidden Gems
The White Hat Awards
Corporate Games
A Saturday family outing
Fairs
Reader feedback
Backdrops
Nu**s, Suburbs and Reed Organs
Country Victoria
The White Hat Quiz

New Markets

Two new markets start soon. There is one in Plenty Road. If you are a fan of junk and trash and treasure markets you will find it in the suburb you know as Reservoor. If you are a fan of unique hand-crafted goods and up-market collectables then it is in the suburb you know as Reservwah. There is also a new twilight market due to start soon in Frankston. For details, go to Markets in Victoria and look for the markets with the word ‘New’ in red letters at the start of their entry. If you don’t have colour on the old green screen monitor that your partner picked up as a bargain at the Laverton Market then you’ll have it to find them some other way

Myers Christmas Windows

Myers Christmas Windows are unveiled this week. Details at Bourke Street Mall and in the mainstream media.

Tolerance

Wednesday the 16th is the International Day of Tolerance. For the benefit of those of you who haven’t being paying attention in the last decade, ‘tolerate’ is one of those words whose meaning has been changed completely. For centuries until the late 80s, ‘to tolerate’ meant to ‘put up with’ or ‘endure’ something without interfering with it, and that is the definition you will still find in most dictionaries. In the last decade, the meaning of the word has been changed and it now implies the act of approval and even the act of embracing. On Wednesday I will do my bit by tolerating fools for that day – but not gladly.

Talks

This week you can go to a free symposium on print collecting and philanthropy or a talk on Buddhism. Details at Forums in Melbourne.

Who can you trust?

Denise wrote:

“Hi there,
Your friendly research librarian again, just thought you might find the Dept of the Premier and Cabinets website a good spot to find useful links to events. You will need to do a keyword search on 'event's to locate the information hidden deep within their website (another road in is via the site map) It includes the dates for the Queens baton visits to regional centres leading up to the Big Event. http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/"

Thanks Denise. We went to the site and there is plenty of good information there – particularly about Victoria’s 150th celebrations. However the listing of events has to be taken with a grain of salt. The Wangaratta Jazz Festival is listed on the wrong dates; there is a listing of a non-existent Blues Festival and a non-existent cricket match against the West Indies. The Boxing Day Test against South Africa is labelled as part of “The Ashes” and so on. With thousands of listings on our website we occasionally make mistakes (which we usually quickly correct) but not in this proportion.

This raises the question of what information on the internet can you trust. Government websites can be excellent sources of static information but are often unreliable when it comes to changing information – all those meetings about point size and PMS colours and consistency with printed materials doesn’t leave much time for checking facts. Then you can find large government funded ‘community’ websites which only publish events and services which match their own socio-political agenda and don’t tolerate any alternative views and events. There are chat sites and newsgroups which can offer independent information, but this independent information is often uniformed. (We have met numbers of people who have had a wasted visit to Melbourne because they relied on such sources.) There are commercial sites which only push the events and products that paid the most. Then there are ‘publicly written’ encyclopaedias like Wikipedia which generally end up reflecting the spin of the time-rich communities that write them.

So how do you know who to trust? Fortunately, the principle is still the same as when you watched old cowboy movies and relies on the colour of the head gear. Repeat after me, “You can trust . . .

Entertainment

This week there are performances by the Women’s Circus. Details at Theatre in Melbourne. Families all over Melbourne are preparing their daughters for their big break into show business on the Tapping Trailer Trash Tour. Details at Dance in Melbourne.

Melbourne's Hidden Gems

A hidden village green close to the city

Melbourne has numbers of public parks which the locals prefer to regard as local private parks and are quite happy if the rest of the world does not know they exist. They are often hidden a little off the main roads or in cul-de-sacs, and sometime when the council puts up a sign pointing to the park, the sign mysteriously disappears over night. Strangers are tolerated but not approved of. Here is one of our favourites.

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.

The White Hat Awards

The nominations for the White Hat Awards keep coming in and next week we will settle on the list of categories, so if you have a suggested category let us know. For instance, "C” has suggested:

“Best Children’s Meals? I can't offer a nominee but I would love to hear suggestions.”

And meanwhile here is one of this week’s submissions.

“I want to nominate a restaurant for an award... It is called Lentil as Anything and it is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant. There are two locations, my favourite is on Blessington Street St Kilda, and the other one is on Sydney Road Brunswick. The food is delicious, the serves are large, and ever so healthy, but the best part is the restaurant is run on an honesty system which means there are no set prices!! There is an honesty box on the counter and you simply place in however much you believe the food is worth! I believe this restaurant is Melbourne’s biggest and best kept secret, this restaurant gives you so much more than good food, it is a haven that makes you feel comfortable and relaxed, with the focus on good company rather than the dollar! Also the Sydney road restaurant is part of a club which run salsa classes, have DJ's, live music and much more every night of the week. It is a complete night out in one place! I am not sure what awards you have going, but I would recommend it for Best vegetarian restaurant Best all in one night out Best curries and I am sure there are categories you have that it will fit into!
Thanks, Rebecca”

Thanks Rebecca. When the White Hat Party achieves power at the nest election we intend to institute an honesty box for the payment of taxes.

Corporate Games

This week is the Australian Corporate Games. Teams from various corporations are given a head start and if they are caught by the team from ASIC they are eliminated. Details at Melbourne Park.

A Saturday family outing

Alright, I know it’s Saturday and the public transport fares aren’t as cheap as Sunday but some of you have to work around access days. Off to the city bright and early for breakfast at the Vic Market - maybe a bratwurst with sauerkraut - and to buy some provisions for the day. If you buy a large container of freshly squeezed juice from A shed you will already have saved yourself a fortune from the teenagers buying juice with artificial additives (sorry – “boosters”) from the trendy outlets. Catch the tram down to Fed Square. There are always new exhibitions in the public areas there, and kids are usually fascinated by the video displays in ACMI. Out to Flinders Street and catch a No. 70 or 75 tram to the old tram depot in Kew. It is only open on the second Saturday of the months. See Steam Trains in Melbourne. After the kids have clambered all over the trams and listened to the urban legends about tram conductors who were always friendly, helpful and professional it is time for lunch. Out the back of the tram shed to Wallan Reserve and then make your way to the hidden village green mentioned above in Melbourne’s Hidden Gems. Time to bring out those exotic ingredients you bought at the Vic Market and settle down for a feast and later read a book while your kids teach the locals the sort of games they play in your suburb.

Catch the tram back through the city head off to Docklands and a quite different park. Docklands Park has numbers of sculptures; numbers are animated and illuminated and twilight is a good time to wander around and through and over these sculptures. Maybe a quiet drink overlooking he water before venturing off home. It’s never hard to pleasurably fill a day in Melbourne without breaking the bank.

Fairs

Fairs this week include one at Mt Waverly North Primary School and a Festive Twilight Bazaar at Ripponlea Primary School. Details at Fairs & Fetes in Melbourne.

Reader feedback

“Hello Whitehat
Your newsletter is great. I am looking for Ballroom Dancing Venues in Melbourne - Town Halls, etc. Could you please send me a list of venues. Not interested in dance classes at this stage. Just want to go ballroom dancing.
With thanks Connie”

Sorry Connie, I can’t help you right now. I’m too busy taking samba lessons from a Brazilian saxophonist. Maybe some of our readers could help.

Metta, who is rarely able to get into Melbourne has another request:

“A month ago you said you would try to find out who owned and ran David Wang department store in Melbourne Victoria 1957. Have you been able to find out. Perhaps if you could place the question in your newsletter, one of your other readers might be able to post the answer into the newsletter. I would be most grateful.
Thank you.”

In response to last week's quiz, Travis wrote:

"2. In the inner suburbs is the remains of a veterinary hospital with the > symbol of a horse’s head on the façade. Where is this?

*** And there was me thinking it was the horse head at the University of Melbourne Veterinary Faculty in Parkville. Mounted high on the wall on the corner of Story St and Park Dve, there's a horse peeking out at the world.

“Various statues in The Domain and connected gardens show people on horseback. How can you tell the status of a person from a 19th Century equestrian statue? *** This was an answer I sort of knew last week but could not be bothered looking up at the time, figuring I'd be beaten by WhiteHat readers. As it turns out, I've been beaten by something else - urban legends now...*sigh* I recall reading a book (remember books?!) back in the mid-80s and it had an explanation about the number of legs on the ground, whether the sword was raised, etc indicating social status. "Pfft!" I thought, "Too bad - it was a couple of decades since I read that and I can't remember it. I'll let some other person respond and then I'll know the answer again.". But nobody answered it. Since I went to check out the answers online to refresh my memory and could only find false urban legends about dying in war and mine might still be the only answer next week, I might as contribute as best I can on Friday afternoon...

* 4 legs on the ground = horse owner * 3 legs on the ground = horse thought it was a dog * 2 legs on the ground = person used to "chuck monos" on their horse, paving the way for BMX riders years later * 1 leg on the ground = person had buns of steel and could hold onto horse with posterior * 4 legs on the ground, sword raised = person had to threaten their horse to go faster * 2 legs on the ground, sword raised = horse was not immune to threats * 3 legs remaining, sword raised = horse knew it had to speed up or lose another leg due to angry owner * 1 leg remaining, sword raised, person beside horse = horse was a really slow learner”

Liz wrote:

“Don't take your organs to heaven - leave them to Albert Fox! To Phil who recently purchased a reed organ:

The man to see is Albert H Fox who must be about 230 years old now, and probably played your reed organ when it was new! Albert runs a fascinating 'musical museum' in Darnum (just past Warragul) where you can see all sorts of old musical instruments. At this venue he also does repair and renovation of pianos and organs. He has piano tuners who travel all over Victoria and tune pianos from the ones in Grandma's front room to those in prominent venues which are played by celebs. What Albert doesn't know about organs isn't worth knowing. I used to work for Albert and his passion for all things musical is contagious. It is well worth a visit to the museum which is set in a tranquil green setting surrounded by grazing cows. He will chat to you about his amazing life, which includes some time as a magician, his wonderful instrument collection and if you are lucky he will tap dance for you. Hope that helps Phil and tell Albert Liz said Hello!”

Backdrops

Nobody recognised our country backdrop from Cavendish last week so we thought we would make it easier for you. Can you tell where the city and country scenes are this week? Hint – both locations have already been mentioned in this newsletter.

Nu**es, Suburbs & Reed Organs

(We have had to * out several letters of the first word of Mike’s title because otherwise your spam filters would reject it.).

"Mr Hat,

Pleased once again I am, to be entertained by the weekly outpouring of information supplied by your newsletter and various amateur contributors, who's swelling ranks I will briefly join.

In answer to the trivia(l) poser at the beginning of this week's journal, surely Chloe was the nude painting in question? Emerald Hill was of course once upon a time, what we now call South Melbourne. "

The rest of of this Mike's feedback was in regard to a question last week about a Wertheim reed organ and Mike's delightful profile of the manufacturer has been moved to Hugo Wertheim.

 

Country Victoria

Orchids in Stawell, Budburst in the Macedon Ranges and the Churchill Island Garden Festival. Details at Country Victoria.

The White Hat Quiz

How well do you know Melbourne?

This newsletter is already far too long and far too late, so just one simple question and the answers to last week’s quiz next week.

Simple question. Today (November 11th) is Remembrance Day as well as the anniversary of ‘The Dismissal’. What two important events in Victorian history occurred on that date in 1850 and in 1880?