The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter

Archived Newsletter No.175 - 2 June 2006

Contents

Lunchtime Theatre
Big Band Dance
Seven Bridges of Melbourne – No.2 – MacRobertson Bridge
Kids Stuff
Roses
Reader feedback
Classical music
A Sunday Outing
Country Victoria
The White Hat Quiz

Lunchtime Theatre

Next week lunchtime theatre returns to the city at Horti Hall in Victoria Street opposite the Trades Hall. Soup, gourmet bread and theatre for all less than $10. And you don’t even have to sign ‘The Pledge’ at the end of it. You can’t find much better value than that.

Big Band Dance

Sydney has its Leagues Clubs which often form a social hub for the community, but Melbourne often ignores its own more diverse social clubs. Many of them started life as ethnic clubs but over the years have become welcoming of all comers. If you enjoy a big band dance, why not try out the one at the Austrian Social Club this Saturday? You might discover a whole new world in your own suburb – that is if you live in Heidelberg West. Details at Dance in Melbourne.

Seven Bridges of Melbourne

No.2 – The MacRobertson Bridge

This section of the newsletter can now be found at The White Hat Guide to 7 Bridges of Melbourne - No. 2 MacRobertson Bridge.

Kids stuff

Starting on Wednesday is the Little Big Shots Festival – a film festival for kids aged 7 to 15. Details at Children's Activities in Melbourne.

Roses

There is another rose pruning workshop this week at Flemington Racecourse. Take plenty of band-aids. Details at Flower & Garden Festivals in Melbourne.

Reader feedback

“Re the St Andrews Market.... Sigrid could be a teensy bit correct. ... So smarten up, hippy denigrator. Or else. Hippies rule! Or at the very least ... make good chai.
Jude”

“I find that White Hat’s description of St Andrews Market tells me anything I want to know about the vibe of the place your honour in a few brief sentences. But that’s what I would expect from a publication that can turn a quiz question into a short story.
Steve”

Last week ‘Feet’ gave his/her view of graffiti art. We had the following responses:

“We try to buy works from young artists when we have some money available. With bills for $1,600 and $1,100 in the past six months for cleaning graffiti off our property that hasn’t left any money to help support the artists who do the right thing.
Pete”

“Although I enjoy much graffiti art I have a message for Feet – Keep the Art, Lose the Vandalism!
Jordy”

“All I can say to Feet is "what a crock of xxxx"!
Val”

“Feet says “All graf . . is an attempt to soften and humanise a highly systematised world, to shape it rather than letting it shape you”. Me and my friends are not black (2 Asians and 3 “Of Middle Eastern Appearance”) but we come from poor families and have no trouble finding constructive things to do which make a difference to the world we live in. I ask Feet to tell his friends that every time they do something destructive because it’s the easy way, it makes it harder for us who are doing something constructive.
MetMet, Preston”

“Just a quick note on the Australian Garden Opening at Cranbourne, its actually a whole new garden thats being opened, which has been built in an old sand mine. It's in the middle of a large area of remnant bushland, which is also part of the royal botanic gardens, but not a 'designed' section. This area of the gardens was re-opened about a week or so after the bushfires had swept through. Anyway, just thought you might like to know...
Thanks Jess”

Jess is a Horticultural Technician at RBG Cranbourne so she ought to know what she is talking about. Then again, she is a White Hat Subscriber and they are always a bit strange,

Last week we mentioned a baby and children's market. Micky replied:

“A baby and children's market - can anyone sell them - I have a couple of adult kids that I wouldn't mind getting rid of at times.”

“Wow! I was enlightened by your comments in response to the feedback from "another Hippie Chick". I also use two spaces after a full stop as I've always thought that it was the right thing to do (and because I think it just looks better). I even correct other people's reports if they don't use two spaces. I pride myself on my grammar, so am horrified to think my double spacing is out-dated. But is it incorrect? (By the way, I am the right side of the big 5-0.)
Barry from Blair(gowrie).”

Classical music

This week the Town Hall Proms start, the Stonington Symphony Orchestra has a gala concert conducted by Barry Tuckwell, the MSO Chamber Players are performing at Iwaki Auditorium and there are a number of other concerts you can find at Classical Music in Melbourne.

In fact there is so much happening in the classical music field that we have decided to start a new occasional newsletter dedicated to classical music in Melbourne and Australia. Be warned, the newsletter will have a similar style to this one so will not be to everyone’s taste. If you wish to subscribe this new newsletter go to Classical Music Newsletter.

A Sunday Outing

You can always find a cheap Sunday outing in Melbourne and, as we are approaching an election, you can expect plenty of free (or at least FAPU) community activities. The main thing to remember is that you may have to buy your cheap Sunday Saver tickets in advance since they are not available from certain vending machines.

This Sunday you could rug up and head into the city. No need to take food, just some basic picnic utensils and maybe a thermos of soup. First stop is breakfast at the Vic Market. Avoid the bratwurst this time because you are having sausages for lunch, but you might like to try the special range of hot chocolates from the shop next to the bratwurst one or the the European hot chocolate in the European style from a couple of stalls further on. After breakfast it is time to shop for your picnic lunch. Never shop for food on an empty stomach or you end up buying too much. Maybe a selection of sliced meats from the Polish Deli, some bread made out bird seed at one of the bread stalls, some oysters at a quarter the price you would pay at a trendy bar, some dips and some fresh fruit. You can also pick up a large container of freshly squeezed fruit juice for $5 in the middle of Shed A. The kids won’t drink it unless they think it has ‘boosters’ so tell them they can add some grass when they get to Royal Park. Others may wish to purchase some wine in resealable bottles to help lunch go down. Now there is some time for browsing and shopping before heading off.

Time to check the weather. You always need a Plan B in Melbourne, and if it looks like bucketing down then you could head off to the State Library or the galleries at Fed Square where there is always plenty to see and do. Otherwise it is off to Royal Park for the opening of the wetlands area. Take any tram heading north in Peel Street (the top end of the market) enjoy your tram trip through the park and get off at stop 25. Here you will find a number of free entertainments, demonstrations and activities. If you feel inspired to explore Royal Park, see if you can find the cairn of stones commemorating the departure point of the Burke & Wills expedition, or the sentry boxes from when the American troops were camped there in WWII. When you are ready for lunch you can combine the offerings from the free BBQ with your additional fare from the Vic Market. After you have finished lunch (not much point in having a resealable win bottle – its all gone – at least its refillable as well) it is time to head back into town. You can either go back the way you came, or head over to Royal Parade and get a tram there or even take a train from Royal Park Station. Don’t forget to take the free native plants you were given at Royal Park – you are going to need them.

Back in town you are going to find your way to Bourke Street and Myers. The Archibald Prize is on display there in the Myer Mural Hall for the next month and a half. To gain entrance to Myers you have to run the gauntlet of a daunting set of women with fixed smiles held in place by industrial strength makeup who will squirt those not agile enough to avoid it with the latest overpriced fragrance. This is where you need those shrubs you got from Royal Park. Hold them in front of your face as you head through. If challenged by the floor staff just tell them that “the woods have come to Dunsinane”.

Make your way to the sixth floor and the Mural Hall. Built in the 1930s this is one of Melbourne’s gems and has not been open to the public often in recent years. Around the walls you will find impressive depictions of Females Through the Ages finishing with the chic and elegance of the 1930s. Unfortunately the artist died before he was able to complete the culminating panel featuring faded denim mini skirt and Ugg Boots.

At the Archibald Prize you will recognise numbers of faces in the portraits and be able to cast your vote in the people’s choice award. Time to head off home. Back to the cloak room (“yes madam, it was two flowering native gums, a small she-oak, two empty resealable wine bottles, a thermos of soup which we forgot to have – you can have some if you like – and a T shirt from the Vic Market which says – well you don’t need to know what it says”) and back to Flinders Street to catch the train.

At $2.50 per head for transport plus food at much lower than supermarket prices it is not difficult to have an inexpensive Sunday out in Melbourne.

Country Victoria

This weekend there is a Winterfest at Warburton, chamber music at Ballarat’s Her Majesty’s Theatre and the Melbourne Chorals at the Mornington Peninsula. For details, go to our home page and select the appropriate weekend from the drop-down menu of events in country Victoria.

The White Hat Quiz

How well do you know Melbourne?

First to the last quiz. Anthony had the nearest to correct 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.

And maybe a supplementary question to Q.4. What do Garden City and Rushall Gardens have in common?

Now to this week’s quiz.

Melbourne artists of the 1930s

1. Newspaper House in Collins Street (near Swanston Street) has a glass mosaic on the façade proclaiming “I’ll put a girdle around the earth”. Where does this quote come from, what newspaper had its headquarters there and who was the artist who produced the mosaic?
2. The T&G Building (cnr. Collins & Russell Sts) has recently undergone major internal restructure and become KPMG House. There remains a small original fresco above one of the doors in Collins Street. Who was the artist?
3. The foyer of a corporate building in the city has a huge red mosaic entitled Prometheus. What building is this and who was the artist?
4. Who was the artist who created the Females through the Ages in the Myer Mural Hall?
5. In 1952 a major building at Melbourne University was destroyed by fire. One stained glass window created in Melbourne’s centenary year remained intact and is now on display at a gallery in that University. What was the name of the destroyed building, and who was the artist who designed the window?
6. The concert hall in the Melbourne Town Hall was destroyed by fire in the 1920s and later rebuilt in its current form. Who was the artist who created the murals?
7. Who was the artist that created the frescoes in Queens Hall at the State Library?
8. Finish the following statement. “In the 1990s a common phrase was ‘nobody ever got sacked for buying IBM’. In the 1930s that phrase might be ‘nobody ever got sacked for commissioning a work by . . . .”

No prizes – just glory and a warm inner glow.