The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter

Archived Newsletter No.200 - 20 December 2006

Contents

Markets
Chanukah celebrations
Reader Feedback
Christmas lights
Carols
Planning for New Years Eve
Boxing Day
New statue
Melbourne’s Hidden Gems
Free Movies
City activities
Country Victoria
The White Hat Quiz
Shakespeare Under The Stars

Our Sponsors

This week’s newsletter is brought to you by the letter ‘B’, the letter ‘N’ and the number ‘200’.

Markets

On Thursday evening is the annual St Andrews Night Christmas Night Market. Also on Thursday nights through summer is the St Kilda Beach Night Market. Queen Vic night markets continue on Wednesday nights. Details of these and other night markets at Night Markets in Melbourne.

Chanukah celebrations

Chanukah celebrations are taking place in Fed Square on Thursday night. And who better to launch a Jewish celebration than our Lord Mayor, John So.

Reader feedback

“I work on Mondays and Wednesdays and don’t believe in having The Internet at home. Please send your newsletter to me on either Monday or Wednesday and do not send it during the holidays.
Maureen”
 

I am sorry Maureen. We are not sure when “The Holidays” are.

“Greetings,
A couple of years ago you published a comprehensive outline of the geographic prehistory of the Melbourne area in at least a couple of your newsletters. Could you please redirect me to the archived newsletters, as I am very interested in re-reading them.
Regards, David”

We’ll see if we can search them out David.

“We were at a bbq last weekend when the conversation turned to Christmas Cards and Christmas Letters. I told them I had a beauty and went to the car to get your last newsletter with its guide to writing a Christmas letter. I started reading and was soon interrupted by three others who were all regular and enthusiastic readers of the white hat newsletter. We must be a secret society. We took turns in reading bits of the family letter to the delight of everyone else who I imagine by now have all signed up.
The conversation and the beer kept flowing while we discussed the newsletter and someone pointed out that this was number 199 and the next one would therefore be number 200. We all drank to that. I was delegated to convey a happy 200th and to express thanks for the pleasure, wisdom, laughs and information you have given us over time. The consensus seemed to be that the white hat newsletter was now as important and quirky an emblem of Melbourne as Leunig cartoons, Chloe and daggy Moomba parades.
Congratulations and happy 200th from Peter on behalf Jane, Martin, Kazza and Simon.”

Thank you Peter et al. When we published our first newsletter a number of years ago we didn’t foresee one day putting out edition number 200. We will particularly treasure being compared to daggy Moomba parades.

“We printed out your wonderful Christmas family letter and have placed it on the mantelpiece along with our other cards and letters. We will be fascinated to see whether any of our guests over the Christmas period read it and what reaction they have. All the best to our much valued White Hat, Donna and Julian”

Thank you for that. Maybe for those of you out there whose Christmas card shelf is looking quite sparse you might also want to print out last week’s Christmas letter and place it up there.

We thank the many of you, too numerous to mention, who have sent us kind wishes for the Christmas/ Hanukah / Holiday / Festive season. To our friends and relatives, we have decided to visit you in the quietness of the Christmas / New Year Week, It is always so hectic on Christmas Day and we would value the quieter time that follows. That also means we can pick up your Christmas presents cheap at the Boxing Day sales.

A word from our sponsor

The number 200 would like to remind you that we are a good solid product. There are people on mind altering substances who claim to have seen ‘unreal numbers’. Well ladies and gentlemen, 200 is a good old fashioned number – the kind of number you can trust. We ask you to lobby your local MP to ensure that all new migrants are tested to ensure they can count to 200. Otherwise they will never be able to vote below-the-line for the senate and then who knows what unexpected parties may get in.

Christmas lights

If you are wanting to take in some Christmas lights this year here are some suggestions. Melbourne’s best known Christmas lights are in The Boulevard, Ivanhoe, where residents have been decorating their homes since the 1950s. Be warned however that these finish on Christmas Eve and until then are only open during restricted hours.

In the city there are the Myer Christmas windows. This year’s theme is Mem Fox’s Wombat Divine. There is a large metallic Christmas Tree in the City Square and a living Advent Calendar at Fed Square until Christmas Eve.

Up Bourke Street hill there is an impressive display of Christmas lights in Hardware Lane. If you haven’t been to Hardware Lane for a while we would recommend a visit. The best times to visit are at lunchtime or during the evening on weekdays. Hardware Lane is in that area of the city which becomes strangely deserted outside working hours so don’t expect to see much at weekends. In recent years, Hardware Lane has quietly morphed into a European Village street while still maintaining its Melbourne character. There has been little or no ‘faking-up’ of the buildings – they were European in style to start with. You might like to consider it as a more intimate alternative to Lygon Street. By mid evening the tables cover the street and there is live jazz most nights. The gentle rattle of trams in the background, the cool breeze starting to stir after a long hot day, the gentle hum of conversation blending with the discreet jazz band. I think that girl leaning from the first floor window just smiled at me. You lot order another round of drinks while I go and investigate. Pernod on ice for me – no, better make that two.

. . Sorry about that. Where were we? Ah yes, Christmas lights.

Down at NewQuay in the Docklands there are thousands of tiny fairy lights. A great place to wander with the family – or that new-found friend.

Further afield, the lights on Olivers Hill in Frankston are usually impressive as are those at Lakeside Drive in Lilydale. Also you will usually find impressive displays in newer established estates such as Caroline Springs. Just remember with these estates there is usually just a single entry and exit so you might spend the whole of your Christmas holidays trying to find the exit.

Until Christmas Eve there is a re-creation of a village and its living inhabitants at the time of Jesus entitled “A Walk Through Bethlehem” with entry by gold coin donation.

The best place to see the collective lights of Melbourne is from The Skywalk on Mount Dandenong. If you find that you can see your own house from Mount Dandenong maybe for the sake of the neighbours and the environment it may be time to wind back a bit on the Christmas lights.

Details of all these at Christmas Lights in Melbourne.

(NewQuay is sponsored by the letter N)

Carols

On Thursday night there are Carols in St Paul's Cathedral performed by the Royal Phil together with brass and organ. And of course, on Christmas Eve there is Carols by Candlelight at the Myer Music Bowl and on the box.

Planning for New Years Eve

You can find a pretty substantial listing of events and venues for viewing the fireworks by going to our home page and selecting the appropriate date from the drop-down menu of events. Those of you who do not believe in the internet at home need to do your planning before the holidays. For the rest of you, the White Hat newsletter continues through the holiday period so we will provide more details and suggestions for New Years Eve in the next edition.

Boxing Day

On Boxing Day you have the choice of the Boxing Day Test Match (created as a distraction so that the womenfolk could go to the sales), the Boxing Day Sales (created as a distraction so that the menfolk could go to the cricket) and the Boxing Day Swim at Point Leo (created as a Darwinian exercise whereby those who are still afloat at the end have a chance to propagate the species or lead the next state government). For details go to our home page and select the appropriate date from the drop-down menu of events.

New Statue

NEW STATUE Melbourne has a new and colourful statue of Governor La Trobe, so if you are interested in dead males on plinths head down to the forecourt of the State Library. Details at Governor La Trobe.

Melbourne's Hidden Gems

Melbourne has a variety of expensive homes. In days past the wealthy usually set themselves up in Italianate mansions in rolling grounds, and we have numbers of fine surviving examples. Today, establishment wealth tends to live behind high walls in establishment suburbs. New executive wealth usually lives in prestige estates with chandelier and trophy wife visible from the street. Upwardly mobile wealth prefers Neo-Georgian (we can afford to live with no eaves in a hot country) in the leafy suburbs. Then there is the new money, mysteriously acquired, which can be observed in numbers of suburbs. (“I’m not staring at anything, sir. I was merely admiring the aluminium Grecian columns which seem to fit so well with that mock-Tuscan fountain, sir, along with that wonderful specimen of a dog. I was also wondering about when you go driving in the red Porsche if there is room to take the Hound of the Baskervilles in the back seat. You must have worked hard to afford such a wonderful house. Sir.”)

Then there is understated wealth. Several of the previous categories understate their wealth, but only to the tax department. However if you would like to take an afternoon ramble nan enjoy some undertsted wealth and good taste here is on of our suggestions.

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.

This segment was brought to you by the letter B.

Free movies

On Friday and Saturday nights until the end of December there are free blockbuster movies on the big screen at Docklands.

City Activities

We have been delighted to watch over recent years the growth of a large number of different community and other activities for those who (like White Hat) live and work in the city. The time saved in commuting can be spent in a surprising variety of activities and pursuits. Over coming months we thought we would mention a few of them that are equally suited to city residents, visitors or people who are prepared to get into the city earlier or leave later.

For instance you can try Outrigger Canoeing at the Docklands in Victoria Harbour. Training takes place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 6pm to be on the water by 6.15pm, and Saturdays at 8am followed by a club brekkie at one of the local cafes in Docklands.

Country Victoria

In the following week there is the Murray River Canoe Marathon, free school holiday entertainment for kids in the Enchanted Maze Garden at Arthurs Seat and at New Year there is the Pyramid Rock Festival at Phillip Island, the Falls Festival at Lorne and the annual horse races at Hanging Rock. Details at Country Victoria.

And a final word from our sponsors

The letter B which brought you our first Prime Minister, Australia’s greatest sportsman and your current Premier. The number ‘200’ would like to thank the Arabic people for inventing zero without which 200 would be merely 2. And this final testimonial: “We would like to thank the letter N for adding dignity to our lives. The residents of Bungaree”

The White Hat Quiz

How well do you know Melbourne?

1. Bourke Street in the city and Burke Road in Ivanhoe are spelled differently. Why?
2. Governor (or to be precise Lieutenant-Governor) La Trobe is spelled La (space) Trobe. What are the official spellings of the city street, the library and the university named after him?
3. Melbourne’s public artwork features numbers of mistakes. For instance in the atrium of the T&G (now KPMG) Building is an artwork in the form of a glass block celebrating the “Royal Botanical Gardens”. What is the problem with this?
4. What do these two names have to do with Christmas in Australia? – Tracey, W.G. James
5. On Christmas Day in 1930, the height of the depression, over 10,000 people had use of free tram travel, enjoyed a free Christmas lunch at the Exhibition Building and all children received a present. Who created and payed for this event and what was his religious background?

No prizes – just glory and a warm inner glow.

Shakespeare Under The Stars

At the end of December the much loved performances of Wind in the Willows and Shakespeare Under The Stars recommence in the Botanic Gardens.

This year’s Shakespeare is again A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

That simply leaves us to (genuinely) wish you all the best for the holiday period and to (half-heartedly) apologise for any offence we have caused throughout the year. (If you haven’t been offended yet, your time will come.)

If newsletters have offended
Think but this and all is mended,
That you have but slumbered here
While this emails did appear.
Else, White Hat a liar call
And so, best wishes to you all.