The White Hat Melbourne Newsletter

Archived Newsletter No.207 - 22 February 2007

Contents

Summer’s Last Will and Testament
Animals
Reader Feedback
Markets & fairs
Festivals
Food & wine
Under Milk Wood
Rare plants
From the White Hat Inbox
Children
Classical Music
Other Music
Wizard of Oz
Quilts
Country Victoria
The White Hat Quiz

Summer's Last Will and Testament

You can usually stir up a hearty argument at a barbecue or a dinner party by asking which is the last day of summer. Judging by events, Melbourne goes by the calendar month rather than the equinox with a flurry of events bidding farewell in the last week of February. There is the last of the season’s free orchestral concerts at the music bowl, the last of the Fairfield Amphitheatre world music concerts, the last of the open air cinema at Birrarung Marr (the ones in the gardens still continue), the last of the music in the gardens at Geelong and the last of the Queen Victoria Night markets. If you have missed out on these throughout the summer this coming week is your last chance.

Animals

This Saturday there is a discounted microchipping day where you can have your dog, cat, boyfriend or anything else that is likely to stray implanted with a microchip. The following weekend is open day the Guide Dog Training School. Details at Animal Events in Melbourne.

Reader Feedback

“Hi White Hat, I am a 67 year old (female) regular reader of your Newsletter (up to now anyway) but have taken offence at your segment [regarding elderly relatives]: I remember the 1954 Royal Visit quite well.

I am quite able to drive myself wherever I wish to but usually with friends of similar age; we do NOT consider ourselves to be elderly and needing to be taken to places by our younger relatives and I'm sure, when you are this age you will NOT consider yourself to be elderly either. Provided we have our health, age is purely in the mind.

It is just six months since I came back from a few weeks trip to Hong Kong, where we walked all over, then the UK (where we drove ourselves through England, Scotland & Wales) and then finally walked all over Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York, before returning home, unassisted by younger relatives.

I never cease to be amazed by the attitude of 'younger' people who think that those of us who have been around for several decades are unable to read or think or take care of ourselves and therefore need 'children' to take us where we want to go.

Beverley”

Thank you Beverley – we feel suitably admonished.

“Please advise your correspondent Nancy (Oregon, USA), that she should contact Phillip Davey, who last year released a book called... When Hollywood Came To Melbourne. It is an amazing book about the film On the Beach. I'm sure that he could answer her question about the pathway at Mornington. His details ... philip.davey@chisholm.vic.edu.au
Cheers, Doug”

“Hi White Hat, Please note the Casey Farmers Market, previously on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, is now enjoying the 4th Sunday of each month at the Old Cheese Factory, Homestead Road, Berwick. As it is operated by some very energetic Rotarians who are really strict on the "Farmers Market Code of Conduct" it will be great to see the Market flourish. I will drag out my white hat and attempt to send you some images shortly. Regards, an avid reader of your site and Newsletter,
Paul J, - Barista”

“I live in Brisbane and receive White Hat as I love to read it keep up with what is happening in Melbourne. We like to visit regularly. Your article on the Edinburgh Gardens fails to make mention of the fact that in 1880-81 the Government of the day wanted to annexe part of the Gardens for public housing. The then Mayor of Fitzroy (also one of the founders & first president of the Fitzroy Football Club) John McMahon had it gazetted that they stay in permanent possession of the people of Fitzroy. They would not be there today but for Mr. John McMahon. I will attach under separate cover an article proving this.
Yours truly, Barb in Brisbane”

Markets & Fairs

This Saturday at Patterson Lakes you can take along your old wares and have them valued at the Antiques Roadshow & Market. Find out how much your video of Midnight Oil saying “close American bases’ is worth. This Wednesday is the last of the Queen Victoria night markets. Details at Markets in Melbourne.

Festivals

Lunar New Year Festivals continue this weekend with the East Meets West Festival in Footscray and a Tibetan New Year Festival at Yuroke (about 30 minutes out of Melbourne). Don’t expect to see many Chinese-Australians at these festivals – they’re all at home trying to make babies for the Year of the Golden Pig. Details at Ethnic Festivals in Melbourne. This Sunday is the Moonee Valley Festival and the following weekend is the Sydney Road Street Festival. Both usually feature numbers of local bands. Details at Community Festivals in Melbourne. There is also a Beach Games Festival at Mount Martha. Detail at Sporting Festivals in Melbourne.

Food & wine

This Sunday is the ‘Taste of Montsalvat’ event at Montsalvat in Eltham. Details at Food & Wine in Victoria.

Under Milk Wood

This weekend, a staged production of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood opens at the Comedy Theatre.

Rare plants

This weekend there is a Gardening and Rare Plants expo in the Dandenongs,

From the White Hat Inbox

We received this personal communication:

“hi from monash. this place is rly amazing. i got o4d arts/tchng & political studies but i wanted to do something really practical with a solid career path. it was hard to choose between golf course management and urban alternative arts documentation, analysis & administration. i chose uaadaa (pronounced wada). im also doing geography cos I like it & am really good at it. the 1st day was sooo good. i missed the first lecture cos i slept in , then i missed geog in the pm cos i couldn’t find the lecture theatre cos the maps a so confusing but the party that night was gr8.
catchya , nat”

Children

This Saturday at Docklands the kids can learn the basics of circus games. On Sunday at Frankston is the annual Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Details at Children in Melbourne.

Classical music

The MSO play the Rachmaninov second symphony in the last of this season’s free orchestral concert at the music bowl. Also on Saturday night there is the annual Symphony under the Stars in Stonnington. Madama Butterfly continues at Her Majesty’s and on Tuesday is a concert called “ A Tribute to the Young Mario Lanza”. On Sunday is a concert tour of Scandinavia at the Swedish Church. They will possibly make highlights of the concert available as Nokia ringtones. Details at Classical Music in Melbourne.

Other music

This weekend is the St Jermome’s Laneway Festival in the city and the Moonee Valley Festival, Monday is Westlife at Vodafone Arena and the following weekend is the Sydney Road Street Party. On Wednesday the Navy Band performs at Cerberus Base on the Mornington Peninsula, and this weekend is the last of this year’s Music in the Gardens series at Geelong Botanic Gardens.  The last of this year’s free Fairfield Amphitheatre concerts of world music is on this Sunday. In the country there is the Paynesville Jazz Festival and the Bunyip Country Music Festival. For details see Music in Melbourne.

The Wizard of Oz

This coming week at the Regent is a screening of Wizard of Oz accompanied by the live Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. I’ll be there – look for the person with the white hat and the red shoes.

Quilts

Single men looking for a good woman to keep them warm at nights need look no further than the Australian Quilt Convention this weekend. There you will find women with quilts that can even keep you warm through a Ballarat winter. Details at Craft Festivals in Melbourne.

Country Victoria

This weekend in country Victoria there is a gardening & rare plants expo in the Dandenongs, a beach games festival at Mount Martha, the Heywood Wood, Wine & Roses Festival, the Marysville Wirreanda Festival, sand sculpting at Rye, the Paynesville Jazz Festival and the Bunyip Country Music Festival. For details go to our home page and choose the appropriate weekend from the drop-down list of dates under country Victoria. Always phone the organisers to check before making a special trip. The bushfires may well have changed their plans.

The White Hat Quiz

First to last week’s quiz.

Here is our most complete set of answers.

“Dear WH, I continue to enjoy your newsletter every week despite the fact that I’ve gone quiet lately. Your Dutch quiz certainly enticed me to contribute again. Kind Regards, Lisa

1. Where in Melbourne can you buy rootwurst and other Dutch produce? The deli in Cranbourne Park sells rookworst and other Dutch produce all year around and there’s a stall at the Dandenong market that sells all non refrigerated goods.

2. Name a Melbourne suburb or Victorian town whose name has Dutch origins. Camperdown was named in 1806 by Governor Bligh who was decorated for his role in the British naval victory against the Dutch at the Battle of Kamperduin (Camperdown) in 1797. Kamperduin is the name of a village in the north of Holland.

3. When Captain Cook arrived in Australia sections of the coast had already been explored by Dutch and other explorers. Sections of the coast (it was not net known if it was one landmass) were known as New Holland and Terra Australis. Which bit was New Holland and which bit was Terra Australis?  When the settlement in NSW took place in 1788 the term “New Holland” was used to refer to the part of the continent that had not yet been annexed to NSW. That was the area we know as Western Australia. The rest was called Terra Australis. In 1804 Matthew Flinders recommended changing the name to Australia but it wasn’t until 1824 that his advice was heeded.

4. Where close to Melbourne could you find a Dutch style windmill? You’d find one in our front garden in Clyde. It’s painted red and blue, our AFL footy team’s colours.

5. Name an important Australian businessman of Dutch origin. My husband, Theo Schreurs, is an important Australian businessman, not that I am biased or anything. He and his family migrated to Australia in 1959 and they are now the largest celery growers in Australia. An extra bit of trivia is that they were the first people to bring baby carrots to Australia.

Lisa  - Clyde – the Celery Capital”

For those of you who are curious about what Lisa looks like, you can see a picture of Lisa in a swimsuit on the cardboard cartons used for Schreurs Celerey – ask your greengrocer to show you – he possibly has it pinned on the wall out the back.

Now to this week’s quiz. Back to university edition.

1. The University of Melbourne is named after the city which in turn was named after Lord Melbourne. Victoria University is named after the state which in turn was named after the queen. However, at least three Victorian universities were named directly after people. Who were these people?
2. What Melbourne philanthropist contributed greatly to the building of an Anglican cathedral and a Presbyterian university college? Is the catholic college at Melbourne Uni named after an Anglican?
3. Which university has its main campus built near one of William Buckley’s fishing spots for eels?
4. The University of Melbourne presented Arthur Calwell, a learned man and then leader of the Federal opposition, with an honorary doctorate. Who was it that doffed his cap and presented him with this doctorate?
5. When Melbourne had only two universities, what were their nicknames?
6. Name two student newspapers.
7. England has Oxbridge, America the Ivy League and Australia’s older established universities are referred to as The Sandstones. However Melbourne has The Bluestone College – in fact I suspect a number of our subscribers are graduates. Where could you find The Bluestone College?

No prizes – just glory and a warm inner glow.