This is a detail from a hugely ornate Victorian fountain outside the Exhibition Building in Melbourne. Even though Melbourne is smaller and younger than Sydney it is incredibly grand! I think because Sydney was the first city to be established (1788) it has more colonial buildings which are smaller and less imposing than Melbourne's huge Victorian structures. Sydney also grew in a bit of a topsy turvy way whereas Melbourne was a much smaller town really and then suddenly took off after gold was discovered there in the 1850s. This sudden massive influx of wealth meant big ornate structures could be built all over. Another reason I think Melbourne has more large victorian architecture is that after the gold rush, Melbourne possibly didn't really grow so much and so kept all the old buildings. Sydney, on the other hand continued to grow and the old stuff was pulled down to make way for modern office blocks and the like.
Ah! So there you have my "Grand Melbourne" theory that I yabber on about to my long suffering boyfriend every time I go down there! It's good to share it around!
Here are some more fountain shots and in some of them you can see the Exhibition Building in the background which is where my boyfriend, who is originally from Melbourne, did his end of school exams.
More Melbourne shots to come! It feels terrific to get back into the saddle of blogging!
Hope everyone is having a super weekend - I look forward to catching up with everyone's adventures!
And! For more Shadowy goodness please visit Tracy's gorgeous blog Hey Harriet! You can even join in if you like - it's a heap of fun! Here are the instructions on how to do so!
These sculptures are stunning with detailed shapes! So classical and impressive!
Posted by: Gemma | April 11, 2010 at 09:29 AM
Fascinating, interesting post and terrific shadow shots for the day, Sam! Very impressive sculptures! Hope you're enjoying a great weekend!
Sylvia
Posted by: Sylvia Kirkwood | April 11, 2010 at 10:18 AM
I am learning more and more about Oz every Sunday! Au is a place I would love to visit, and follow the coastal cities from Adelaide to Brisbane. The country is as big as the lower 48 states in the US, but not so densely populated. I hope to visit some day, wheelchair included, although Patti would not prefer to fly the 13+ hours from California...
There must be a competitive spirit between the cities over there, much like in the US. I couldn't imagine that there is a great difference in style between any of her cities!
Posted by: Ralph | April 11, 2010 at 11:12 AM
Had to laugh at the face on the 'cherub' - looks like it really hurts sitting on those rocks!! Good photos for SSS.
Posted by: Angie | April 11, 2010 at 03:00 PM
Very nice!
Posted by: wanderlust | April 11, 2010 at 05:30 PM
Beautiful shots Sam! I very much like your "Grand Melbourne" theory. It all makes perfect sense to me! Do you also have a theory as to why Melbourne serves the best coffee in Australia? There's great coffee all around Australia, but nothing beats drinking the stuff in Melbourne!
I had to giggle at your comment about how glamorous it must be to live on an island. The island I'm on is anything but glamorous but it has character :)
Have a lovely week Sam & I'm looking forward to seeing more pics from your Melbourne holiday!
Posted by: Tracy | April 11, 2010 at 07:04 PM
WOW!!! These are absolutely beautiful...I adore fountains so much and these ones look magical and incredible. It's so great how you love learning the history of where you live...very intriguing,man I hope I can go there someday.
These are super sweet photos!!!
Hope you had a great weekend, Sam! :D
Posted by: Kathleen | April 12, 2010 at 07:48 AM
glad you had a good old time in melbourne!
Posted by: PRIMOEZA | April 12, 2010 at 02:26 PM
I'm always interested in finding out a little history of Melbourne,
So happy to have you blogging!
Posted by: Diana | April 13, 2010 at 05:58 AM