We started our most recent trip to Australia in Melbourne, spending three days there before setting off along the Great Ocean Road. The first two days covered popular attractions, with day three becoming more niche, visiting the film set of Neighbours and following in the footsteps of my great great grandfather who lived here over a century ago. However, I would thoroughly recommend all the activities listed, regardless of your viewing preferences/ genealogical roots.
Itinerary
| Day 1 | The Jazz Corner Hotel Lunch at Queen Victoria Market State Library Royal Exhibition Building |
| Day 2 | Harbourside Hosier Lane Olympic Park Royal Botanic Gardens Shrine of Remembrance Dinner at Queen Victoria Market |
| Day 3 | (Neighbours Set Tour) Polly Woodside Port Melbourne |
Attractions
| 1 | Queen Victoria Market |
| 2 | State Library |
| 3 | Royal Exhibition Building |
| 4 | Harbourside |
| 5 | Hosier Lane |
| 6 | Olympic Park |
| 7 | Royal Botanic Gardens |
| 8 | Shrine of Remembrance |
| 9 | Polly Woodside |
| 10 | Port Melbourne |
Melbourne Day 1
Entering Australia is a special challenge for the short sighted. The first instruction, on entering the E-gate, is to remove your glasses. The second is written on a screen 20 metres away. I can’t even see there’s an instruction let alone read what it says. Despite my unbeaten run of failing to use an E-gate without assistance, we make it through the airport and arrive in Melbourne by 9 am.
The Jazz Corner Hotel
We head to our hotel, The Jazz Corner Hotel, hoping we can leave our bags there, but they are able to check us in which is an unexpected bonus. So we go back to bed for a few hours.
Our home for the next 3 nights is a one bed flat on the 25th floor of a funky boutique hotel with a jazz theme throughout. It has all mod cons including a kitchenette (I’m disproportionately excited when I discover the washing machine). But the best bit is the balcony with spectacular views across Melbourne and the River Yarra. I forgot to take a photo of our accommodation, so here’s one I borrowed from the hotel’s website.
Once we am feeling vaguely human again, we set off to explore Melbourne. It’s a lovely day and a lovely city. My great great grandfather Paul Monte settled in Melbourne (more of that later) and I can see why he fell for the place.
Queen Victoria Market
We start in Queen Victoria Market (apparently the largest market in the Southern Hemisphere). It’s huge and you can buy practically anything, but we make a beeline for the very comprehensive food court and have fish and chips for brunch.
Once refuelled, the sightseeing can begin in earnest. The Yarra River bisects Melbourne. We spend the afternoon exploring north of the river; there’s some grand old Victorian buildings, some cool modern buildings and a sprinkling of nice parks.
State Library
We start with a visit the enormous State Library, which is surrounded by book themed sculptures.
Inside, the six storey octagonal dome structure reminds me more of a a cathedral of books than a library.
Royal Exhibition Building
On to Carlton Gardens, home of the Royal Exhibition Building. This grand Victorian building was originally built for an exhibition in 1880.
Today, there is a craft fair taking place, so we are able to go inside and admire the beautifully frescoed interior.
It’s been a long day so we catch the tram back to the hotel. I sit on the balcony with a beer and some rather strange chicken and aioli crisps, watching the sun set over the harbour and wondering how my view compares with that of my G G Grandad Paul a century ago.
Melbourne Day 2
I wake to find the clocks went back in the night – a day after our arrival in Australia and a week after they went forward in the UK. In the past two weeks compared to the UK, we have been at minus 8 and 7, plus 13, 12, 10 and 9. By the time I get my head round this, we’ll be in Adelaide and plus 8.5 hours.
Once I have finished worrying about the time, and set off the fire alarm making some toast, we commence part two of our Melbourne sightseeing extravaganza.
Harbourside
We start where we finished yesterday and walk in a huge zigzagging circle along the river to reach Hosier Lane. The harbourside is a pleasant area to take a stroll with parks, sculptures and terrific views on the city.
My favourite is Sandridge Bridge. This steel bridge contains ten structures, each depicting different groups of settlers; from the Aboriginal Period, through convicts and the Gold Rush to assisted migration and refugees.
Hosier Lane
We reach the little laneway of Hosier Lane. This narrow street is famous for its abundance of street art.
Not only do we get to admire the art already there, but are able to watch artists at work on a new piece.
Olympic Park
We walk over the freaky William Barak Bridge which talks and sings to you as you cross to the Olympic Park.
The Park is home to various sports venues including the MCG (cricket ground)and the Rod Laver Arena (tennis centre).
Royal Botanic Gardens
Newt, we head for the Royal Botanic Gardens. There is 5 km trail around the edge of the gardens, here, a radio station are handing out chocolate bilbies (imagine a genetic mutation of half rabbit half wallaby).
The Gardens themselves are beautiful. We wander around for a while admiring the different gardens, then stop for a chocolate picnic by the lake.
Shrine of Remembrance
Next we go to the Shrine of Remembrance; a huge shrine originally built to honour the dead of WW1.
A forecourt with eternal flame was built later to commemorate those who died in WW2
The area underneath houses the Galleries of Remembrance, a moving and informative museum detailing the role of Australians in conflicts around the world.
We return via Victoria Market for dinner. We need to refuel, we’ve covered a lot of miles today and only eaten a chocolate marsupial.
Melbourne Day 3
Neighbours Set Tour
Today, I am indulging two of my passions. First, I have been watching Neighbours for 30 years so a visit to Melbourne would not be complete without a Ramsey Street tour. Reviews are mixed so I have high hopes and low expectations. The package includes a meet and greet with a star of the show. I am intrigued to see who they have coaxed out of bed on a bank holiday morning.
After a shaky start (the bus driver reversing into a street sign) it’s actually a really good tour. The clientele are exclusively British (the Aussies don’t watch Neighbours) and super excited. The driver/guide spends the 18 mile drive to the suburbs engaging in Neighbours themed banter.
We start at the studio. Because there’s no filming taking place, we are allowed onto the set, which is a bonus, and I get to take loads of cheesy photos.
Then on to Ramsey St, which isn’t actually called Ramsey St. But the guide has a makeshift street sign for more cheesy photo ops. The star we meet, Ben Nicholas, played the character Stingray. He seems really nice and is happy to chat and pose for photos. All in all, a great morning.
Note: Since our trip to Australia, Neighbours has been cancelled, although it is currently still possible to visit the set. So I have left this in my blog because it was one of the highlights of the trip.
Polly Woodside
The afternoon is dedicated to genealogy. We start at the Polly Woodside, a 19th century tall ship similar to those my G G grandad sailed on.
You can board the ship to see what conditions were like and there is also an interesting little museum.
Port Melbourne
Then we walk to the bayside suburb of Port Melbourne, to Bay Street where my G G grandad lived. My family believed he had died at sea shortly before my great grandma was born, but recent research has shown that he actually jumped ship in Melbourne, married bigamously and settled in Port Melbourne leaving wife No 1 destitute in the UK. I take plenty of pictures of his homes (front and back). The old man is worried that I will get arrested for stalking or casing the joint.
We plan to return to the city by train but that involves purchasing a $6 card on which to put the $6 fare. We are too mean to pay, so walk instead. By the time we reach the hotel, we have walked 19 km and are tired and hungry. We head out intending to eat our body weight in Chinese, but I order a Kung Po chicken so hot it burns my lips – a novel form of portion control.
Note: I added Port Melbourne to my itinerary for personal reasons, but would still recommend a trip as we enjoyed our visit to this pleasant suburb, with an abundance of shops and restaurants as well as a prom adjacent to the beach.
Date of trip: March 2018
Updated: September 2022
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