February 17, 2023
“This will be the place for a village.”
- John Batman
We have been in Batmania for a couple of days now. I should explain. Batmania, although I wish it did, has nothing to do with this guy.
Batmania was the original name for Melbourne, It was named after John Batman who wrote on Monday, June 8, 1835 in his journal the above quote.
This was the spot near the banks of the Yarra River where Batman first started. He declared in his journal, it will be called “Batmania”.
Batman is a controversial founder of this great city. He was a squatter and land speculator attempting to get rich in this new frontier. On one hand, he did negotiate a treaty of sorts with the local aborigines to the land. (The ‘Batman Treaty’ was later voided by the government who simply claimed the area for the Crown completely ignoring the indigenous claims). On the other hand, Batman was a notorious participant in numerous Aboriginal massacres both here and in Tasmania, where he used to live.
The history of Oz, much like our own, is a messy one.
Batman only lived 4 more years. He died crippled with syphillis four years later.
I should explain the ‘Oz’ nickname. As much fun as it is to think of Australia as the ‘Emerald City’ it has to do with colloquialism common here. Aussies are fond of shortening words and phrases in everyday speak. Tasmania is often called “Tassie”. And Australia is shortened to ‘Aus’. But, in the local dialect it can easily sound like ‘Oz’. So that fact, and the romance of the Wizard of Oz story, caused the nickname to stick.
Melbourne is slightly smaller in population than Sydney at around 5 million people which makes it larger by most US cities except for New York. It was a little jarring coming into the downtown after spending so much time in national parks on this trip. This is a really big place with a dense downtown, small sidewalks, and pressing pedestrians always on the move. Walking around looking up, as travelers are prone to do, will get you knocked over fairly quickly.
It has also been hot. Today is over 100 degrees here which makes touring anything that isn’t air conditioned essentially impossible.
There is much to see however. As i have tried to show in some of the pictures, the skyscraper architecture is visually striking. Unlike the brutalist grey so common in Manhattan, the tall buildings here offer vibrance and different shapes making it hard not to stare a bit (And get run over).
There is a pronounced asian influence here. The Chinatown is the largest in the southern hemisphere. Of the many, many cafes we encountered, the vast majority are Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Thai. There was even a cafe that catered to Uighur cuisine.
Remember the rabbits story earlier. Well the solution was felt to be bring in trusted English Foxes like this guy
It was another disaster. They did prey on some rabbits but also 72 other native species driving them close to extinction. Also, they have no natural predators! Melbourne is the fox capital on the world with 20-23 per every square kilometer of the city. You can feed them in the park!
Melbourne, for a time, was the capital of Australia. When Australia wanted to develop a federal system like ours they wanted to create a capital like Washington DC that no one state could claim. They built Canberra for that purpose. When the planned community was finished, they moved the capital there.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, thanks to the gold rush, Melbourne became the richest city in the world. It has so much money it even took the time to build these conveniences for public use.
Why is a ladies room such an extravagance? Women, it was felt at the time, should not travel far from home in proper society. Therefore their was no need for such conveniences. But Melbourne had money to burn and did so anyway.
This is the Palis Theatre - It is one of the most famous theaters in the world. There are 2,896 seats which makes it the largest seated theatre in Australia. It is only exceeded in seating capacity by the New York Metropolitan Opera.
Melbourne is noted for street art. Many alley ways are emblazoned with works of all kinds. You can find colorful graffiti, portraits, and even a naked picture of Trump (It is used to scare snakes away from parks)
We strolled around, at times aimlessly, and just paused in the shade to see what we could of this huge place.
And for Alex -
I always liked to find something unusual when we travel to visit somewhere. This is a very foody town and you can eat well here.
Alex, my soon to be new daughter in law, and Stephen are both accomplished cooks. But Alex likes to bake as well. She is very good at it. Her last visit she made homemade croissants that were indescribably good.
You see, croissants, by virtue of being at the highest point on the ladder of the carbohydrate food chain, are like heroin for me. I am hopelessly addicted and boy did Alex score points with the future in laws when she made those flaky rolls of pure manna.
Lune Croissants, found here in Melbourne, has been called “The best croissant in the world”.
“Melbourne's Lune Croissanterie has been named home of the World's Best Croissant. Inspired by the delicate pastry of France, the Lune team reconstructed it to create a pastry worth lining up for. And it seems you will have to line up for one, with a queue going around the block for a piece of pastry heaven……..Lune is unique; designed to inspire a commitment to precision in each exquisite detail, during every stage of the croissant-making process. Lune is not a shop, nor is it a factory. It is a celebration of the creation, complexity and ultimate enjoyment of a croissant.”
Like an addict in need of a fix I had to find this place. It was a small shop on a busy downtown street. We had to wait in a line for about 30 minutes. Once inside you were witness to a baking wonderland with a Willy Wonka precision.
When our rolls arrived, along with good coffee, they were small works of art. Warm flakey beautiful rolls with impossibly thin multiple layers of butter goodness that melted in my mouth. It was divine.
Alex and Stephen, I wish you could be here too. It was like visiting the Sistine Chapel of baking. We miss you.
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