Travel blog of a digital nomad
Interesting evolution of a piece of street art by Banksy, the famous British graffiti artist. A Banksy in Melbourne has gone from getting a protective cover from the council to being destroyed by vandals.
[Little Diver - January 2008]
[Little Diver Covered - August 2008]
[Little Diver destroyed by vandals - December 2008]
Boxing day in Melbourne means the Boxing Day test. Over 63,000 people were in attendance on the first day.
[MCG Boxing Day Attendance]
That’s a big crowd for any sporting event in the world, but it can look small at the MCG (the G) as the ground can hold 100,000.
[Australia vs South Africa at MCG]
Qantas has launched its first service using the Airbus A380, flying from Melbourne to Los Angeles.
[Qantas A380 Melbourne Airport]
QF93 left Melbourne just after 11.15am on 20 October 2008. The MEL – LAX route is the longest non-stop flight on the Qantas network. The flight takes around 15 hours, which makes it one of the Longest flights in the world.
The new aircraft has been named Nancy-Bird Walton, after the Australian Pioneer Aviatrix.
[Melbourne Airport Departure Board]
Launch Ceremony
A small ceremony was held in the departure lounge to farewall the inaugural flight. The Hon Martin Ferguson MP and Qantas Chief Executive Officer Geoff Dixon gave speeches before the passengers boarded.
While Melbourne got a politician and a CEO to attend proceedings, at the other end in LA the flight will be greeted by Qantas ambassador John Travolta and Aussie singer Olivia Newton-John.
[The Hon Martin Ferguson MP and Geoff Dixon at A380 Launch]
[Qantas Band sending off passengers]
New Qantas Logo
The famous Flying Kangaroo logo and Qantas font was updated in 2007 in preparation for delivery of the A380. To the non plane spotters eye it might look the same, but the new kangaroo paw is elongated and points forward rather than down, so it can fit on the A380 tail.
[Qantas 747 Tail]
[Qantas A380 Tail]
A380 Onlookers
The A380 had its share of admirers on the day, from flying fans in commemorative T-shirts, passengers on other flights and airport staff were all gathered to have a look.
[Qantas A380 Flying Fans]
[Melbourne Airport Passengers]
[Melbourne Airport Staff Watching A380]
Old and New
The A380 at Gate 9 and a 747 in the background.
[Qantas 747 and A380]
New Airport Terminals
Airports terminals around the world are being modified to fit the A380. In Melbourne Airports case the runway had to be widened and and new air bridges installed. Note the two air bridges here, one for each deck of the A380.
[A380 Double Air Bridge]
Take Off
[Qantas A380 Taking Off at Melbourne Airport]
[Wind Powered Tram]
Seen on the streets of Melbourne is this wind powered tram. No it’s not a tram with sails, but it is using power bought from a wind farm. The tram is currently running on Route 96 from St Kilda Beach to East Brunswick.
Smart car dealerships around the world use this eye catching method to display the funky little micocars.
[Smart Car Stack - Melbourne Australia]
The building in the background is the Eureka Tower, which is currently the world’s tallest residential tower (when measured to its highest floor).
The Royal Melbourne Show is held every September over 11 days. Put on by the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, it is billed as when country comes to the city. It is similar to the State Fairs in the US.
Animals
At the show aniamls from Rural Australia are on show, as well as domestic favourites cats and dogs.
[Melbourne Show - Dogs]
Amusement Rides and Sideshow Alley
Seeing the aniamls is all well and good, but for most kids the main atraction is the rides.
[Melbourne Show Rides]
[Melbourne Show Swings]
[Melbourne Show - Clowns]
Showbags
A big tradition of any Australian Show is the Showbag. Most of the showbags are from the chocolate and lolly companies, as well as toy themed ones. My pick of the show is this David Hasselhoff themed showbag.
[Hoff Show Bag]
Keith Haring was an artist whose graffiti became famous in New York in the 1980′s. He took his distinctive style to cities around the world, making him possibly the worlds first celebrity street artist.
Haring visited Australia in 1984 and his mural at the Collingwood Technical School in Melbourne is one of the largest surviving Haring outdoor murals outside the United States.
[Keith Haring Mural - Melbourne]
The school has since closed down but the mural remains intact. It has been nominated for protection with Heritage Victoria.
[Never Forget Keith]
Location: 35 Johnston St, Collingwood, VIC, 3066, Australia
In a case of street art becoming public art, the City of Melbourne have given the Banksy piece Little Diver a protective covering. Note the photo below with the bolts holding in the cover. The bottom photo is from here: Banksy in Melbourne.
[Little Diver Covered - August 2008]
[Little Diver - January 2008]
April 30 in the Netherlands is known as Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag in Dutch). The day is a public holiday to celebrate the Queens birthday. It’s actually the birthday of the last queen (Juliana), but it is said that the current Queen (Beatrix) kept it in honour of her mother, and also because her birthday is in January, too chilly to be celebrating outdoors.
Queen’s Day is the biggest party of the year in the Netherlands, and on the day the streets resemble a huge market (vrijmarkt, or freemarket) as anyone can sell anything in the streets. Further info at Queen’s Day: The World’s Biggest Street Party.
Today I stumbled upon Dutch Orange Day, a little celebration the local Dutch community put on to celebrate Queen’s Day in Melbourne.
[Clogmaker - Queen's Day in Melbourne]
[Dutch Poffertjes - Queen's Day in Melbourne]
Seeing the Dutch celebrating in Melbourne got me thinking what might have been. Not many people outside of Australia know that this continent was once known as New Holland (in fact probably not many Australians know that either).
[New Holland Map - 1659 (from National Library of Australia)]
When New York was still New Amsterdam (in 1644) the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman christened the continent Nova Hollandia. It wasn’t until 1824 that New Holland officially became Australia.
The first recorded European sighting of the Great Southern Land was by the Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, who landed at what is now known as Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island, on 26 October 1616.
Probably the most well known contact the Dutch had with Western Australia was when the Batavia struck a reef off the coast. It is a classic story of mutiny and survival, which can be read in detail at the Batavia Story.
British ships also sighted the coast but as the Western Australian coast is a vast waterless expanse it was never colonised.
Location: Melbourne – Australia
Date: 25 April 2008
April 25 in Australia and New Zealand is Anzac Day. The day commemorates Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who landed at Gallipoli in Turkey on April 25 1915 during World War I.
[Anzac Day - Melbourne]
The day is a public holiday and it has since come to represent a memorial day for all war veterans.
[Shrine of Remembrance - Anzac Day]
[City of Melbourne Liberators]
[HQ3 Aust. Div]
[RAAF Lancaster Squardrons]
[22 RSU RAAF]
[Air Command South East Asia]
[Ceylon Ex Servicemen]
[Tunnel Rats Vietnam]
[Catalina Flying Boat Units]
[The Rats of Tobruk Memorial]