March 5, 2024


Day 14: Melbourne to Ballarat



It was a hot one today in Melbourne and a day spent on a walking tour to a few sites we did not  seethe  last time we were here.

Melbourne reminds me a lot of Toronto, or maybe the Toronto I remember. It is a very multi cultural city. It is easily navigated by foot, and also has very good transit options. The city has lots to offer culturally and it is by and large a clean city,  And on a hot day in March, we got to visit a very unique place in Melbourne, the State Library of Victoria.



The Library is in the Central Business District (CBD). It was established in 1854 as the Public Library of Melbourne, making it Australia's oldest public library. It was also  one of the first free libraries in the world. When it was established , it was open to anyone one over the age of 14 so long as they had clean hands. Unusual for its time , it was open to women and people from all classes. It also partly grew out of the Mechanics Institute movement that saw reading and the access to knowledge as a way to improve lives.  Today the library is the busiest in Australia and is the third busiest in the world. The library is a non circulating reference library. Its collection has grown from over 3, 000 books to over 2 million volumes today. The library also houses art collections, numerous exhibits, and a wide range of technological service for its members. The interior has been restored many times but retains its original grandeur in many ways. Being a bit of a "library nerd" it was a wonderful visit.








After lunch we walked through the Fitzroy's Gardens. It is a huge public gardens in Melbourne, and contains a wonderful conservatory. As it is late summer, many flowers are still in bloom and the gardens are immaculate. The conservatory regularly rotates its flowers, and there were many begonias to be found. Near by the garden , you can visit the explorer James Cooke's cottage. It is not a cottage he lived in here in Melbourne but was rather brought here from the UK. WE decided not to visit but its an interesting bit of Melbourne I didn't know about










We moved on to visit Ballarat for the next few days. We will be slowing down a bit and spending time with family. The rest is much need but I will be enjoying the beautiful sun and sunshine and visiting a few things here of course.


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