MELBOURNE BY NIGHT

The view of the Eastern end of the City from the Southern bank of the Yarra River is quite stunning, especially on a dark slightly overcast and moonless night such as this.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

SOUTHBANK REFLECTIONS

View from Southbank towards the South and Port Phillip Bay.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

MILL PARK LIBRARY

The Mill Park Library opened in 2002 at a cost of $8 million, and was the first library in Victoria to be designed on the concept of a hybrid digital/print library. It serves the northern outer suburbs. This iconic library building on Plenty Road has a spacious children’s library, a fully equipped training room with 12 PCs, an extensive Local History collection and a quiet reading area. As well as material in English, the library offers community language material in Italian, Greek, Maltese and Chinese.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

FERNERY

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the I Heart Macros meme.

OLINDA

Olinda is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 36 km east of Melbourne's central business district. Its local government area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Olinda had a population of 1568. Olinda is home to cafes, restaurants, antique and craft shops, and numerous art galleries, showcasing local, national, and international artists in such areas as sculpture and painting. It has a public swimming pool, a primary school, and is home to the National Rhododendron Garden and the Olinda State Forest. The Ashendene Boys Home was located in Olinda.

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

YERING STATION WINERY

Yering Station was originally established in 1838 as Victoria's first vineyard and today, this family-owned Winery Tourism Complex is reaching new heights. Beyond the manicured gardens lies the contemporary stone edifice, which houses the Wine Bar Restaurant and the winemaking facilities, seen through the viewing platforms. The restaurant's cuisine is modern with the emphasis on regional produce. Art exhibitions feature in the tasting room regularly.

The sophisticated architectural lines of the Yering Station Wine Bar Restaurant open out to majestic views stretching across the Yarra Valley floor. Designed by architect Robert Conti, the spectacular contemporary building combines unique stonework using pieces selected from the local Lillydale quarry, with traditional Swiss-influenced roofing structure to reflect the history of the property. Taking three years to construct, Conti's vision sought to create a structure that would sit harmoniously within the undulating natural environment rather than imposing upon it.

This is definitely a winery not to miss in the Yarra Valley, a place where good wineries are the norm. A convenient 60 km drive from Melbourne, it makes for an excellent day trip, where may enjoy good food, good wine, art exhibitions, spectacular scenery and warm hospitality.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

WERRIBEE RIVER

The Werribee River is a perennial river of the Port Phillip catchment that is located on the plain West of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The headwaters of a tributary, the Lerderderg River, are north of Ballan near Daylesford and it flows across the basalt plain, through the suburb of Werribee to enter Port Phillip. A linear park follows the Werribee River along much of its course. In total the Werribee River completes a journey of approximately 110 kilometres.

The river flows through the Werribee Gorge State Park before being utilised for irrigation of market gardens at Bacchus Marsh, then through Werribee where it is crossed by the Maltby By-pass. It then flows through the Werribee Open Range Zoo in Werribee Park, and finally the small coastal settlement of Werribee South before entering Port Phillip. The Western Treatment Plant, a sewage treatment site, is located near the mouth of the river, and supplies irrigation needs to the zoo. The Werribee River Trail winds beside the Werribee River from Davis Creek in Tarneit to the Princes Highway in Werribee.

These photos of the River are taken in Werribee, close to the Presidents Park.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
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SUNRISE IN THE CITY

One of the pleasures of living in Melbourne is walking by the Yarra River early in the morning and watching the su rise over the quietly flowing waters...

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme.

INDUSTRIAL

Although Fairfield is a predominantly residential inner city suburb, it does have a small north-eastern pocket, which remains a light industrial area. This is a vestige of the suburb's initial blue-collar roots, now having become thoroughly gentrified on the main. This photo is from this light industrial area, after hours, hence the deserted look.

This post is part of the Weekly Top Shot meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.

PARKLANDS POND

A pond at the Darebin Parklands is a welcome refuge for ducks and moor hens in the midst of suburbia.

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
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MELBOURNE BY NIGHT

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

HEIDE REFLECTIONS

Heide Museum of Modern Art, or Heide as it is affectionately known, is a modern and contemporary art museum located in Bulleen, east of Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum comprises several detached buildings and surrounding gardens of historical importance that are used as gallery spaces to exhibit works in various mediums by contemporary Australian artists.

The museum occupies the site of a former dairy farm that was purchased by the prominent Melbourne art benefactors John and Sunday Reed in 1934 and became home to a collective known as the Heide Circle, which included many of Australia's best-known modernist painters, such as; Albert Tucker, Sidney Nolan, Laurence Hope, Joy Hester and others, who lived and worked in the former farm house (Heide I).

Between 1964 and 1967, a new residence was built (Heide II). It is considered to be one of the finest examples of modernist architecture in Victoria. In 1980, the Reeds sold Heide II, most of the adjoining property and significant works from their art collection to the Victorian State Government after several years of negotiations for the creation of a public art gallery and park. The main gallery (Heide III) was constructed in 1993 and the Heide Collection has since expanded through many individual gifts as well as four significant collections—the Museum of Modern Art and Design Collection, the Baillieu Myer Collection of the 80s, the Barrett Reid Collection, and most recently, the Albert Tucker Gift donated by Barbara Tucker.

The museum underwent major redevelopment in 2005-06 which involved significant extensions to the Heide III building by O'Connor + Houle Architecture, construction of the Sidney Myer Education Centre, restoration work on Heide II and surrounding gardens, and the creation of the Sir Rupert Hamer Memorial Garden, the Tony and Cathie Hancy Sculpture plaza and the Federation Way Car Park. In 2009 Chris Connell Design and McCorkell Construction completed the new Heide Cafe, currently occupied by Cafe Vue. This completed the capital works expansion and building upgrades at Heide.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

AUTUMN IS COMING

Autumn is making its presence felt in Melbourne these past few days. Some rain, cooler temperatures, shortening days and the leaves have started to turn yellow.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,

and also part of the I Heart Macros meme.