Melbourne: At home with Barry Smith

I flew Qantas into Melbourne airport, capital of the state of Victoria, from North Queensland, on Thursday 19^th July, to be met by my friend Barry Smith who is showing me as many highlights of the region in my short 4-day stay as can be shoe-horned in. Barry is an adventurer, writer, intellectual, raconteur, and fount of knowledge about the history and culture of Australia, after making it his adopted home for 40 years. Having studied at Cambridge University, he then took the plunge and emigrated from his Manchester home, to a forward-looking, ambitious land of opportunity.

It is 26 years since my last visit to Melbourne, and as we zoomed through the vast skyscrapers and impressive infrastructural developments of the city, I can see huge changes. I am reminded of the Australian coat of arms with its emu and kangaroo- two indigenous animals that symbolically cannot walk backwards. Australia is still a country with huge ambition and vision, and it seems continues to offer employment possibilities for young Brits who have the same spirit of adventure that the young Barry showed back in the late 1960’s and are willing to leave their homeland (take note dear students!) Barry lives in a modern apartment on Richmond Hill, which was full of books and paintings, with a very bohemian ambience. I really felt at home here!  Spoilt for choice of where to eat that night, in a truly multi-cultural mecca for foodies, I was whisked off to Barry’s local Vietnamese restaurant where he was warmly greeted by the owner, as if visiting his second home.

We walked across Princes Bridge and along elevated South Bank that overlooks the river Yarra, taking in the wonderful Opera House and concert hall, all towered over by high rise apartment blocks in dramatic, abstract geometric shapes that cut into the winter sky and occasionally flash with the bright shafts of sunlight glinting on the reflective surfaces. Living here does not come cheap, and a home near the top of the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere that looms above, would set you back well in excess of a million pounds.

We promenaded from the ultra-modern and chic, back in time, to The Lanes and de Graves Street, with its busy little boutique cafes, through to the elegant Victorian Block Arcade – as opulent, refined and exclusive as London’s Burlington Arcade. I pressed my nose against the gleaming window of the beautiful Hopetoun Tea Rooms which date back to the 1880’s, and imagined myself transported back in time, sitting at a table in my long dress, petticoats, corset, white gloves and bonnet, taking afternoon tea with my lady friends. Back in those days, in her determination to create a home thousands of miles from home the wife of a successful merchant would have uncompromisingly kept up the best of English standards and etiquette, even in the intense heat of the Australian summer!

 

 We jumped on a tram to nearby Docklands, which over the past 30 years has been radically redeveloped as a fashionable place to live, with its prestigious marina, but which also bears the traces of its former industrial role, with its wharfs, sheds and waterways. The Docks were of course the former vital hub for the export of Australian goods, and the import and transportation of supplies and produce from home and abroad. The pier further along would have been the site where thousands of migrants had arrived looking for a better life, but many young Aussie men departed for war, never to return home.

Federation Square, a modern piazza which was created from scratch as a central focal point for the city around 20 years ago, is a bold architectural statement that reflects the ‘let’s go for it’ ethos of the city.  A highlight of the day was my visit to the adjacent National Gallery of Victoria, and a stunning exhibition of Contemporary Aboriginal Painting at the Ian Potter Centre. I have photographed the whole show and done extensive research that I intend to make into a powerpoint lecture on my return.

Well, what a city, and on other travels through the metropolis, I was able to record the diverse mix of houses past and present that make this such a desirable place to settle and regard as home. Below are just a few of my personal favourites, including 2 wonderful homes that I visited for some heart-warming Australian hospitality.

Two other highlights of my time in the state of Victoria were a tour of 3 of the principal vineyards of the verdant Yarra Valley, (home of one of the most important areas for wine production in Australia) - Domaine Chandon, de Bertoli, and Yerring Station; and a drive along Melbourne’s own waterfront of Port Phillip Bay which leads onto Sorrento and the National Park with its spectacular surf beach.

Many thanks Barry for being a marvellous host and sharing your home with me – next stop on my travels …. Sydney!