Existing Member?

    Photos from Australia

    There are currently [89,599] photos from Australia

    < Previous 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 Next >
    The Melbourne Museum on the right, just behind the Royal Exhibition Building. Another biggie: it is the largest museum in the Southern Hemisphere, founded in 1854 but the modern building here only opened in 2000. Currently, King Tut and his golden crown are visiting, his only stop in Australia. : by flyted, Views[923]
         		 Probably the most famous event to take place here was the official opening of the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, on the 9th of May, 1901, in what was the largest building in Australia at the time. The future King George V opened Parliament on behalf of his father, King Edward VII.: by flyted, Views[394]
         		 The Royal Exhibition Building was designed by the same architect as the State Library nearby, and the dome was inspired by the Duomo in Florence. The building fell into disrepair and was almost demolished in the 1950's, but was gradually restored, and only gained its Royal designation in 1984, surprisingly.: by flyted, Views[497]
         		 The canopy of trees in Carlton Gardens, leading up to the south entrance of the Royal Exhibition Building. The Gardens are included with the building's World Heritage Site designation.: by flyted, Views[1198]
         		 The stunning Royal Exhibition Building, built in 1880 and one of Melbourne's foremost landmarks ever since. It is one of the world's last great 19th century exhibition buildings, inspired by the Crystal Palace of 1851 in London, which burned down in 1936. This building gives you a sense of what the Crystal Palace and other huge exhibition halls would have been like. The Royal Exhibition Building has survived though and in 2004 became the first building in Australia to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. : by flyted, Views[1572]
     
    Back on the roof of the YHA, a typical day in Melbourne: they don't joke about 4 seasons in one day for nothing. Most days comprise clear blue sky followed 10 minutes later by black clouds, and then back to sun, and back to rain, and so on. The clouds will often hover over just one small section of the city. You can't even see the Eureka Tower in this, it would normally be in the background centre-right but is completely obscured by clouds. 2 minutes later, it was back.: by flyted, Views[448]
         		 I made certain to get up to the top in time for sunset, which did not disappoint. This is looking west, where the Yarra River empties into Port Phillip Bay. Geelong would be way out to the west, further along the bay.: by flyted, Views[304]
         		 Along with free binoculars, the observation deck also offers a free kaleidoscope viewer, so this is what it looks like inside, with a view of the Botanic Gardens and Government House.: by flyted, Views[354]
         		 I still got a picture anyway from the edge of the window looking straight down, and saved $20.: by flyted, Views[215]
         		 The Edge, popping back into the building. Fortunately it didn't get stuck in a moment it couldn't get out of, at least not while I was there.: by flyted, Views[267]
     
    Eureka Tower's “extra” attraction, “The Edge,” which is a glass cube that rolls out from inside the building to hang in the air, almost 1,000 feet above the street. Then the floor switches from opaque to clear glass, similar to the Skyway cable car in the Blue Mountains. This ride though costs an extra $20.: by flyted, Views[1027]
         		 The view south across Port Phillip Bay towards the Mornington Peninsula and Sorrento, where I was a couple weeks earlier on the way to Queenscliff and the Great Ocean Road. St. Kilda is the group of the buildings at the edge of the bay, and Albert Park with its lake is in the middle, home of the Australian Grand Prix (around the lake).: by flyted, Views[477]
         		 The Victorian Arts Centre and Spire from above. The Spire sits atop the new State Theatre, opened in 1984, which has one of the largest stages in the world. The entire complex comprises numerous theatres and concert halls, mostly in the three buildings facing the park. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Theatre Company, Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet are all based here.: by flyted, Views[1218]
         		 Federation Square from above, showing a temporary maze built in the middle courtyard during Comedy Fest. : by flyted, Views[873]
         		 The east side of the CBD from above, showing St. Paul's Cathedral and Federation Square at the bottom, and some of the big buildings of Melbourne. Fitzroy Gardens is the nice big park with the trees in behind.: by flyted, Views[699]
     
    From the observation deck on the Eureka Tower, 88 floors above the street. This is the highest observation deck in the Southern Hemisphere, 285 metres or 935 feet above ground. In this picture you can see the shadow of the Tower, pointing out to the Dandenong Ranges east of the city. The Yarra River is below, with the Royal Botanic Gardens on the right side and the sporting precinct on the left bank. The Sports Precinct features seven stadiums and arenas, plus another 8 tennis courts. From the left are: the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Rod Laver Arena (Australian Open Tennis), Hisense Arena (multiple sports & events) and AAMI Park on the right (rugby & soccer).: by flyted, Views[728]
         		 The golden Bee Colony climbing up the base of the Eureka Tower. The Queen Bee is sitting on top of the box.: by flyted, Views[539]
         		 Bourke Street Mall, the pedestrian section of Bourke Street, which cuts across the middle of the CBD. Trams run down the middle but are easy to avoid when crossing the street; Swanston St. may look like this in the near future.: by flyted, Views[788]
         		 Trams humming along Swanston Street, in the middle of the CBD. Melbourne has the world's largest tram network, at 245 km long, with 500 trams and 28 routes. They say 178 million trips are made on the system every year. : by flyted, Views[430]
         		 This was the world's largest reinforced concrete dome when it was built in 1913.: by flyted, Views[1259]
     
    Looking down on the Reading Room from above, near the base of the giant dome.: by flyted, Views[267]
         		 Inside La Trobe Reading Room at the State Library, an inspiring and impressive space.: by flyted, Views[347]
         		 Looking north from the roof, with the edge of the Dandenong Ranges way off in the distance.: by flyted, Views[286]
         		 North Melbourne Town Hall, from the roof of the YHA.: by flyted, Views[284]
         		 Back in North Melbourne, home of the YHA Metro Hostel, one of the finest in Australia, if not the world. Clean, nice beds, good facilities, but the highlight is the rooftop patio & barbecue, which has this panorama view of Melbourne. The red brick building is an old school, and just above its pointed roof you can see the Eureka Tower sticking up.: by flyted, Views[306]
     
    I had to take this picture of a display showing what Melbourne used to look like, 40 years ago... Virtually all the industrial buildings along side the river have been replaced. The Arts Centre now is where the taller buildings are at back-right, on the right side of the river.: by flyted, Views[383]
         		 Eureka Tower, all 91 floors. Floors 82 to 87 featured one suite on each, and sold for $7 million (plus furnishings & fixtures) when it opened in 2006. This place reminds me of the Top of the Reactor building from SCTV (check YouTube).: by flyted, Views[722]
         		 The Footbridge has a neat little restaurant tucked in underneath its south pier, sitting in the river (check the previous photo). Flinders St. Station clock tower is behind, through the eye of the bridge.: by flyted, Views[377]
         		 Southgate Footbridge over the Yarra River, with the Rialto Tower behind, once the tallest in Australia.: by flyted, Views[430]
         		 Wonderful shot of Melbourne from the Yarra Southbank, next to the Arts Centre, with Princes Bridge in the foreground. The green dome of Flinders St. Station is at the extreme left, and then St. Paul's Cathedral, Federation Square, the Forum's dome sticking up in the middle, and the CBD-east group of Melbourne's towers. Note the glass tower on the right which blends in with the sky. : by flyted, Views[340]
     
    The Arts Centre Spire, focal point of the Victorian Arts Centre. I saw pictures of this for years and never understood what it was for. It must be a radio/TV tower, right? Does it have an observation deck somehow? Nope, it's simply one very large piece of art. The spire is for decoration only, and meant to evoke both the Eiffel Tower and a ballerina's tutu. It is one of Melbourne's most recognisable landmarks, and I guess served an obvious purpose for locals all along.: by flyted, Views[900]
         		 This is Swanston Street, south of the river, looking south. The Shrine of Remembrance war memorial is at the end, and the Arts District on the right hand side.: by flyted, Views[320]
         		 Nice streetscape on Princes Bridge (Swanston St.), built in 1888. Federation Square is in the background and two of Melbourne's tallest buildings in behind. : by flyted, Views[928]
         		 The Yarra River, Melbourne Cricket Ground in the distance, and a couple rowers for flavour.: by flyted, Views[316]
         		 Melbourne trams lining up at the Swanston/Flinders platform, one of the busiest. This is Swanston St., one of the main drags through central Melbourne to the north and across the river behind me to the south. St. Paul's Cathedral is on the right and Melbourne Town Hall farther down with the clock tower. They are planning to pedestrianise the street in the near future, removing all cars and allowing only trams, thus allowing for more big gathering spaces in Melbourne.: by flyted, Views[611]
     
    A map of Federation Square, with the main entrance and courtyard at bottom-left and Flinders St. Station would be across the street at bottom. : by flyted, Views[345]
         		 And so we had a Canadian representative, doing some kind of clothes-changing challenge behind a convenient flag.: by flyted, Views[319]
         		 Here's a temporary sign in Federation Square, pointing the way to Montréal, home of the largest comedy festival in the world. : by flyted, Views[337]
         		 The guy on the left kept throwing hula hoops on the girl until she was spinning about 20 of them. And having an awesome time.: by flyted, Views[401]
         		 The Melbourne International Comedy Festival was in town, the third-largest in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. It just goes on and on, everything is BIG in Melbourne. Here are some street performers putting on a free show on the stage in Federation Square.: by flyted, Views[326]
     
    Flagstaff Park, on the north-west side of Melbourne CBD, near the Queen Victoria Market. A great example of another really nice little park tucked away in the city; soft grass, nice trees, probably a playground, lots of fountains, benches, statues & plaques, and of course a public toilet. They think of everything in Australia.: by flyted, Views[877]
         		 Errol Street next to the Town Hall, the commercial strip of North Melbourne. Notice the tram making a turn onto the street.: by flyted, Views[420]
         		 This is the Town Hall of North Melbourne, one of the nicest in the city. Built in 1876 and now used as a theatre.: by flyted, Views[301]
         		 The street scene on Swan St., one of the commercial districts of Richmond, a typical inner-city suburb just to the east of the city centre. Melbourne's suburbs, most of which are represented by football teams (such as the Richmond Tigers), are famous for their plethora of interesting commercial areas, with lots of neat shops, restaurants and the obligatory Town Hall.: by flyted, Views[359]
         		 Buskers enjoying the attention outside the Queen Vic Markets.: by flyted, Views[427]
     
    Over to a small part of the Queen Victoria Market, 17 acres in size, the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere. They have everything here from all sorts of food to crafts, jewellery, music, electronics, both tacky and handmade souvenirs, shoes, clothes, hats and so much more.: by flyted, Views[887]
         		 After the match, down at field level. This stadium has hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics, 2006 Commonwealth Games, numerous Ashes and other international Cricket Test matches, Australian national soccer team matches, and virtually every AFL Grand Final since 1902. Its light standards are the tallest in the world, it is the largest cricket stadium in the world, the 10th-largest stadium of any kind in the world, and one of the “seven wonders” of the sporting world. Needless to say, it is a powerfully impressive place. And it fills up with fans twice every weekend for AFL games, like there's nothing to it (tickets were cheap, $20 for an upper-level seat).: by flyted, Views[494]
         		 Mixing it up with some Carlton supporters mainly, in the standing-room section. There are no nets behind the goals so after a score the ball goes flying into the crowd, and they politely throw it back to be used again. Some matches are ridiculous blow-outs, but many are close and come down to the last second, and occasionally there are ties. This time: Collingwood won easily, 102 to 74. : by flyted, Views[522]
         		 So this is it, just over 88,000 people in one place, the largest crowd I've ever seen. It was fairly evenly split between Carlton and Collingwood fans, although Collingwood is known for having the largest fan support in the league. The essence of the game is to kick a rugby/football-type ball through the opposing team's goal posts: a kick through the middle is a goal, worth 6 points, and to kick the ball through either of the shorter posts is known as a “behind,” worth 1 point. Players try to catch the ball within the opponents' 50 metre line, which is where you see the dramatic leaping into the air to bring it down. If successful they get a free kick at the goal.: by flyted, Views[606]
         		 Before each AFL match, a banner is made with a club slogan or some kind of motivational speech to the players, who then run onto the field and smash through the banner. It is a classic Aussie Rules tradition. : by flyted, Views[1134]
     
    < Previous 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 Next >

     

    Browse photos from...

    Popular destinations

    Random Photo

    by annielovett, Views[383]

    by annielovett | Views [383]

    Random Photo

    off on a walk up thru the bush: by nomad_kiwis, Views[467]
    off on a walk up thru the bush

    by nomad_kiwis | Views [467]

    More on Australia

    There are [10245] stories about Australia.