August 10th, Australia Day 170

I took these photos on the first day of my wanderings through Melbourne.

Like many major cities in Australia, Melbourne has an extensive train network. 

This is the clock tower of Flinders Street Station, one of the main train stations in Melbourne's CBD. 

This little side street in MElbourne contains shops and eateries. While not common, there are a few of these lanes in the downtown area of Melbourne. 

This is an example of a tram in Melbourne, the only city in Australia that uses them. It is one of the defining features of the city and a key part of its identity. 

This is the strange turn I was talking about. This is uniquely Melburnian as far as I can tell. The point is to let the trams, which run on on the center of the roads, to pass unobstruced by cars turning right. As I understand, this particular manoeuvre is called the "hook turn". 

Melbourne has several tall skyscrapers of which this is but one example. 

This is an interesting old building in Melbourne's CBD. I think it houses offices as well as some shops. 

This is the Parliament of the State of Victoria. hen Melbourne was the capital of Australia, it was also the national Parliament. 

These are some of the train tracks which lead into the city. The colourful building in the center is an exhibition hall. 

This is the fountain at the center of Gordon Park, beside the Victorian Parliament. 

This statue commemorates one Mr. Gordon, an early influential poet in Victoria, whom the park is named after. 

This is a statue of an important figure in Melbourne's history, but I forget his name. 

This is a main street of Melbourne commemorating one of its founders. Taken out of context and in modern times, it is hilarious. 

This odd looking building houses a theater of some kind. 

This is the main entrance to the Flinders Street Station. 

This is a memorial to all officers of the Victorian Police who have died while on duty. 

This large working floral clock was a gift from the Swiss Watchmakers Guild to the city of Melbourne. 

The statue at the top of the steps is dedicated to an Australian POW doctor, "Weary" Dunlop. He cared for fellow prisoners and kept their spirits up despite very harsh conditions. The wooden planks were taken from the Thailand-Burma Railway, more specifically, the bridge which was the basisi for the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai". 

This little memorial was raised by the Greek community of Melbourne to honour all those Greeks that have made Australia home. Melbourne is the 2nd largest Greek city in the world, after Athenai (Athens), home to some 500 000 Greeks. 

On the south bank of the Yarra River is this structure known as the "Shrine of Rememberance". It is dedicated to hnour all Victorians who have served and died in all conflicts that the Australian Armed Forces have participated in. There are several memorials inside as well as displys of medals and an information center.

This coulmn commemorates all those Victorians who died in World War 2 

This is a special memorial which commemorates those fathers and sons who served in World War 1 and World War 2 respectively. 

This is the first of 3 photos which shows the Melbourne skyline from the top of the Shrine of Rememberance. 

Photo 2 

Photo 3