A week in Melbourne, Australia- 5/4- 5/10/2024

Day 3-Breakfast & City tour-5/6/2024

Today we set out on a city tour of Melbourne but before our city tour started, we stopped for breakfast at Federal Coffee, tucked under the historic arches of the Melbourne GPO building (General Post Office) at Bourke & Elizabeth Street.

The General Post Office (GPO) is a landmark, built in the 1860s-1900s in a Renaissance Revival style, with beautiful arches and a grand façade that still feels regal and elegant. Combining the elegance of the GPO’s historic arches and the vibrant buzz of the city, Federal Coffee has established itself as one of Melbourne best coffee venues. 

 Federal Coffee makes great use of the space under those arches and it is a well-loved spot by locals and visitors alike, partly because of its prime location in the city and partly because of the ambiance: heritage architecture mixed with a lively café culture.

We ordered a scrambled eggs on sourdough toast with ham and apple jam.

The portion was huge so we split it in half.  We really enjoyed our breakfast here and the coffee is also excellent.

City Tour

After breakfast we are headed to the Grand State Library of Victoria to meet with our tour guide. The library’s impressive façade, with its neoclassical columns and sweeping staircase, was the perfect starting point. Out front, there were a lot people standing around. I think there was like a open call for candidates to be selected in the Amazing race for Australia.

Meeting our tour guide Matthew for the First time.  Matthew is an actor, and he told us it is really difficult to get part and working full time as an actor,  and to make ends meet, he moonlights as a tour guide.

Melbourne City tour is a 3 hours walk, starting from the State Library and ending at the Yarra River.  Matthew is and amazing story teller, he is so captivating and he is also gave us good insight about how Melbourne became a prosperous city from the gold rush era (1851 to 1860) to the present day. We visited the most iconic buildings in the city and get to hear all the story behind it.

From the library’s sweeping steps, we set off with our guide toward the University of Melbourne. Along the way, we passed by the striking Green Brain building at RMIT University. 

Crossing the street and the façade of the Green Brain building at RMIT University is bold, futuristic design covered in irregular green geometric panels, standing out sharply against the more traditional city architecture around it.

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The green sculpture around the building is very bold and you definitely cannot miss it.

Entering the University of Melbourne, we walked through a quiet courtyard surrounded by historic sandstone buildings.  On the left is a bronze sculpture of Francis Ormondon a high granite base. It’s not just a decorative statue; it’s a monument to education, philanthropy, and social progress. Ormond’s contribution was about giving working people access to education. The statue being there since 1897 means it has witnessed many phases of Melbourne’s growth, closely tied to RMIT’s evolution.

The Francis Ormond building started in 1887 as the Working Men’s College. It was founded to provide education to working people, especially in evenings, giving those who had day jobs access to lectures, workshops, and technical training. It was a place to improve skills and opportunities.  Francis Ormond, the founder was a philanthropist, grazier and politician. He donated money (and bequests) to help build the college, and the building is named after him

It’s heritage‐listed (Victorian Heritage Register) and considered important, not just architecturally but socially because it represents a time when education for the working class was becoming more accessible.

As we walked into a brick-lined courtyard at the University of Melbourne / RMIT area, the contrast of old and new really stood out. The heritage brick buildings around the courtyard give it a warm, historic feel, while the scattered tables and chairs make it an inviting, social space where students gather between classes.

Looking up, the sight changes dramatically, the courtyard is framed by towering modern skyscrapers, a reminder that this quiet academic pocket is right in the heart of bustling Melbourne. The blend of history at ground level and contemporary city life rising above creates a striking atmosphere, almost like two eras coexisting in the same view.

We are now leaving the courtyard and heading to the Old Melbourne Gaol (is the old-fashioned English spelling of jail or prison).

The Old Melbourne Gaol now sits inside the RMIT University campus (along Russell and La Trobe Streets). The grey bluestone walls you saw, with the narrow barred windows, are original to the prison, built between 1841 and 1864. The thick stone and tiny windows weren’t designed for comfort, but to isolate prisoners and maintain strict control. This gaol was Melbourne’s main prison in the 19th century, and it’s infamous as the place where Ned Kelly, the bushranger and folk hero, was executed in 1880.  Ned Kelly was captured and brought to Melbourne Goal and on November 11, 1880 he was executed by hanging here at the Old Melbourne Gaol. In total, over 130 hangings took place here, and the cells once held both petty criminals and some of Victoria’s most notorious offenders.

 When it closed in 1924, much of the land was handed over to RMIT, which grew around it. Today, the surviving walls and buildings form a dramatic contrast with the modern glass towers of the campus. The barred windows, still intact, give a haunting reminder of Melbourne’s past, while the university activity all around shows how the city has transformed the site from punishment to learning.

The “Eight Hour Day Monument”, often marked with the 888 symbol. It’s one of Melbourne’s most important landmarks because it celebrates a world-changing workers’ movement.

 The story behind it was in the mid-1800s, most workers in Melbourne faced harsh, 12- to 14-hour workdays, six days a week. Stonemasons and building workers began campaigning for something revolutionary: a balanced life with “8 hours work, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest.” On 21 April 1856, stonemasons working on the University of Melbourne walked off the job and marched to Parliament House. Their protest was successful, they won the world’s first legislated eight-hour workday, without loss of pay.

The monument was erected in 1903 to honor those workers. The 888 symbol carved into it represents the motto: 8 hours work, 8 hours recreation, 8 hours rest. The design includes classical elements, with a stone pillar topped by a globe, symbolizing how the idea spread from Melbourne to the world. It originally stood outside Parliament, but today it sits proudly at Carlton Gardens, near RMIT, not far from where the movement began.

Our tour guide told us about the Historic Houses in Drummond Street, Carlton.  They are called the Drummond Terrace with seven grand houses erected 1890-91, designed by architect Walter Scott Law.

Here you can clearly see the 7 apartment the was built in Boom-Classical style, with symmetrical facades, arcades, and decorative details like bay windows, arches, and ornate parapets.

These houses have been, historically, residences but also used as hostels/student housing in part. The proximity to skyscrapers above is common in Carlton. You see old terraces next to modern high-rises, which creates that contrast of eras.

We passed by Collins Arch, one of Melbourne’s most striking new landmarks, a pair of glass towers joined high above by a sky-bridge that gives the whole structure its iconic arch shape.

Collins Arch is made of two skyscrapers that are connected by a sky-bridge near the top. Both towers rise up about 538 ft. tall and the bridge between the towers isn’t just decorative, it houses a sky garden and shared amenities. Collins Arch has offices, hotel, residential apartments, retail shops, it’s built to be part of the city fabric, not just one function. At ground level there’s public open space, plazas, landscaped areas. The design tries to connect to surrounding streets and create new pedestrian pathways.

Walking into Carlton Gardens, we  arrived at a sweeping green space that feels both peaceful and grand. The gardens feature formal lawns, tree-lined avenues (plane trees, elms, oaks, etc.), ornamental lakes, and winding paths.

Our group following our tour guide. The gardens surrounding the Exhibition Building cover about 26 hectares and were originally laid out around the mid-1800s

The white building is the Royal Exhibition Building, one of Melbourne’s most historic and iconic structures.

In front of the Royal Exhibiting Building is the Hochgurtel Fountain, designed for the 1880 Exhibition by sculptor Joseph Hochgurtel. It stands near the southern entrance of the Royal Exhibition Building, serving as a centerpiece in the formal garden layout.

The Fountain is richly detailed, with figures of youths, representations of industry, science, commerce, and art, and with elements of Victoria’s flora and fauna.

Here is a different angle of the Royal  Exhibit Building and the Hochgurtel Fountain

We are now at the Princess Theater, one of Melbourne’s most beautiful and historic performance venues. The current building opened in 1886, designed by architect William Pitt in the Second Empire style, which was fashionable at the time with its French-inspired mansard roofs, elaborate façade, and ornate decoration. It has long been a centerpiece of Melbourne’s theatre district, hosting everything from grand opera and Shakespearean plays to blockbuster musicals. It’s considered Australia’s oldest continuously operating entertainment site of its kind.

Looking up at the facade the details are striking.  At the very top sits a golden statue of Fame, a figure blowing a trumpet to symbolize the spreading of glory and renown. Just below, you noticed the coat of arms, a crest that reinforces the theatre’s grandeur and sense of tradition. The whole front is richly decorated with stucco, columns, arches, and balustrades, designed to impress visitors before they even step inside.

 One of the most famous ghost stories of the Princess Theatre is about Frederici (real name Frederick Baker), an opera singer. In 1888, he was performing in Faust as the devil, Mephistopheles. At the dramatic finale, he descended through a trapdoor into the stage below. The effect thrilled the audience, but they didn’t realize that Frederici had suffered a fatal heart attack during the descent. The remarkable part of the story is that many audience members swore they still saw him bow with the cast at curtain call, even though he had already passed away beneath the stage. Since then, theatre staff and performers have claimed to feel his presence. He’s said to be a “friendly ghost,” and tradition has it that if Frederici is around on opening night, it’s a good omen for the show. So the Princess Theatre isn’t just known for its grandeur and performances — it’s also home to Melbourne’s most legendary stage ghost.

Melbourne’s Chinatown is the oldest continuous Chinatown in the Western world, dating back to the 1850s gold rush era. When gold was discovered in Victoria, thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived seeking fortune. Many of them came through Little Bourke Street, which soon became the heart of their community. They opened shops, herbal medicine stores, boarding houses, and restaurants, creating a bustling hub of culture and trade.

The colorful gates you see today, with their traditional Chinese design and bright red pillars, were built later as symbols of friendship and heritage. They serve as entry points into Chinatown and represent prosperity, luck, and a warm welcome.

Through the decades, Chinatown has remained a cultural landmark. It’s where early Chinese settlers supported one another, and today it continues to thrive with restaurants, festivals (especially Lunar New Year), and historic sites like the Chinese Museum, which tells the story of Chinese-Australian history.

We are now in the back street of Collins street Precinct, which is part of Melbourne’s reputation as a global street art capital. While Collins Street is traditionally known for its luxury and heritage, the laneways branching off it (like Hosier Lane, AC/DC Lane, and others) are filled with striking murals that bring a more contemporary, creative layer to the neighborhood. These murals often change, but many are done by well-known local and international artists, turning Melbourne’s walls into open-air galleries. 

Rone (Tyrone Wright), a well-known street artist from Melbourne, famous for large, elegant portraits of women often done in a monochrome or limited palette, painted the mural in 2014, on the facade of the building at 80 Collins Street, in the so-called “Paris End” of Collins Street. It’s one of his biggest works to date. The face is of model Teresa Oman. The portrait is tall, very elongated due to the building’s height, with the hair falling down in waves. Rone’s style often involves creating mood and atmosphere, using play of scale (big-scale portrait on building façades), subtle tones, and sometimes weathered concrete surfaces to give texture. The mural both beautifies the street and draws attention to art in public space.

Beside the famous mural the street is covered with street art.

NEXT... City Tour continuation