The food lovers market

Prahran Market, the oldest continuously running Market in Melbourne. There are known as "the food lovers market" because of the quality and range of food.

The meeting point : Architectural Fragment

By Petrus Spronk
Bluestone sculpture called " Architectural Fragment " 1992
Corner of Swanston and La Trobe Streets

Born in Holland, Petrus Spronk immigrated to Australia in 1957 and trained as a ceramicist and sculptor in South Australia. He was commissioned to undertake Architectural Fragment for the Swanston Street Walk Public Art Project in 1992, and it was unveiled the following year.

Sited outside the State Library of Victoria, the pyramidal, Port Fairy bluestone sculpture represents a fragment of the library emerging from the pavement as an archaeological artefact might. It has been conceived to engage with its environment, visually connecting to its surroundings through both form and material.

Spronk's intention was to create a dialogue of sorts between art, history and place. His inspiration was Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem 'Ozymandias', which speaks of the fragile and transient nature of all that is human. Quoting from the poem, the pedestal reads: 'My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my work you Mighty, and despair.' Architectural Fragment is a Pythagorean triangle, which expresses a strong association with the geometry of ancient Greece. Like a fallen classical monument, it reflects the past and alludes to the transience of the present.

The Pathfinder ( Aka The Hammer Thrower )

By John Edward Robinson

Bronze sculpture, 1974: Queen Victoria Gardens

Artist John Robinson has a long history with Australia. Born in London in 1935, he came to Australia briefly during the war as a child evacuated to escape the German bombing of London. He returned in 1952, living on the land in South Australia, which is where he rediscovered his early talent for sculpture. Returning to England in 1969, he devoted himself to sculpture full time. Robinson’s reputation as a figurative sculptor grew quickly.

In 1973, the City of London commissioned his Hammer Thrower. In 1974, he began to focus on more symbolic forms. Robinson’s major commissions include four sculptures for the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, Gymnast for the New Olympic Museum, Lausanne, and The Pathfinder and Water Children, now with the City of Melbourne.

Mining giant Conzinc Riotinto (now known as Rio Tinto) commissioned Robinson’s The Pathfinder, which they planned to install in their proposed new building. When the building failed to go ahead, the ‘dynamic’ sculpture of the hammer thrower in action was placed on long-term loan with the City of Melbourne, which sited the bronze in the Queen Victoria Gardens.

The hammer held by the figure has been stolen several times and duly returned or replaced by another. Lord Mayor Councillor Whalley unveiled The Pathfinder in April 1974.

Another view of St. Kilda beach

Watery Wednesday and Wordless wednesday

Melbourne Exhibition Centre

The Melbourne Exhibition Centre was opened on 14 February 1996, and hosts thousands of large exhibitions, some being annual events.

It has a pillarless floor space of 30,000 square metres, making it the largest pillarless floor space in the southern hemisphere. This building is also known as "Jeff's Shed" after the then premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, intervened to have the building used as a convention centre, rather than as a museum as originally intended.

The building was designed by Denton Corker Marshall, an architectural firm responsible for many of Melbourne's larger buildings through the early 1990s, and features their characteristic "blade" entrance. In 1998 a covered footbridge was erected between the Exhibition and Convention centres, parallel to the Spencer Street Bridge.

Reflection of Architecture

Etihad Stadium on a windy day

Etihad Stadium, formerly Colonial Stadium and Telstra Dome, is set in the redeveloped Docklands precinct immediately adjacent to Melbourne's CBD. The integrated urban stadium development has been designed with event flexibility as a key component. One of the main design features is the translucent saddle-shaped stadium roof which is supported by the seating structure and two 295m long trusses, enhancing the intense atmosphere, optimising stadium acoustics.

Etihad Stadium is a multipurpose venue which hosts as many as 85 sports and entertainment events per year. Our major hirer is the AFL which on average schedules 50-55 matches per year including NAB Cup pre-season games and the occasional final.

Furthermore, the stadium hosts domestic and international soccer events, rugby matches (Union and League) as well as concerts and entertainment events with the ability to have 60,000 plus patrons.

Etihad Stadium was designed by a Populous joint venture, Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture and Daryl Jackson Pty Ltd.