Category: Walks

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Walkin’ in the Valley of Death: Victoria St

Pays to be careful as a pedestrian in Abbotsford. This poor bugger was knocked down dead by a van back in May and died, and at 2.25 a.m. yesterday, some bloke standing near the corner of Nicholson and Victoria Sts gets dead after being hit by a white van. It’s an event a minute on Victoria St: someone was pulled over at 2.30 a.m. on 6 June 2006 with a vial of GBH. Of course he was not a local, but a burgher of that disreputable part of town on the other side of the river, Kew. There they found the big stash. And now it seems a Hoddle St servo got visited by those kids on the security video on tonight’s news, as recently as 23 June 2006. And these guys are like serial armed robbers man. You can rely on hearing it second on this blog.

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Gipps St Steps to Go


Only one flight of the forty-one Gipps St steps, which are to be replaced with a ramp are pictured. For many Abbotrigines, they are the starting point for any trip on the main Yarra bike path away from the city. No doubt many trips to the Collingwood Children’s Farm or the Abbotsford Convent, or Dight’s Falls which would otherwise be made along the safety of the trail are not made because of the stairs.

Having just spent a few days in Amsterdam, I con confirm the truth of the descriptions of the place in this treatment of the announcement in The Age. There are multistorey bike parks like Melbourne car parks there. The dedicated bike lanes means no one has to wear helmets. There are many bicycles designed for carrying substantial loads, what one might call bike utes, and kids ride regularly in their wheelbarrow like trays.

How the replacement of the stps can possibly cost $1.5 million is something I would be very interested to know. Another fascinating question is how it could have been considered a good idea for the teachers’ union’s Mary Bluett and the Police Union’s Paul Mullett to come out with the public criticism that the money could be better put towards (gosh what could it be?), yep, teachers, and police. Links: Continue reading “Gipps St Steps to Go”

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I went for a walk to the brewery

I decided yesterday to stroll down to the CUB brewery and take some photos. I discovered the following things:

  • the Nash Hotel, one block west along Victoria St from Church St (on the corner of Lambert St) looks like a good if slightly sterile hotel with a spic’n’span dining room; I had written it off without ever having peered through its windows: can anyone speak of it from experience?
  • at the end of Church St opposite the back end of the brewery, and near this sign, is what appears to be a hidden residence with spectacular views;
  • there is a warehouse down this driveway off Victoria Crescent which seems to have some lucky folk living in it, luxuriating in views like this and this and this and this;
  • another warehouse is said to be the Victorian government’s secret art storage facility;
  • I rediscovered the hidden park Flockhart Reserve, down the end of Flockhart St, which has The Terminus on its corner, on the other side of the river from the path which leads from the Gipps St bridge to the Walmer St bridge (Victoria Gardens);
  • there is a massive prop and scenery building enterprise down there;
  • there are two horses on a vacant block which must be worth a fortune, adjoining the hidden park, on which is also to be found two antique horse-drawn carriages and the frame only of what must once have been a home — unfortunately it was at this point that my camera batteries ran out.