Friday, May 18, 2007

8 May - living, breathing history

I do enjoy opportunities to find out more about the places I visit, so I set off for Melbourne’s City Museum, located in the Old Treasury Building at the Paris end of Collins Street. Melbourne has a fascinating history, and was at one point in the 1880’s, the wealthiest city on Earth, due to the discoveries of gold in the surrounding area.

However, the best part was the video on the history of the city’s cable trams, operated in the same way that San Francisco’s cable cars are. It was fascinating to see these vehicles in action, and to listen to stories of those who drove, maintained or simply rode them.

Next, the most famous site in the city, the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Amazingly, this now seats nearly 100,000 in remarkable comfort, and I joined a tour to get a better look. Our guide was a long term member of the Melbourne Cricket Club, Ray Weinberg. As the tour started, one of his colleagues noted in response to a question about whether Ray had played cricket for Australia, that whilst he hadn’t, he had represented Australia at the Olympics.

For the record, Raymond Weinberg competed in the 1948 London and 1952 Helsinki Olympics, reaching the final of the 110 yards hurdles in 1952. For a man who must be, at the very least, in his late seventies, he proved to be a very sprightly guide, leading us at a brisk pace around this vast facility, including a stroll through the Long Room. The MCC is an Australian mirror of the English counterpart, the Marylebone Cricket Club, with a fifteen year wait for membership, and all of the facets you might expect. The key difference is that the facilities in Melbourne are quite superb, with a brand new area for members, an exceptional restaurant from which you can watch the game. Frankly, if I lived within striking distance of the city, my membership application would be in the post already.


The tour finished in the MCC Museum, an excellent display of cricketing history in Australia and beyond. If you really want to get a feel for Australian sport and its place in society, this is the place to go…

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