A group of 15 people comprising Rotary Melbourne members, partners and guest joined Barb Yerondais for our first in-person architectural walking tour in 3 years.
This year’s tour focused on the iconic statues and installations that populate the Queen Victoria Gardens and Kings Domain and the group was appreciative of the effort and diligence of Barb in researching the installations and history of the Gardens and the Domain. We also enjoyed her fun facts along he way.
We gathered at the MPavilion which is situated in the Queen Victoria Gardens. It a cultural laboratory where the community can come together to engage and share, and an ongoing initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, inaugurated in 2014, with the support of City of Melbourne and Victorian State Government. At the end of each summer season, the MPavilion, specially designed and built for that year, is gifted by the Foundation to the people of Victoria and relocated to a new, permanent home
The Queen Victoria Gardens are Melbourne's memorial to Queen Victoria, located on 4.8 hectares opposite the Victorian Arts Centre and National Gallery of Victoria. Barb noted that despite our State being named after the Queen, by the time of her death in 1901, Melbourne was the only major city in the British Empire without a statue honouring Queen Victoria. This was rectified in 1907 with the installation of her statue.
Other stopping points in the tour were:
Time didn’t permit us to stop off at the General Sir John Monash Memorial which of course is of enormous significance since it is now 100 years since this great Australian served as Rotary Melbourne’s second President.
Following the tour the group met at Philhellene Restaurant in Moonee Ponds for a convivial celebration of Greek National Day.
Thank you Barb Yerondais for another outstanding walk, which added to our appreciation of the heritage of our city.
