Sights in Victoria
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Golden Dragon Museum & Chinese Gardens
Bendigo’s proud Chinese heritage can be explored at the wonderful Golden Dragon Museum & Chinese Gardens. Two enormous processional dragons, Old Loong (the world’s oldest) and Sun Loong (the world’s longest), reside here. Old Loong arrived in 1892 for the annual Bendigo Easter Festival, and Sun Loong took over in 1970 when Old Loong retired. The museum traces the involvement of the Chinese community in the development of Bendigo. Across the road are the pretty ornamental Chinese gardens and there’s a tearoom serving light meals and yum cha.
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Pioneer Settlement
Swan Hill’s major attraction, the Pioneer Settlement is an enjoyable re-creation of a paddle-steamer riverside port town. The dusty old-time streets feature shops, an old school and church, vintage car rides, Aboriginal keeping place and the fascinating Kaiser Stereoscope. PS Gem, one of the largest river boats to have served on the Murray, was being renovated at the time of research.
The paddle steamer PS Pyap makes one hour cruises along the Murray. Every night at dusk a 45-minute sound-and-light show brings the historic old town to life.
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Melbourne General Cemetery
Melbourne has been burying its dead in this cemetery since 1852; it’s the final resting place of three Australian prime ministers and the ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills. Close to a million other people are interred here, mostly along sectarian lines. Dig up the dirt on the city’s history on a White Hat tour on Wednesday and Sunday at 1pm. For spook-seekers, two-hour guided night tours are led by the National Trust of Victoria twice a year, full-moon tours in April and a Halloween outing on October 31. Bookings are essential.
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Station Pier
Station Pier is Melbourne's main sea passenger terminal, and is where the Spirit of Tasmania, cruise ships and navy vessels dock. It has been in operation since 1854, and the first major railway in Australia ran from here to the city. It has great sentimental associations for many migrants who arrived by ship in the 1950s and 1960s, and for servicemen who used it during WWII. There has been significant development of the area over the last 10 years and there is now a gaggle of flash-looking restaurants built on and around the pier, as well as a marina.
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Motor Racing Circuit
Even when the motorbikes aren’t racing, petrolheads love the Motor Racing Circuit, which was souped up for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in 1989, although the island hosted its first Grand Prix way back in 1928. The visitor centre runs 45-minute guided circuit tours, which include a visit to the History of Motorsport Museum, as well the chance to cut laps of the track in hotted-up V8s (one/two/three people $210/315/365, booking essential). There’s also a go kart track.
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Historic Port
The most wonderful thing about Echuca is its Historic Port. Attractions are spread along the waterfront, and you buy a passport at the entrance that admits you to the three main sections: Echuca Wharf, the Star Hotel and the Bridge Hotel. Everything is original – you’re exploring living history as you walk along the pedestrian-only Murray Esplanade. Complimentary (and very entertaining) guided tours with Buster and Rocky the cocky set out from the gift shop.
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Briars
The Briars is the 1840 homestead of one of the peninsula’s first pastoral runs. Sitting on 96 hectares, it includes original farm buildings, parklands and a wildlife reserve. There are bird hides, koalas, echidnas and kangaroos. The homestead houses the Dame Mabel Brookes collection of Napoleon relics, which includes locks of the emperor’s hair and his death mask. Her great-grandfather owned the lands on the island of St Helena where Napoleon was exiled by the British for the final six years of his life.
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Heide Museum of Modern Art
Heide Museum of Modern Art is on the site of the former home of John and Sunday Reed, under whose patronage the likes of Sidney Nolan, John Perceval and Albert Tucker created a new movement in the Australian art world. Set in a sprawling, riverside park, Heide has an impressive collection and exceptional temporary exhibits. The museum is signposted off the Eastern Fwy. Otherwise, take an Eltham train to Heidelberg station, and catch National Bus 291 to the corner of Manningham and Templestowe Rds, and walk from there.
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Melbourne Aquarium
This aquarium is home to rays, gropers and sharks, all of which cruise around a 2.2- million-litre tank, watched closely by visitors through a see-through tunnel. Three times a day divers are thrown to the sharks; for between $150 and $345 you can join them.
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Point Nepean National Park
The peninsula’s tip is marked by the stunning Point Nepean National Park, originally a quarantine station and army base. A large section of the park is a former range area and still out of bounds due to unexploded ordnance, but there’s plenty to see here and long stretches of traffic-free road that make for excellent cycling. There are also plenty of walking trails throughout the park and at the tip is Fort Nepean, which was important in Australian defence from the 1880s to 1945.
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Bourke Street Mall
West of Swanston St marks the beginning of the Bourke St Mall. The mall is thick with trams, the sounds of Peruvian bands busking, shop-front spruikers and the general hubbub from shoppers. In a 60-year tradition, November to early January sees people lining up (sometimes for hours) to get a peek at the animated displays in Myer's Christmas windows.
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St Paul’s Cathedral
Opposite Federation Square stands the Anglican St Paul’s Cathedral. Services were celebrated on this site from the city’s first days. Built between 1880 and 1891, the present church is the work of distinguished ecclesiastical architect William Butterfield. It was a case of architecture by proxy, as he did not condescend to visit Melbourne, instead sending drawings from England. It features ornate stained-glass windows (made between 1887 and 1890) and holds excellent music programs. In summer it’s open to 6pm daily.
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National Sports Museum
The new National Sports Museum features five permanent exhibitions focusing on Australia’s favourite sports and celebrating historic sporting moments. There are some choice sports fetish objects on display: the handwritten notes used to define the rules of Australian Rules Football in 1859; Bradman’s baggy green cap; olive branches awarded to Edwin Flack, Australia’s first Olympian in 1886; and our Cathy’s infamous Sydney Olympics swift suit. There’s also an interactive area that gets kids trying out their skills.
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Penguin Parade
The Penguin Parade attracts more than 500, 000 visitors a year. The ‘fairy penguins’ have been recently rebadged as ‘little penguins’ – a more accurate translation of the scientific name Eudyptula minor. Concrete amphitheatres hold up to 3800 people who coo over the ridiculously cute penguins that emerge from the sea after sunset and waddle resolutely up to their beach nests. The visitors centre has a gift shop and café (try the penguin burger!).
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Kinglake National Park
Kinglake National Park is the largest national park near Melbourne, a huge eucalypt forest on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range. In the centre of the park is Kinglake, a small township with a pub and a few shops (but no lake!). Toolangi, 18km east, was the home of CJ Dennis, who wrote the Sentimental Bloke. Near the Parks Victoria office is the popular Masons Falls Track, an easy 15-minute walk to a waterfall.
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Tasma Terrace
The three-storey, grey-stuccoed terraces comprising Tasma Terrace were built in 1879 and designed by Charles Webb, who also designed the famous Windsor Hotel. These are one of Melbourne’s finest Victorian terrace rows, with exquisite cast-iron verandas and a restrained ecclesiastical air. They are owned by the National Trust – an organisation dedicated to preserving historically significant buildings across the state – which has its offices here.
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Mildura Arts Centre & Rio Vista
The excellent Mildura Arts Centre & Rio Vista complex combines an art gallery, theatre and historical museum at Rio Vista, a former home of pioneer William B Chaffey. This grand homestead has been beautifully preserved. The interior is set up as a series of displays depicting 19th-century life, with period furnishings, costumes, photos and an interesting collection of memorabilia. The adjacent modern gallery features changing exhibitions.
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Immigration Museum
The Immigration Museum uses personal and community voices, images and memorabilia to tell the many stories of immigration. It's symbolically housed in the old Customs House (1858–70).
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Carlton & United Breweries
Just in case Homer Simpson ever makes it to Melbourne, Foster’s beer-brewing empire runs two-hour tours of its Abbotsford operations. Enormous 30m-wide vats of beer and the superfast bottling operation give a whole new meaning to the term ‘beer-goggles’. And yes, samples are included in the price. Tours run Monday to Friday; children under 10 and those in open-toed shoes are not admitted. Bookings essential.
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Royal Arcade
This Parisian-style arcade was built between 1869 and 1870 and is Melbourne's oldest; the upper walls retain much of the original 19th-century detail. The black-and-white chequered path leads to the mythological figures of giant brothers Gog and Magog, perched with hammers atop the arched exit to Little Collins St.
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Point Gellibrand Coastal Heritage Park
Along the waterfront of this expansive stretch of parkland, the roadway has intermittent information panels. These explain the area’s significance as the first disembarkation point for early Victorian settlers. Historic buildings also dot the area, such as the convict-built Timeball Tower, once used to calibrate ships’ gauges, and the remains of Fort Gellibrand, which staged many a mock battle. Access to the park is via Nelson Pl.
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Eureka Tower & Skydeck 88
Eureka Tower, built in 2006, has 92 storeys. Take a wild elevator ride to almost the top (don't miss a glance at the photo on the floor) and you'll do 88 floors in less than 40 seconds. 'The Edge' – not a member of U2, but a slightly sadistic glass cube – propels you out of the building.
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Dandenong Ranges National Park
Dandenong Ranges National Park is made up of the four largest areas of remaining forest in the Dandenongs. The Ferntree Gully Area has several short walks, including the popular 1000 Steps Track up to One Tree Hill picnic ground (two hours return), part of the Kokoda Memorial Track, which commemorates Australian WWII servicemen who served in New Guinea.
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St Kilda Botanic Gardens
Only a few blocks from Acland St, the Botanic Gardens are an unexpected haven from the St Kilda hustle. Wide gravel paths invite a leisurely stroll, and there are plenty of shady spots to sprawl on the open lawns. There are local indigenous plants and a subtropical rainforest conservatory to ponder, as well as the springtime splendour of the Alister Clarke Rose Garden. The duck pond is a favourite for children.
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Christine Abrahams Gallery
This airy commercial gallery shows a mix of well-established, interesting local and national artists. These include iconic photographer Wolfgang Sievers and ceramicist Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, as well as midcareer sculptor Bronwyn Oliver and painter Matthew Johnson. There is a works on paper and ceramics room, and a large stockroom with a rack storage system that allows additional works to be viewed by visitors.
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