Last post of the Melbourne series! On the last day of my trip, I went to Williamstown - one of the suburbs in the west side of Melbourne. Williamstown was established in the 1830s and grew rapidly in the 1850s during the Gold Rush in Victoria. Many heritage buildings were constructed in the 1800s and early 1900s when Williamstown was still growing and it was finally proclaimed a city in 1919. Many heritage structures are still intact, and of course, most of the buildings have been converted into restaurants and bars.
The first place I visited in Williamstown was the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, situated near the boat harbour. This was a small church constructed between 1871 and 1874, and was a Gothic revival bluestone church. It's really beautiful inside - with the stained glass sides and all.
The well-preserved facades of old buildings. The building on the right belongs to the Yacht Club. Many buildings house restaurants and bars, and even gelati places. When I was living in Melbourne, I used to come to Williamstown pretty often, and would visit some of these places.
One of my favourite restaurants - La Porchetta. I was so glad when I found La Porchetta in Fremantle! They've got pretty good pasta! My favourite is the mushroom pasta (vegetarian).
One of the cafes I walked past. Oh yes - the place where most of these eateries are situated is known as Nelson Place. It gets pretty crowded during weekends and at night!
The Williamstown Fish and Chippery - one of the eateries located at the end of Nelson Place.
Before heading to the boat harbour, I decided to pop by the Customs Wharf Galleria. The Customs Wharf Galleria was built between 1870 and 1875 and used to be the Customs House for Williamstown. Currently it houses traditional and contemporary art by various artists, as well as a maritime-themed store on the ground floor. There's even a cafe on the side for visitors!
Two staircases lead us up/down to the 2nd floor, and there're different rooms that house works by different artists. I didn't take pictures of the artworks (of course!), but I was really fascinated by the staircases, so I took more pics of them! They were creaky, but still grand. And I love the swirly pattern at the bottom of the stairs.
Check out the wonderful design of the stairs!
There was a small feedback area in one of the galleries, and they had this really cool pen - for visitors to use. So I gave my feedback as per normal - and then added "PS: Nice pen!"
The nautical-themed shop at the ground floor. I bought a compass and a globe keychain from them. And when I told the dudes what I wrote ("PS: Nice pen!"), they all burst out laughing.
The Wilkinson Memorial Drinking Fountain - the earliest known memorial drinking fountain in Williamstown. It's made entirely of cast iron featuring really intricate decorations.
The basin is equally intricate, with lovely patterns. The original water beakers - made of copper - were removed in 1935. I wonder if the drinking fountain is still in use now.
And check out the view of the restaurants from behind the drinking fountain!
Headed to Gem Pier. The pier was built in 1839. The famous HMAS Castlemaine (historical ship) is docked there. And tour boats from the CBD come by pretty frequently! I've been on one of them before, and it was quite a cool experience! Will definitely do so when I come back in November.
Commonwealth Reserve - just opposite the restaurants. The weather was really, really good (and predictable!) that day, so the Reserve was pretty crowded during lunchtime. I spent a while walking around the Reserve before heading to the yacht club precinct.
My last stop of the day - the yacht club precinct - where I also caught really good glimpses of the city skyline. Surprisingly, I didn't have much pictures of the Melbourne skyline from this spot when I was still living in Melbourne - but right now I've got many decent ones! :)
Bought a hedgehog slice and some hot choc to end the trip - and that was my lunch! I was craving so badly for hedgehog slices. I usually have them quite frequently.
And that marks the end of my Melbourne trip! I really can't wait to be back in November for the Music, Mind and Health Conference! It's gonna be such an amazing experience...being able to meet professors and get ideas from them.
And in our next few posts, I'll be posting pics of Singapore! Do stay tuned!