MARVELLOUS MELBOURNE

You really can’t fault Melburnians for feeling a bit smug about their city. After all, The Economist Intelligence Unit, the research and analysis arm of The Economist magazine, once called Melbourne the world’s most livable city for seven years in a row. Vienna grabbed the top spot in 2018 and 2019 but No. 2’s not too shabby either. Sorry Vancouver. You’re in there somewhere, No. 6, I believe.

Like Vancouver, Melbourne is a port city, it wraps itself, horseshoe style, around Port Phillip Bay. With a population of around five million, it’s twice the size of Vancouver. The city is known for its manufacturing, banking, pharmaceuticals, and coffee.

“The best coffee in the WORLD,” our taxi driver exclaimed as he drove us from the airport to our daughter’s apartment on the edge of the CBD or Central Business District. We landed in December 2019 just before the pandemic and, after exchanging hugs and kisses, I asked for a cup of that infamous coffee (espresso machines are as common as toasters in well-appointed Aussie kitchens).

“How do you like Melbourne?” I asked my well-travelled daughter.

“It’s pronounced Melb’in, Dad. Australians drop their Rs. Only tourists call it Melbourne.”

Ouch.

Now properly informed and humbled, we followed our daughter to her favourite haunts to get a feel for the city through a resident’s eyes. We still did the tourist thing, though, including visiting the Melbourne Museum with its extensive collection of aboriginal canoes; Melbourne Gaol, a step back into the city’s Victorian past; and strolled Southbank Prom, a swanky strip of eateries, shops, and office towers that hug the Yarra River. We even saw Captain Cook’s Cottage transported from Yorkshire in 1934 and reassembled in Fitzroy Park, although the guide sheepishly admitted it’s doubtful the Captain ever lived in it for long; the house belonged to his parents.

And not to forget downtown’s charming laneways originally constructed to service the nearby shops and pubs and barely wide enough for a horse and wagon. Little Bourke Street runs behind Bourke Street. Little Lonsdale Street runs parallel to Lonsdale Street. You get the idea. Many of them have been converted into trendy outdoor cafés while others have been set aside for street artists. Melbourne’s city fathers decided a long time ago the best way to fight graffiti was to control it by giving budding Rembrandts a venue. It worked. Laneway art in the CBD has become a tourist attraction. Hosier Lane is a favourite. There are even escorted tours.

It’s while lunching at one of those laneway cafés that it struck me: Melbourne is a curious mix of American showmanship and quaint English mannerisms. Step into one of the city’s many Victorian shopping arcades and you could be in London. Kids go to school in uniforms, people queue up for public transportation, and cricket’s the biggest game in town. Traditional cricket games can go on for days, and often do, but the Aussies have also created Big Bash Cricket, a snappier version of the game with American mannerisms – colourful team uniforms, fireworks, and cheerleaders. Cheerleaders? Sitting in the stands at the 100,000-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground, the largest cricket stadium in the world, no one batted an eye when fireworks went off heralding a run for the home team Melbourne Stars. Fireworks and cricket? Oh Australia, what have you done?

But back to the trip; I’m an architecture buff and I was blown away by the stately brick and stone Victorian buildings standing next to modern steel and glass towers in the CBD. I liked the Queen Victoria Market, a huge seven-hectare, open-air market selling food and goods since 1878. Traditional Aussie bungalows with large verandahs to shade the sun caught my eye and Iron Lace, another name for wrought iron, cast into delicate shapes and a mainstay in Melbourne’s older homes blew me away.

Rightly or wrongly, I’ve often thought of Australia as a predominantly white country and I was surprised to find Melbourne so cosmopolitan, a result of its five universities and seven satellite campuses drawing students from China, the Philippines, and elsewhere in the Pacific Rim. Oddly, it’s in Chinatown that I found the best schnitzel I’ve ever had in a German eatery complete with dirndl wearing servers and an oompah band. The large Greek and Italian population also give the city a decidedly international flavour.

I knew Melbourne had this livable city reputation before we left Canada and I went there with the attitude, “Okay, show me.” I wasn’t disappointed. Melbourne shows how it can be done. The integrated public transportation system consisting of trams, buses and rail is superb. The outlying neighbourhoods, which now make up greater Melbourne, such as Fitzroy and St. Kilda have retained their original character, so there’s a diversity in streetscape and lifestyle.

Melbourne pulls it all together. There’s a balance of big city stimulation and areas of quiet repose, such as the extensive Royal Botanic Gardens in the middle of the city. Or Federation Square, a large downtown civic square, which really does pull people together. It was Christmas time, and the obligatory Christmas tree was assembled in one part of the Square while people were sitting in deck chairs and licking ice cream in the other. And Melbourne’s location. A one-hour drive south to the Mornington Peninsula takes Melburians to beach and wine country.

I felt comfortable in Melbourne. It’s a big city with a laid-back vibe steeped in the “no worries, mate” Aussie mantra. Melbourne, oops, I mean Melb’in is a great place to visit and, if I lived there, I’d feel pretty smug, too.

IF YOU GO
We flew out of Vancouver with Air New Zealand landing first in Auckland and then changing planes to take us into Melbourne. United, Delta, Qantas and others were also offering flights requiring stopovers in Los Angeles, Hong Kong or Sydney depending on the carrier. Air Canada now offers a direct flight into Melbourne, which is still available if you choose to travel. Presumably it will ramp up the service and reduce the cost when schedules are back to normal.

The Australian dollar was worth a little less than the Loonie when we travelled in in 2019 – it still is – but to make things a easier, we treated it at par.

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