CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

Follow along on my adventures!

Day 6: Melbourne, Australia

February 1, 2023 — A new month and an official start to my solo adventures in Australia! This morning I had breakfast at the hostel with groceries I bought yesterday and then headed out to explore the State Library of Victoria.

I’m so glad that the State Library is so close to where I stayed in Melbourne because it quickly became one of my favourite places in the city! The architecture is what hits you first: the outside of the building is majestic and towers above you. It’s grand and graceful, beautifully preserved. Inside, it balances old grace with modern form and function. There are numerous reading rooms, creative spaces, and collections for locals and tourists alike.

I started on the main level of the library and then went upstairs to the Ian Potter Queen’s Hall, which is just one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in a library. It was the first library building constructed on the site, opened in 1856, and used to be known as the Queen’s Reading Room. It was designed by Joseph Reed, an important Melbourne architect.

The next room I explored was the La Trobe Reading Room. It made my English major heart just soar. There are antique-style study carrels with the typical green study lights, books all around the geometrically-shaped room, a dome that lets in so much natural light, and, best of all, quotes from famous writers, readers, and thinkers all around the room. Some of my favourites are included below.

From the ground floor, you can take an elevator to the sixth floor to see the dome more clearly. I worked my way up slowly — and I’m so glad I did. On the fourth floor, the library currently houses its 2022 World of the Book exhibit, which features prominent books and other literary works. The start of the exhibit reads, “Books are mirrors of many worlds: worlds here and sit at, past and present, real and imagined. Through text and image, they act as keepers of ideas, of knowledge and of stories.”

One of the earliest examples of recorded text.
Illustrated marginalia are particularly interesting, as the story and the images do not necessarily align – or the images are satirical or ironic when put next to the words. There are lots of examples of this in the displayed collection.
During my English studies at university, I took a class that looked at theatre and journalism in the 18th century. Newspapers arose because of mass-market printing and publishing, as did novel culture. Without printing presses, we might not have mass-market paperback novels — or even literary novels — today.
Collection of Jane Austen’s work, as part of the Literary Milestones collection: “Throughout history, unique literary works have been created that transcend the place and culture of their origin. Such works speak across language and time, coming to be recognized as universal in their theme.”

I finally made my way up to the dome viewing floor. The dome building was added to the library to house the growing collection of books and other materials. It was modelled on the British Museum and the Library of Congress. According to information from the library, the dome was the largest reinforced concrete dome in the world at the time of its construction. It was 35 metres high and 35 metres wide. There are 480 glass panes in the dome such that artificial lighting is only needed at night.

The library also houses two other exhibits that I had the pleasure of exploring: one on Ned Kelly and one called Handmade Universe.

Ned Kelly, as you’ll remember from Day 5’s post (read it here), was an Irish-Australian outlaw that evaded authorities for over 3 years. He was wanted on charges of stealing and eventually even murder. The library houses the armour that he used to make his last stand before being captured by police, imprisoned in the Old Melbourne Gaol, and executed.

Handmade Universe is an exhibit dedicated primarily to textile and other tactile arts. It explores unique intersections between art and STEM, as shown in the knitted map of the cosmos below, among other things. Art is a way for us to express the world around us and the Handmade Universe exhibits really show that.

I exited the library to find that it was raining. I made my way over to the mall complex near the library to pick up pens as I had realized I didn’t have any and needed some to be able to write postcards home. I also scored a little round of Brie cheese and some crackers for lunch. Back at the hostel, I had a little snack, updated my trip budget, and did some work on this blog. At lunch, one of the girls I met the previous night sat down opposite me and we had a nice little chat. She invited me to go see the National Gallery of Victoria with herself and another person we met last night. I packed up and away we went!

The National Gallery of Victoria has three floors of exhibits, ranging from the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome, to Asian art from Japan and China, to nineteenth century artwork from Great Britain and beyond, to modern art and installations from around the world.

In case you can’t tell, modern art is my favourite.

We returned to the hostel late that afternoon and I cooked dinner, then spent a quiet evening in the dorm.

caitb7

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