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"Tramboat" Thursday 23rd November 2006
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"Rockpools" Thursday 16th November 2006
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"Windy Willy" Thursday 9th November 2006
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Yes, a boat that looks like a tram! This boat visits Williamstown where it is moored here with several people enjoying a meal on board before leaving back down the Yarra. Full details about all it's cruises at their own site here. You can also see the seaplane again in the background and also Nelson Place, the main restaurant strip. |
Last week I posted a wind-shaped tree from Williamstown. Well just off the side of that grassy area is this rockery with its lovely water pools, which are great for kids to explore. By the way..... Last month I showed a picture of Williamstown beach with a crowd enjoying themselves. That was the hottest day in October (32 degrees celsius) for many years. Yesterday we had snow up in the Dandenongs (which don't usually get snow), and it was our coldest day for November (12 degrees celsius) since the late 90's ! How's that for melbourne weather?! Who said the Crowded house song "Four seasons in one day" wasn't about Melbourne!!!
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Wind-shaped tree on the foreshore of Williamstown. Off in the distance a container ship waiting to come in to unload it's goodies. This is the Cyril Curtain Reserve which is a designated 'off leash' area for dogs, and they certainly have a ball running up and down the water and occassionally swimmimg amongst the rocks. The grass is very dry as we have not had much rain at all over the last few years. |
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"Williamstown at night" Thursday 2nd November 2006
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"Gates" Thursday 26th October 2006
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"Williamstown Beach" Thursday 19th October 2006
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Well I told you I love this view, but here is a night view including the moored boats at Williamstown. The city of Melbourne, of course, is in the background. |
These are the gates that welcome you as you enter the Williamstown Botanical Gardens. One of the most popular spots for wedding photos around the area, and I certainly can't blog about Williamstown without inclusion of these lovely white gates. The gardens were opened originally in 1860 and were restructured in 1907/1908. The gates were originally built for a mansion in South Yarra, but were transported to this new location in 1907. |
Yes, we even have own own lovely beach here in Williamstown. Many people from the Western Suburbs flock to this beach on the hot days. I was surprised last Thursday to find so many people here. Yes it was an unusual hot day, but it's still just Spring and we're only in October! Who says Global Warming is just a figment of our imaginations!? The building at the end is a restaurant called 'Sirens'.
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"Nelson Place" Thursday 12th October 2006
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"Seaplane" Thursday 5th October 06 |
"Rotunda" Thursday 28th September 06 |
My lovely neck of the woods, Williamstown has one main street alongside the waterfront. This is Nelson Place. On the right is commonwealth reserve which I have posted on previous occassions, with it's lovely rotunda. On the left is this strip of restaurants and cafes (mostly) which draw huge crowds on the weekends in particular. The verandahs have just been restored by the City of Hobsons Bay and the shop owners, and they certainly add a lot of charcter back to this lovely strip. |
Although it doesn't try to be, or particularly want to be, Williamstown can be great for tourists. One of the more exiciting opportunity for tourists to Williamstown, Melbourne, is to fly above the city and see the bay from a different perspective. This little seaplane runs regularly from just alongside Commonwealth reserve close to Gem pier. Full deatails can be found at the seaplanes own website here. This shot was taken on Wednesday night just as he was heading off home. One day I will save up and get some nice shots from above my own house! |
Situated in what is really the centre of Williamstown, Commonwealth Reserve, is this lovely rotunda. Great for small functions (we had a small birthday party there once), for wedding photos, or simply to get out of the rain. It is also used for music when festivals are on. Behind is the bay looking across to the city. Directly behind the rotunda, behind the tree is the HMAS Castlemaine which I have posted previously. The reserve is a great spot for kicking a ball and alongside the park are the Liston Tennis courts where future Wimbledon stars train and practice. ( This includes my kids). One of the best locations for tennis courts I've seen. A great location with the main streets of Williamstown with lovely cafes and restaurants just behind where I took this photo. |
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"Ship On Grass" Thursday 21st September 06 |
"Canon" Thursday 14th September 06 |
"Timeball Tower" Thurs 7th September 06 |
HMAS Castlemaine a World War 2 Minesweeper which is now permanently docked here in Williamstown. It lies against Gem pier which extends out from Commonwealth Reserve, the main hub of Williamstown as far as parkland is concerned. Along the outskirts of the park are two main strips of restaurants and cafes. More information, (for boat enthusiasts) about HMAS Castlemaine can be found here. Other boats also dock at Gem pier, primarily ferrys which can take you under the Westgate Bridge into the city, or across to the docklands, or to St Kilda. |
Sorry to any daily photobloggers who may have seen this on my old site........ This canon was originally built to keep the Russians out, when it was feared they would invade around 1900 ! ( Russians now welcome ! ) They ( there are two ) are now 'fired' as part of the Williamstown Festival each year usually in early March. |
The first for my new category : Williamstown. This is a shot of our Timeball tower. More information on the tower can be found here. This tower was originally a lighthouse but was later used as a way of keeping time for the passing ships. Mr Ellery, the first Government Astronomer, commenced determining accurate local mean time, and established a time ball so that shipmasters could correct their chronometers "at the fall of the ball" at exactly one o'clock each day. The actual time ball is the large copper sphere mounted around a mast. |
