Victoria With Love
Victoria is still “home” to Olivia Newton-John, although these days she lives mainly in Los Angeles. “People always think me a little strange,” she says, “when I tell them that roaring lions remind me of Melbourne.” What can I tell you about Victoria’? When I was asked to write this I was a bit apprehensive, as I am a novice at getting my thoughts down on paper. And anyway how can I describe home? There is so much to say, I’m sure to forget something; but here goes.
Well, first of all, I grew up in Melbourne after moving there from England with my family. I was only five years old but I still remember my first impressions on arriving the city’s old world charm, the English trees, old buildings, clean air and sunshine, its wide open spaces parks and gardens, mountains and marvellous beaches. I didn’t realize until I had the opportunity to travel overseas, just how fortunate I was to have grown up with this great sense of space and freedom in such an unspoiled environment. It was during these travels that I realized how lucky I had been and how much I had taken these things for granted.
Australians tend to think of Victoria as a small place, because it is the smallest State on the mainland; and yet in world terms, it’s not small at all. It’s as big as England, which has over 46 million people, or California, which has nearly 23 million. Yet Victoria’s population is only about four million, so there’s plenty of room. Most of the people live in the cities, and that means that when you want to get away by yourself, there’s lots and lots of places to do it. It’s really a lovely combination - you can stay in Melbourne, which is a very sophisticated place now, or you can head off into the bush and be quite alone.
Many of my fondest memories of growing up in Victoria are of the times my family spent just enjoying the good things in nature. We’d go camping to one of my favourite places, Mallacoota on the eastern coast about 540 kilometres from Melbourne where we used to camp above the lagoon. I think that the Victorian coastline is magnificent. I especially like the Great Ocean Road which clings to the surf for 200 kilometres from the holiday resort of Anglesea to the Port Campbell National Park.
We once camped in a cow field at night, and left the next day for an outing. Whilst we were gone, there was a violent rain storm; the cows trampled the tent and destroyed everything except cans of condensed milk with cows faces on them!
Speaking of families, that’s something I miss very much living so far from home. My family is spread out all over Australia, but my brother and mother still live in Melbourne. I try to go home at least once a year and we always have an outing together, like going to the Dandenongs for a barbecue or to Phillip Island to see the penguins. Victorians are very family oriented, and this becomes very apparent on special days like Moomba (Victoria’s answer to Mardi Gras) held in March, the big Australia Day parade or the Royal Melbourne Show. I can remember collecting “show bags” full of samples of different foods and lollies I think these are unique to the Melbourne Show, as I have never seen them anywhere else in the world.
Horses were a passion of mine as a child and I really haven’t changed. In Australia I could ride a horse for miles and miles on wide clean beaches without ever seeing a soul. I do miss the wide open spaces. I have quite a menagerie of animals now, but at that time I had to be content with visiting the zoo, which fortunately for me was situated close to my home at the Melbourne University. At night I could hear the sound of lions roaring. The zoo has improved a great deal since then it now has landscaped garden enclosures and the most extensive zoo educational service for children in the Southern Hemisphere. People always think me a little strange when I tell them that roaring lions remind me of Melbourne.
In the early days of Melbourne, rows and rows of little terrace houses, rather like you can see in New Orleans, were built as inner city dwellings. These Victorian houses went out of favour for a while, but now people are rediscovering them and restoring them to their former beauty, which has brought a great deal of life to the older suburbs. As a teenager I lived in one, in Jolimont, right near the city. I loved that house: it had a lot of character.
I like old things old houses, old wares and antiques. Antiques are very fashionable now and there are bric-a- brac shops all over the country. Of course, anything over fifty years old seems “antique” in Australia it’s such a young nation. Entire country towns from the last century have even been restored. Maldon for instance, is about 135 kilometres north of Melbourne, off the Calder Highway. I used to go into the country on riding weekends and places like Maldon had almost been forgotten. But the town has now become a big curiosity shop: you can fossick there for hours, particularly in the Victorian Lace Shop its walls, floors, tables, every square inch is covered in lace shawls, bed spreads, curtains, table cloths and christening gowns. Some are original Victoria lace pieces, others are made today in the old patterns.
Maldon is one of the signs that Victorians are becoming more aware of their heritage. The State flourished in the early days when gold was discovered, and people rushed to Victoria not only from all over Australia but from all over the world. Great houses were built with the money from gold and wool, and funny little townships sprang up around the gold mines. Now, of course, most of the mines are no longer worked, but the best of them have been preserved not only for educational purposes, but also as tourist attractions. The one that I’m thinking of is Sovereign Hill near Ballarat, a famous re-creation of the 1850’s gold town. There is another “colonial” town at Swan Hill on the Murray River. These two places seem to me like “frozen” towns where the people live and work, and go about their “olde worlde” business just as their predecessors did in the 1800s dressed in period costume. It’s like stepping back a hundred years or more.
I love to shop what girl doesn’t? And Melbourne’s downtown area certainly offers everything one’s heart could desire. Outside the city proper, too, there are some fine antique shops and art galleries. I have spent many an afternoon “window shopping” in boutiques on Chapel Street, Prahran. The clothes are great and one can be assured of a “once off” design. Near to the city are the elegant suburbs of South Yarra and Toorak. This is where I would go as a school girl and gaze at the beautifully groomed women and dream that maybe one day I would have a home there and buy imported clothes.
Where I spent my time after school and at weekends was at the coffee lounges and delicatessens in the city Carlton and St. Kilda. There is a true continental flavour there as so many of the locals are from Europe and brought their customs and foods with them. Boy am I pleased that they did I love food and you can find any kind that you think of in these areas. My idea of heaven was spaghetti and a cappuccino at Pellegrini’s, after a long day at school.
We also have a large Chinese community in Melbourne, and the prices at Chinatown, even in the more exclusive places, haven’t become outrageous as in London and Paris. One thing that overseas visitors may not have heard before is the expression “BYO”. It stands for Bring Your Own - alcohol, that is. In many restaurants you can bring your own: it’s cheaper that way. So if someone says to you “BYO” don’t worry, you’re not being insulted.
If you prefer to “CYO”, Cook Your Own, we have the Victoria Market. It has the greatest atmosphere, and has an infinite variety of fresh foods and vegetables. I remember going there with my Mum and wheeling the food basket for her, and then taking the good old tram home. Victoria is the only State Australia that still has the tram, and Melbourne wouldn’t be the same without it.
There is so much more that I could say, but it could take forever. I am lucky to have grown up in such a wonderful place, with such down-to-earth and generous people. It gave me a solid foundation for the rest of my life. I may not live there now, but Melbourne is still home to me.