On Monday I visited The Immigration Museum and the Old Melbourne Jail. It is a good reminder of the hardships that many endured, and gives a clue as to the motivation most must have had to immigrate. The same is true for the USA and Canada, except the distances are so much greater. In the 1800s the passage took up to 5 months, and there was a replica of the inside of the ships. No internet air conditioning or TV here!!. Not a whole lot of room in steerage either.
There were also segments on immigrants from other places and the “whites only” policy that was officially withdrawn many years ago, but it was replaced with a language test administered in various European languages and discriminatory in it’s intent also. More recent immigration was recognized with segments on the Kurds, The Croatians and Rwandans.
Melbourne particularly has a large Asian population, and the realities are and have been for a while that Asia will be their biggest trading opportunity. The huge assets in minerals and agricultural products will continue to benefit both Australia and New Zealand, and it is already apparent that the global recession (GFC or Global Financial Crisis as it is called here) has had minimal effect. I spoke with a friend of David Hedley’s in Sydney who is a recruiter and he has more jobs to fill than qualified people to fill them.
Not quite sure how I got from a visit to the Immigration Museum to discussing the recession but here we are.
The Old Melbourne Jail was where Ned Kelly (along with about 135 others over time) was hanged. He was a combination of a criminal/robber, and also had political aspirations to create an independent state. All of this in the 1830s prior to the creation of Australia as a nation in 1901.
There are lots of songs about him and his gang in traditional music.
The jail visit is self-guided, but there are a couple of other “experiences” that are more guided. One is a reenactment of the Ned Kelly trial that I did not attend, and the other is the “Police Watch House” experience. Basically they show you what it is like to be arrested. Parents are warned that it can be a scary experience for smaller kids, and it proved to be so, but I think it was a sobering experience for the teenagers, and indeed for several of the adults. The sergeant that gave the tour was a fierce lady who was not too particular about her language, but was we eventually found out an actress and I would say very good at her work! It was an interesting 45 minutes. There was one girl who was about 16 who I was convinced was about to burst in to tears and run out. The “sergeant” co-opted the teens as deputies so their experience was a little calmer than the adults.
I had Tuesday (my last day before the big trip home) pegged as a quiet day just getting ready to travel, but by 10.30 I was ready to do something.
I have been staying with friends from Caterpillar who are based here in Melbourne since Sunday, and they live in a suburb about 10km east of the CBD.
I did not actually set out to walk in to town, but that is what I ended up doing. There is a walking and bike trail that follows a creek that then joins the Yarra River, which flows through Melbourne. It was a pleasant walk and took a couple of hours, and then took the tram back. I probably did not pick the most direct one but it really did not matter as I ended up only about a 10 min walk north of the house.
Fish tacos at home tonight and Bill will be able to drop me at the airport as the Cat office is only about 10 minutes from there. This will likely get posted once I get home as I am unlikely to have good internet access and the connectivity problems with my wireless continue.
