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Art Deco, Victorian Buildings – Melbourne City, Australia. (1)

The old Shamrock pub, now residential, is located in one of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs, Port Melbourne. A once very working class area connected to the Port areas of Melbourne City.

Most of the buildings in Port Melbourne were built in the early to mid 1900’s, some date back to the 1800’s, these buildings range from small ‘worker’s cottages’, to old churches, pubs, schools. The area is no longer working class, although remnants still remain. It has become a trendy area, probably overvalued as far as house prices, with small weather board worker’s cottages selling for more than $500,00.00 +! Most of the houses in the area are generally very small houses, that have retained the same size since they were built in the early 1900’s!. So thankfully development in Port Melbourne has been kept to a minimum. It is a charming area, with history of the old Melbourne City intact.

“El cazador trofeo de los hombres”

Art Deco, Victorian Buildings – Melbourne City, Australia

Moorish inspired Art Deco building – suburb: Elwood, an inner city bay area. Melbourne City. Click on image for larger scale

Shooting in Melbourne CBD, Australia 18th June 2007 – updated 22nd June 2007

(above photo of King Street Melbourne CBD from wikipedia)

After three days, the gunman Christopher Wayne Hudson a member of the Hells Angels , who shot three people in broad daylight on Monday morning during peak hr in the central Business district in Melbourne, handed himself in to police. The Victims were Brendan Keilar, 43 a Melbourne solicitor shot dead, Dutch backpacker Paul De Waard, 25 – critically wounded (three gunshots wounds! he was shot twice), stripper/model Kaera Douglas – critically wounded (shot in stomach).

All sorts of reports came out after his surrender, one was that his lawyer negotiated a deal to have Hudson transported to a remote town north of Melbourne. That he not be intercepted by police special operations. The police were also not to arrest anyone else connected with him i.e affiliated groups, Hells Angels. It also seems the Hell Angels had cut him loose – he is now on his own. It also appears he may have tried take his own life, before being sent straight into custody he was admitted into a hospital to have surgery on his wrist.

According to news reports Hudson was at inner city strip club (Kings street) with Autumn Daly-Holt and Kaera Douglas (both strippers). After some altercation with Holt, he beat her up, left her on the pavement – apparently unconscious. Douglas called for help and apparently had an ambulance called. She then left the club and was dragged by the hair from a taxi near Williams street. Williams St intercepts over King Street, all these streets are south of the central CBD. King street is a stretch of road that heads down to Southbank (Casino and apartments, overlooking the Yarra River). During business hrs it is a low key stretch, there are various strip joints and bars – all in the prefabricated ‘up market’ look. After hrs the street turns into a all night club stretch – when most of the city empties it’s self of workers. Friday night and weekdays King Street activates. It is a violent, drug orientated and organised crime area. It’s mandatory news when you hear of brawls, stabbings and the occasional death occur from King Street after hrs. King and William street sit at the tale end of the legal precinct of the city. In fact one of the biggest law firms in the southern hemisphere Minter Ellison overlooks Kings Street from the Rialto towers.

I was annoyed to hear on a breakfast morning show the naivety of the presenters , who interviewed a women that comforted the dutch backbacker Paul De Waard after he was shot, saying ‘I hope he doesn’t go back to Holland with a bad impression of Melbourne/Australia’. Melbourne is a violent city, you are in a daydream of blissful naivety if you think otherwise. A gang war that has lasted for 10 years has just been rapped up. The death toll: 28 people dead, namely associates of various groups affiliated with the key members of the war. Admittedly this didn’t spill out to the greater public, never the less the shooting occurred in public and exposed places, restaurants, parks and inner urban streets. It’s now finished, as most of the main characters are either locked up, fled the country and/or are dead.

The drug barons of Melbourne made their cash from speed, heroin and in some cases cocaine (for the wealthy clients). Starting in the 90’s and now into the 21st century. But now it is methamphetamine.

The tragedy of the shooting was the random insanity of the gunman. The story goes, whilst he was trying to pull Douglas out of a cab, her screaming drew the attention of solicitor Brendan Keilar and dutch backpacker Paul De Waard. Both apparently who came to the aid of Douglas, at that point he shot all three of them. Then ran. If it comes out that Hudson was on meth, or other type amphetamine. It just shows the dangerous disposition that the drug has on it’s uses Already there were calls for stricter handgun laws. Which is ridicules, as it ignores as usual, the core issue. Drugs. Like all major cities in the world with outdated and antiquated anti drug and drug enforcement laws, violence will always be the extreme temperament as the by product. Melbourne City is by no exception. ‘Ice’ (meth) is widely used, hence the various ‘drug lords’ trying to claiming a footing in the market.

There needs to be a reality check on drugs. The daydreaming of ‘everything’ is fine and the war on drugs is working is a false dichotomy. As it ignores the underbelly of illegal drugs and profit. Simply, an illegality based law system on drug use does not work.

So worlds will always collide on the streets of Melbourne City.

Article from SMH
(regarding capture)

Article from The Age
(regarding female vitcims)

Shooting in Melbourne CBD, Australia 18th June 2007

A man shot three people (one was killed, two are in a critical condition in hospital) in the Melbourne CBD – about 5mins from where I work. It happened in the morning, apparently 8:30am. The Police shut down a good portion of the CBD, the main banks in the area were locked down, as were some of the main buildings close by to the shooting. You needed clearance just to enter the foyer areas. The police theory is a gunman had escaped and hid out in one of the buildings closer to the scene. So that makes it about 7hrs (now 3:40 pm) where a killer, although now apparently unarmed (he threw away his firearm into a work site) is still lurking around the crime scene, or other parts of the city.

Some pics from the crime scene, from The Age

Articles

The Age

BBC

CNN

Ghost Rider – Filmed in Melbourne City Australia

I remember when they were filming just around the corner from my old work close to Little Lonsdale St, use to check out the shoot during lunch breaks

These shots are stills from the trailer

Collins St – outside the AXA insurance building

Little Lonsdale St

Urban decay and Art

Melbourne City Lanes and unique shops.- Barry Lane, WunderKammer Chamber Of Wonders

Melbourne City has some of the most interesting laneways, alleyways in the one city. Unique to an Australian city. Ghostrider (US) Marvel comic character was filmed in some of these back-end lanes around the central business district.

One shop to look out for with is just off Barry Lane, located on Lonsdale street is WunderKammer. Barry Lane at the best of times is a creepy little laneway, it’s got odd angles. Hardly anyone walks down it. To find the lane, walk up little Burke St, cross over Queen St, keep walking up and the Little Burke, the lane is to your right. It’s a dingy run down lane. Walk down lane and you’ll get to Lonsdale St (main) – WunderKammer is on the corner. WunderKammer is a shop of antique medical equipment, fossils, alchemy, skulls, spiders, flesh-eating plants and other cool stuff. Expensive, but I am definitely hooking up some of their stuff. Great shop. Check it out, website here

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Wunderkammer Shop Window

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WunderKammer Shop Window – end of Barry Lane

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Barry Lane – Looking down towards Lonsdale street. Wunderkammer shop on the end off laneway.

Melbourne City – CBD, Australia.