Crusing the Cultural Capital - Night 120

Melbourne is known as the cultural capital of

State Library of Victoria Reading Chamber

Australia so I figured I should spend a day or two taking in its essence of grandeur and high society. My first stop was the Victoria State Library. Part functioning library, part museum, the VSL is located in a grand old, domed building on the north side of downtown. The great, octagonal reading room opens up all the way to the top of the dome giving you a rat-in –a –cage feeling as other patrons can look down on you from three stories up. The top three floors of the dome house the museum. The first exhibit is a presentation on the history of books from about 1300 to the modern age. Showcasing some of Australia’s rarest and most valuable literary artifacts, it proved interesting. Also on show, was a floor dedicated to the State of Victoria. Most of it was inconsequential state-building memoirs and photos of Melbourne from the turn of the 19th century; however, one small nook was a tribute to the Australian Robin Hood, Ned Kelly. Edward Kelly was rogue bushman who stole from the rich and gave (on occasion) to the poor, along the way killing police, burning buildings

Ned Kelly's Iron Vest

and generating a cult following. The prize piece was the iron armor suit he was wearing when police finally caught up with him in 1880. The precursor to the modern bulletproof vest, the unit must have weight 80 pounds or more, but it did protect his vital organs from the police revolvers when he jumped out of the bushes and opened fire on a legion of cops one fateful spring day. Kelly was eventually apprehended and hanged after serving some time in the Melbourne Gaol. He is most famous for his final words, which he delivered to his mother (who was let out of jail for a few hours to witness her son’s demise) on his way to the gallows. Kelly, when confronted with his eminent death, said, and quite parsimoniously at that, “such is life.”

I swung by the Queen Victoria Market to pick up some groceries for lunch. Gazing at the interesting selection from the Wild Game vendor I couldn’t help but purchase some kangaroo sausages. They taste a bit gamey, but with the right spices in the sausage they proved to be delicious. I have a feeling I’ll be trying the wild boar and crocodile before I leave town.

The National Gallery was my destination for

National Gallery

the afternoon. It’s a huge place and I only managed to complete the first two floors before my concentration and interest gave out. I have a growing appreciation for paintings and sculpture, but pottery and furniture just don’t do it for me. Today was Anna’s last day in Melbourne, so we went out for a beer and some Indian food to bid her a farewell. After two nights on the town I needed a good night sleep so it was back to the hostel by 10. My desired sleep was not to be had. Around 1am one of the Irish guys came back, made a half phone call on his cell and then passed out mid-sentence. Shortly thereafter his friends, one male and one female (who was sleeping above me) came back in drunk as fuck. They both climbed into their respective beds and then the girl (whose shape could best be described as oval) began to beg the guy to come over to her bed. He continually denied her out of good sense and hopefully respect for me, the unfortunate soul sleeping beneath her. Her continual nagging continued for about twenty minutes until my patience ran out and finally I said “If I come up there, will you please shut up.” He laughed, she didn’t, but she did quit her sad whining…and no, I didn’t go up and service the behemoth.

What I Learned Today: B: Shortly after the mainstream adoption of the codex (the modern equivalent of the vertically-bound book) the demand for laboriously hand copied Bibles rose sharply, especially for those in the English and German Languages. The Church, however, deemed this to be an abomination and desperately tried in vain to destroy all the copies it could; copies of their own Bible, the very ones the priests purportedly used to deliver mass….Just another small reminder that the quest for absolute control of thought (through manipulation and monopoly of the medium) transcends all governments and religions.

written by

exumenius on February 7, 2008 from Melbourne, Australia

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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