Parklife
By Eric (Discover English Teacher)
As I write this, the Spring sunshine pours through my windows and my cat’s whiskers are being blown around in the Spring wind. Spring is always so windy.
Spring is a wonderful time for walking in the park. Well, it’s always lovely to walk in the park but Spring is particularly ideal – the budding plants, the crisp breezes, the freshly re-energized light of the sun. It’s beautiful; and almost enough to make you forget you’re locked-down in the midst of a global pandemic.
Melbourne has many beautiful parks and gardens and I’m going to list three here:
Obviously, the Royal Botanic Gardens are a jewel. The gardens are resplendent in plants from all over the world, and the winding paths are a pleasure to get lost on. Taking a picnic to the lakeside is a wonderful way to spend a Spring afternoon. Of course, we’ll have to wait a few weeks to do that but a stroll through the gardens is allowed, surely? No, I just checked – you can’t even go for a walk at this time. We’ll have to save it for the future.
The Fitzroy Gardens are another beautiful destination just on the edge of the CBD. And they have no gates, so they have no locks, so you can still walk through them at your leisure. Avenues of elm trees lead you through the park and right now these trees are surrounded by the bright yellow daffodils of early Spring. Somewhere in the park you can stumble upon a model Tudor village and watch sparrows and pigeons walk like giants amongst the tiny houses. Elsewhere in the park is a house that was shipped all the way from England because it was where Captain Cook’s parents lived. A weirdly British scene in Oz and unfashionably colonial, nevertheless it’s fun to go into the tiny cottage and try on the 18th Century dress ups.
Many of the inner city parks – established in the Victorian age – have this sort of connection to the pastoral ideals of England, which is why it’s so important that we have Royal Park.
If you travel north along Elizabeth Street for a few kilometres to Parkville (the 19 tram makes it easier) you will come to Royal Park. It is the largest inner city park in Melbourne and the land was set aside for parkland in 1845. That foresight means that within easy access of the CBD is an enormous natural space that feels like a part of the Australian bush.
Royal Park is entirely populated with native plants and the smell of eucalypts in the air is magically Australian. On the Southern edge of the park is an immense circle of native grasses and on these windy Spring days you can watch people flying kites high into the heavens. The space is so big the people become dots on the yellow land and the shimmering silk kites look like tiny fish in the deep blue sky.
We can’t do much during lockdown, but we can go for walks. The calming peace of Melbourne’s parks is one experience (mostly) still open to us.