Ancient Buildings

This is a most unfair challenge for me as normally I would be tripping over ancient buildings. However, this week I am in Australia!  The oldest building is 150 years old which, in UK terms, is but yesterday!

This is a challenge though so, with a bit of research on Google, I came up with two options for Melbourne. 
Option 1: Cook's Cottage in Fitzroy Gardens, where a plaque above the door reads, 1755 - BUT - it was imported from the UK AND Cook would only have visited his parents there anyway. So .....
Option 2: St James's Anglican Cathedral near Flagstaff Gardens.
The foundation stone of St. James Old Cathedral was laid on 9th November 1839, four years after the foundation of Melbourne itself.  It has a checkered history of neglect and rebuilding, being closed down at one point.  The congregation at that time was so incensed by this event that they moved site and established the church in a new place. On the 19th April 1914 the first service was held in the newly built church and, since then, has gone from strength to strength.

It is a calm and welcoming building, left marooned in the middle of the CBD with the closest station closed on Sundays! I gleaned this, and more, information from the incumbent's mother who was visiting.  Despite the difficulties, the growing congregation gets there somehow and the current vicar (a delightful chap I happened to meet as I was leaving) is doing sterling work in the community.

Apart from searching for an ancient building in Melbourne, I have been looking for Street Art.  I walked a very long way in this quest and I am sure there are many brilliant examples of art drawn on the sides of buildings, but I saw very little of this. I did see a great deal of excellent graffiti and even more bad graffiti spread liberally over the excellent graffiti.  I think there is a fine line between graffiti and street art.

I had a great day seeing different parts of this wonderful city and plan to visit again before I head back to the UK at the end of the week.

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