Part 7 (1/2)
Carlton Gardens are in the northern suburb, near the Parliament House; here also stands near by, the Exhibition Building, erected at a cost of over half a million dollars. It is now improved as a place for public amus.e.m.e.nts of various sorts, and contains a well-stocked and particularly well-arranged aquarium, somewhat after the style of that at Brighton, England. There are five or six other parks or public gardens more or less extensive, all charmingly laid out and beautified with trees of native and foreign species, with miniature lakes, aquatic plants and birds, and possessing picturesquely arranged fountains.
Albert Park, in the eastern suburb, contains a lake so large as to render it available for sailing-boats and pleasant rowing-parties, for which purpose it is daily improved by both s.e.xes and entire families.
The streets of Melbourne present a busy aspect, and there is ample s.p.a.ce afforded for all legitimate business and pleasure purposes, these thoroughfares being each one hundred feet in width,--a gauge which is maintained throughout the city. They are all laid out at right angles, with mathematical precision. This liberal allotment of s.p.a.ce for public use is carried out even in the suburbs, calculation having been made in advance for the growth of the city which is sure to come. The streets are for the most part paved either in blocks of granite or of wood, being in a few instances macadamized; but all are kept in admirable condition, both as to use and cleanliness. The stream of humanity pouring through them at all hours of the day is indeed vast and varied, though the population, while it consists of a mingling of nationalities, is yet distinctively English. It seemed to the writer that more Americans were to be found in this capital of Victoria than elsewhere in the colonies, quite a number being prominently engaged in speculative enterprises, and maintaining agencies for firms whose headquarters are in the United States. Several of our popular Life Insurance Companies are thus represented.
The busy activity in the streets was remarkable. Hansom cabs rattled about or stood in long rows awaiting patrons; four-wheeled vehicles of an inexcusably awkward style, also for hire, abounded; messenger-boys, with yellow leather pouches strapped over their shoulders, hurried hither and thither; high-hung omnibuses with three horses abreast, like those of Paris and Naples, dashed rapidly along, well filled with pa.s.sengers; men galloped through the crowd upon small horses, carrying big baskets of provisions on their arms; dog-carts driven by smart young fellows, with a flunky behind in gaudy livery, cut in and out among the vehicles; powerful draught-horses stamped along the way, drawing heavily loaded drays; milk-carts with big letters on their canvas sides made themselves conspicuous, rivalled as to the size of the lettering by the bakers' carts of similar shape; light and neat American wagonettes glided along among less attractive vehicles. Now and then a Chinaman pa.s.sed by with his peculiar shambling gait, a pole across his shoulders balancing his baskets of truck; women with oranges and bananas for a penny apiece met one at every turn,--and still the sidewalks are so broad and the streets so wide that no one seemed to be in the least incommoded. The fruiterers' stands here and there, as well as the windows of the dealers in the same products, presented an array remarkable for its tempting variety. Among these fruits are the mandarin and navel oranges, apricots, figs, grapes, pa.s.sion-fruit, pineapples, bananas, peaches, plums, and several other sorts, all in fine condition.
With the exception of San Francisco, nowhere else can fruit of such choice character be found in so great variety and at such cheap rates as in Melbourne.
While driving in the environs of the city many plots of ground were observed cultivated by Chinamen, and kept in the neatest possible manner. As we have already said, John is a natural gardener. In the first place his knowledge of fertilizing materials suitable for the soil enables him to produce vegetables not only in abundance, but of the best quality. He is independent of markets, going personally to his customers,--thus making his body serve for both cart and horse, and accustoming himself to carry heavy burdens daily. By such means he realizes all the profit there is to be made on his products, not having to divide with the wholesale dealer or the middle-man. He thus shows business keenness as well as a capacity to endure great drudgery. So absorbed is the general attention, in other directions that only John attends to the raising of vegetables,--thus providing a necessary diet for those who would otherwise be liable to lose health and strength for the want of it.
One meets plenty of Jews upon the boulevards of Melbourne, with their strongly-marked features. There was an abundance of them also in Sydney; and indeed where are they not to be found, if there is money to be borrowed or trade to be vigorously pushed?
On the corners of the streets in Melbourne are to be seen a peculiar cla.s.s of idlers. The eight-hour system of labor prevails here, and men hasten from work to the bar-rooms, there being one of these poison-dispensing resorts at every corner of the business thoroughfares. We calculated that there were four thousand ”gin mills”
in this city, and probably that is an under estimate. The common laboring cla.s.ses of this city are not only universal drinkers, but they are also ”hard drinkers.” They are as a rule too ignorant or besotted to see, putting all other things out of the question, that the cup of any sensual indulgence if drained to the bottom has always poison in its dregs. They indulge grossly, and suffer accordingly.
The showy liveries worn by the retainers of some of the more wealthy (not the better) cla.s.ses of the citizens of Sydney and Melbourne seemed to us strangely out of place. As nearly as we could get at the facts by casual inquiry, most of these b.u.t.toned and uniformed flunkies were in the service of persons concerning whose genealogy the less said the better, especially when we remember that the earlier residents of Australia were mostly composed of those who left their native country for their country's good. ”You may safely calculate that the father of the latest Australian baronet was a n.o.body, or something worse,” says a writer in one of the local magazines. Melbourne, however, seemed to us less open to any aspersions growing out of former penal a.s.sociations than either Brisbane, Sydney, or Hobart in Tasmania, all which colonies were originally settled as penal stations. Victoria is one of the youngest of all these colonies, and was, up to the discovery of the gold-fields within her present borders,--that is, in 1851,--a portion of New South Wales; but to-day it is the metropolis _par excellence_ of Australia. It has not the many natural beauties of Sydney, but it has numerous compensating advantages, and is undoubtedly the real centre of colonial enterprise upon the continent.
The admirable system of tramways in Melbourne is worthy of all praise, use being made of the subterranean cable and stationary engines as a motor. This mode of propulsion is safe, cheap, and clean. While we were in the capital tracks were being laid for several new and extended routes, one of which runs through Burke Street parallel with Collins.
The public amus.e.m.e.nts of a large city often aid one in forming a just idea of its development in other directions. Those of this capital of the southern hemisphere are numerous, well conducted, and well attended,--a sure evidence of prosperity and general thrift. People from inland who have money to spend are attracted to such places as will afford them the greatest variety of reasonable amus.e.m.e.nts; and hence Melbourne, rather than Sydney, has become the resort of these pleasure-seekers.
It has been said that gold made Melbourne and wool made Sydney,--a remark which is based on fact. The experiences of both these cities in the early part of their career was peculiar. Money easily gained is seldom wisely spent; sums that fall as it were into the open palm will burn in the unaccustomed pocket; the excited recipient resorts to high revels and all sorts of excesses, be he never so quiet and reasonable under ordinary circ.u.mstances. At one time skilled labor in Melbourne commanded the extraordinary wages of ten dollars per day, and mechanics thought the millennium had come; they had not the wit to see that such extremes produce in the end a sure and severe reaction, but experience taught them that lesson by and by. ”The greatest flood has the soonest ebb.” The lavish earnings of the ma.s.ses, whether at the gold-fields or at the bench, were soon engulfed in the beer-barrel and the wine-cask; the bar-rooms were the only places where uninterrupted industry was exhibited, and where unremitting application to a given object was conspicuous. ”Our streets,” said a citizen of Melbourne to us, ”in the early days of the gold-rush swarmed with drunken revellers; nor could we see any ready way out of the trouble which afflicted the community.
Finally, however, the diggings ceased to yield so lavishly; the surface ore was exhausted, and to get gold out of the earth a man was compelled to work hard for it. The great novelty also began to wear away, and those who were making money less easily, very naturally were disposed to spend it less foolishly.” The exaggerated rates of wages were consequently reduced, inflated prices for all articles of consumption fell gradually to a reasonable figure, and affairs generally returned to their normal condition. Precisely the same experience was realized in the early days of the gold discovery in California.
Personal beauty is not the prevailing characteristic of the female portion of the community of Melbourne any more than it is at Sydney; and shall we be forgiven for saying that in our opinion the ladies do not dress in very good taste? Young and middle-aged women generally cut their hair short; but why such a fas.h.i.+on should prevail among them we could not conjecture, the boyish aspect thus produced being anything but becoming. The bar-rooms are very generally tended here, as they are also in England, by women; and the bar-maids universally cut their hair short, in boy-fas.h.i.+on. One would think that this fact alone would be sufficient to induce ladies of respectability to avoid such an extreme and questionable custom.
The wide sidewalks are here covered with stationary verandas, as noticed in most of the colonial cities and towns. These coverings are sometimes made of gla.s.s or of matched boards, but most commonly of corrugated sheet-iron, supported at the edge-stones by small iron pillars. They form a shelter from both rain and sun,--recalling the Rue Rivoli of Paris, or the streets of Turin in Italy, or of Bologna in Spain. The ladies and gentlemen strolling under these covered ways, before the fine display in the shop windows, present a gay and attractive picture at the fas.h.i.+onable hours of the day. But in broad contrast to these bright and cheerful centres, there are in the northeastern section of the town filthy alleys and by-ways that one would think must be, owing to their filth and squalor, hot-beds of disease and pestilence, well calculated to supplement the inevitable effects of the defective drainage of this rich capital on the banks of the Yarra-Yarra.
One cannot but notice the peculiar p.r.o.nunciation and mode of speech common among the people here. It is what we call c.o.c.kney in America, with some added local effects. The misplacing of the letter _h_ is almost universal. This is a habit which appears to be infectious; one individual who practises it is liable to corrupt scores of others. The drawling hesitancy of the Londoners of a certain cla.s.s is also easily transmitted, being as catching as stuttering or the measles.
One who pa.s.ses through foreign cities and is able to spend rarely more than a couple of weeks in each capital, is not competent to speak authoritatively of its social life, or in detail of its best society.
But it is safe to say that ladies and gentlemen are the same everywhere.
They form perhaps the higher element of a social centre, but they do comparatively little toward determining its outward aspect or its political status. It is the people _en ma.s.se_ who form the general character of a large population,--such individuals as one meets in omnibuses, railroad cars, hotels, places of public amus.e.m.e.nt, and upon the fas.h.i.+onable promenades at the favorite hours.
The General Post-Office of Melbourne is situated at the junction of Elizabeth and Burke streets, presenting a striking architectural aspect, with its tall tower, bold reliefs, illumined clock, and chime of bells.
It is admirably designed for the purposes of this department of the Government, and covers an entire block by itself, with a pillared colonnade about it similar to that already described as forming the outer portion of the Post-Office at Sydney. It affords room not only for the several divisions of the Post-Office proper, but also for the savings bank, the money-order department, and that of the telegraph, all which are under the control of the Government. s.p.a.cious as the original design of the structure was, the business transacted in it has already outgrown its capacity, so that more room is now imperatively demanded.
Additions are consequently making by extending the rear of the building, while at the same time the tower is being raised and a story added to the whole edifice.
The author does not pretend to describe the many public buildings of Melbourne, but briefly to mention such as most impressed him. Among these were the Town Hall, on the corner of Elizabeth and Collins streets,--a very large and solid building in the Renaissance style, erected in 1867, containing among numerous other rooms designed for munic.i.p.al use the Executive Chamber, and one remarkable apartment capable of seating over five thousand persons. In this hall is a grand organ which is acknowledged to be the fifth largest in the world,--a n.o.ble and costly instrument of exquisite harmony and great power, a full description of which was given to us with much patient courtesy. The Town Hall is four stories high, and has office room for all the various branches of the city business, with ample accommodations for civic ceremonies.
Collins Street is the fas.h.i.+onable boulevard of the city, though Burke Street nearly rivals it in gay promenaders and elegant shops. To make a familiar comparison, the latter is the Broadway, the former the Fifth Avenue, of Melbourne. On the upper part of Burke Street there is a covered market consisting of two s.p.a.cious floors occupying an acre and more of ground, which we visited in the early morning. The confused variety of articles and lines of goods here offered for sale was really ludicrous, recalling a similar display witnessed at Warsaw, in Poland, near the Saxony Gardens, though it lacked entirely the element of picturesqueness there so prominent. Here were displayed side by side dry-goods and green fruit, crockery ware and millinery, flowers and meats, clothing and jewelry, boots, shoes, and poultry, singing-birds and underwear. Indeed, what was there not to be had here for a price? A mile and more away from this, up Elizabeth Street, the regular vegetable and meat market was found. Here several acres were covered by sheds open at the sides, where country produce was offered at wholesale and retail.
It is more than probable that ”nice” people do not go to market in Melbourne, judging from the character of the noisy, jostling, and rather rudely-behaved ma.s.ses who were encountered in these two markets, especially the last named. Here neatness and cleanliness in the surroundings were completely ignored. The garbage over which one was compelled to pa.s.s in order to get about the market was not only extremely difficult to encounter, but also disgusting. In European and American cities one meets representatives of all cla.s.ses in such resorts at early morning, but it does not seem to be so in Melbourne. In Philadelphia and Havana the household mistress, followed by a servant with a basket, goes regularly to early market,--or if not daily, certainly on Sat.u.r.day mornings. 'T is not so here.
There are four large arcades in the city all opening from Burke Street, and forming pleasant popular resorts for strollers, who are here sheltered from the weather and the noise of the public thoroughfares.
They are respectively the Royal Arcade, nearly opposite the Post-Office, containing elegantly furnished shops; the Victoria Arcade, opposite the Theatre Royal; the Eastern Arcade, next to the market; and the Book Arcade, in the eastern part of Burke Street,--this last, as its name indicates, being devoted mostly to the sale of books. Free evening concerts are given also in these retreats, which always attract fair audiences. The Book Arcade is a very popular resort for students and the better cla.s.s of evening idlers. The proprietor told us that he had two hundred thousand volumes upon his shelves,--a number which we judged from appearances not to be over stated. These books were so systematically arranged by subjects, that the inquirer for any special work could have it in hand in a moment; or if it was not in stock, the proprietor could ascertain that fact almost as quickly. The character of the books in this establishment was of a singular mixture, running from the higher cla.s.sics down to a dime novel, and from the Encyclopaedia Britannica to Mother Goose's Melodies.
The Public Library of Melbourne is a large and impressive building, standing by itself back from the street on rising ground, and would be creditable to any European or American city. It already contains a hundred and twenty-six thousand volumes, and is being constantly added to by public and private bequests. The collection of ma.n.u.scripts and unbound pamphlets is large and comprehensive, especially in the latter department. The interior arrangements of the Library struck us as being particularly excellent, affording ample and accessible room for the books, besides all needed table accommodations for the use of the public. In this respect the Library was far in advance of our Boston inst.i.tution, and is hardly surpa.s.sed by the Astor Library in New York.
As to the Melbourne building, inside and out, it is superior to both of the libraries we have named in architectural effect. Under the same roof is a Technological Museum containing an extensive collection, especially of geological specimens, mainly comprised of those found in Australia.
For entomologists and mineralogists the collection here exhibited will present also special interest. An entire wing upon the lower floor of the building--the library proper being up one flight of stairs--is devoted to statuary and to a public school of art. A third department is appropriated to a permanent exhibition of paintings. Here may be seen many choice modern pictures and some admirable copies from the old masters. All these departments come under the direction of the managers of the Library, and all are free to the public. Over one hundred persons were counted at the reading-tables of the Library during our brief visit. There were representatives among them of all cla.s.ses of citizens, from the professional student in search of special information, to the laboring man seeking to improve himself by acquiring general knowledge.