Old Melbourne Prison
The prison appeared in Melbourne in 1839-1841 and was used for its intended purpose for almost 100 years. Both minor offenders and very dangerous criminals were kept here. The most famous was the “Australian Robin Hood” Ned Kelly. He, along with 132 other prisoners, was hanged there.
In 1929, the institution was closed, for some time there was a warehouse in it, and then it was turned into a museum. Today, visitors can look at the death masks of some criminals, read their stories, sit in cells, wander through empty corridors — independently or accompanied by a caretaker disguised as a warden.
The museum offers night tours. They say it’s crawling with ghosts at this time.
Melbourne Aquarium
The Sea Life Aquarium is good because, firstly, it is located in the city center, and secondly, here you can not only look at a variety of underwater inhabitants, but also touch some of them, for example, starfish. And also order diving with sharks or become part of a colony of funny penguins.
Among other curiosities of the aquarium are a tropical forest inhabited by mysterious creatures, a bright coral reef, an area with very rare fish hiding in the depths, a giant crocodile, nurse sharks, etc.
Melbourne Sea Life became the first place where the circular aquarium was opened, its volume is 2.2 million liters of water.
Captain Cook’s Cottage
More than 200 years ago, this cottage stood in England, where it was built by the parents of the famous navigator — James and Grace Cook. The son often visited them, but they say he did not live in the house. In the 1930s, the owner of the cottage decided to sell it – on the condition that the building would remain in the Empire. An Australian rich man bought the building, it was dismantled brick by brick and transported to Melbourne, where it was reassembled and even surrounded with seedlings of the same ivy that decorated the house in England.
Inside a small building under a sloping roof, you can see furniture from the Cook era, portraits of the navigator and his wife. There is a statue of Cook near the cottage, there is a garden with medicinal herbs nearby.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
The Cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Melbourne will impress even those who are indifferent to religious architecture. The dark gray neo-Gothic building with high light pointed roofs and carved semicircular windows looks more like an ancient castle, not like a sanctuary. The cathedral is one of the 5 Australian “small basilicas” and is considered the largest temple built in the 19th century. Inside there are many carved elements, marble, beautiful stained glass windows.
The cathedral is dedicated to the patron saint of Ireland — St. Patrick — because during the years of construction, the Melbourne Catholic community consisted entirely of Irish.
Organ concerts are given in the cathedral, a church shop is open.
Federation SquareTop 5 attractions in Melbourne
Melbourne city centre, known for its buildings of controversial modern architecture. They were popularly called shards for their respective shapes and design. On the square there are the Ian Potter Center, Atrium, Information Center, Cinema Art Center, restaurants, shops and much more. On one side of the square stands St. Paul’s Cathedral, on the other — a very beautiful Flinders Street Station, on the third lies the embankment of the Yarra River.
The square was opened in 2002 and has been repeatedly awarded at architecture and design competitions.