Melbourne and the Enthusiasm of the Footy Festival

Australia is one of those distant places people talk about, but often never expect to visit. Earlier this year an unexpectedly low fare for Australia popped up. I talked it over with my wife, and we decided to pursue it. Since I would be retiring in June, we decided that fall would be a great time to go. It would be my first opportunity in many years to travel in September rather than teach. With the trip booked, we began to plan our great adventure down under. We didn’t know the Footy Festival was in our future.

We began our exploration of Australia in Melbourne. It is a bit further south than Sydney so it was a long flight from Los Angeles, almost 16 hours. However, it was overnight so sleeping helped to pass some of the time. From the airport we took the Skybus into town which is one of the few available options from the airport, but it was very convenient.

However, getting to our hotel was not convenient. We read that the hotel was next to a tram stop. It sounded easy enough. As luck would have it, however, the tram operators had just started a four hour strike when we arrived so no trams were available. Taxis were available, but being cheap we decided to walk. It didn’t look that far on the map, but when we finally arrived 35 minutes later, it seemed a lot further. Fortunately despite our early arrival, our hotel gave us our room, and a nice shower and clean clothes revived our spirits.

We planned to take a free walking tour of the city as a way to begin our adventure here. To get to the start point we had to walk back into town. This time we walked through the nearby university to get there and along a different street than we came. Walking through universities is always interesting. The buildings are often unique, some old and some new. It was much easier walking without dragging suitcases along. We spotted a Starbucks near the meeting point and had a good American coffee experience as we waited to learn about Melbourne.

Andreas was our tour guide, and he was knowledgeable and interesting. The tour began in front of the State Library Victoria and took over two hours; we did a lot of walking. Having already walked to and from our hotel, I was not sure I was going to finish the tour, but we made it to the end. During the tour we wandered in a lot of different directions so it was hard after it was all over to know exactly where we had been, but we did learn a lot.

Learning the history of Melbourne gave us a number of insights into Australia. One thing they emphasized was how early Melbourne settlers took the land from the aboriginal people. The tour as a whole would emphasize from time to time the injustices done against the aboriginal peoples. This included bringing in European diseases which killed a high percentage of the original peoples. The statue below pictures an aboriginal couple who were among the early leaders making an effort to bring justice for the native Australians.

The other historical emphasis was the early events impacting the workers of Melbourne. Two significant events occurred in the 1850s. In 1854 the gold miners in the area became frustrated by the high license fees placed on them. They rebelled in what is known as the Eureka Stockade. During a brief skirmish lives were lost. However, the gold miners eventually gained the right to vote, and the government significantly reduced the license fees. . Today the Eureka Building, the tallest building in Melbourne (but not for long), stands as a representation of this event.

The second significant event happened in 1856. Workers in Melbourne demanded better working conditions. Stonemasons went on strike demanding an eight hour work day. Their theme was 888 meaning 8 hours for work, 8 hours for play or education, and 8 hours for rest. The city was the first place in the world to make an eight hour work day a standard.

Along with the historical aspects of the city we learned about the street art, saw the importance of the lanes (we in America would call them alleys), and learned about a number of historical buildings and sites. It was very informative. The tour ended at the art center with a view of the Yarra River which cuts through Melbourne. At this point the guide accepts tips based on what a person felt the tour was worth. At the beginning of the tour, he said most paid tours would be $20-$30 a person so that helped provide a guideline for what to pay.

Another aspect of Australia we learned about was the rivalry that exists between Sydney and Melbourne. This goes all the way back to when Melbourne convinced Queen Victoria to let it separate from the control of Sydney. This was followed shortly afterwards by the announcement of gold in the area which created some wealthy people. Sydney was not happy. They felt Melbourne had duped out of the riches.

Today much of this rivalry plays out in sports. We were unaware when we booked our adventure that we would be in Melbourne on the weekend of the Grand Final, the Superbowl of Australian football, and the Footy Festival. Australian football or footy as it is commonly called, is unique to Australia and began in the Melbourne area. Melbourne always hosts the Grand Final. This year the final featured the Richmond Tigers, a Melbourne area team against the Western Sydney Giants, a team created just six years ago. Being there we had to take part in the festivities.

The Friday before the Saturday game is a local holiday in Melbourne. We went out to the grounds of the stadium where they were holding the Footy Festival. Food booths, big screen TVs broadcasting commentary and interviews, and games for kids kept everyone involved. There was also lots of gear to buy from the participating teams. The most important part was a parade that started in downtown Melbourne and came out to the stadium. The parade featured the players and their families; you could see them up close and personal. It was fun to be a part of the celebration even though we had no idea how to play the game.

The game took place on Saturday, and the local Richmond team won overwhelmingly. Here’s the newspaper photo taken after the win.

Following our participation in the Footy Festival, we wandered back into town. Unfortunately the weather turned bad, and it rained pretty hard so we spent part of our afternoon in a local mall wandering around. Later we wandered along the Yarra River banks taking in the sights and sounds. The odd thing to me was that despite the large crowds at the Footy Festival, there did not seem to be a lot of people downtown wearing team gear. There seemed to be less fan enthusiasm than I would have expected.

The footy Grand Final was on Saturday. Since we didn’t even understand the game, we let the Australians have their day while we chose to go out of the city and check out the beach. Next week you can read about our penguin experience.

Are you an expert in Australian football? Have you enjoyed Melbourne or have plans to visit soon? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.