Strange features

These streets don't join and I think that's brilliant, if I lived there I'd totally drive over the little grassy bit in the middle

Is this where surplus cemetery-plot dirt goes? Probably. This is the Northern Memorial Park by the way.

There's an interesting story about why this roof includes the words 'GLEN IRIS BRICK CONSOLIDATED LTD' (it's not in Glen Iris, actually in Campbellfield or somewhere like that) but I'll leave you hanging

An interruption, can't remember what - powerlines probably. Nice form

No particular subject

Another thing found in Savers. I should probably get a scanner because taking photos of books is annoying

The book contains two pages with photos of various restaurant frontages and this one is my favourite I think

I wonder where this is, or was. It's also weird that water features fell out of fashion, I remember a very nice one around what was Daimaru or the office tower next door

I bought this excellent tea towel as well, I want to go to Orange World now (it still exists!!)

This place doesn't exist anymore (according to the local paper). There is very little information online but I found the image below, taken from an eBay listing for a set of postcards. Reminds me of the Happy Hens institution near Meredith

Nice light for late April

Great logo

They finally demolished this place

Would love to live here, reminds me of the commission housing in Kingston ACT which was across the road from where I stayed in 2009 after driving to Jervis Bay. I have photos on my old computer which I'll one day post for posterity

Saw a car like mine last night, there was another one in white across the road. Nice to see someone else likes 80s Saabs. This one is a fantastic specimen

Braybrook VicRoads

I have a very vivid memory of visiting a VicRoads branch in Braybrook (this very old guide to getting your learners permit mentions the address, 11 Evans Street*) circa 1992. The building was small but very open, Australian modern with a pragmatic government twist - flat roof, coffee-coloured bricks, timber stained dark, and large glass windows (walls?) opening into a central courtyard (or was it a light well) full of native vegetation. For some reason I was under the impression an animal lived in there because it reminded me of a zoo exhibit, and I recall being a bit sad because I couldn't see it.

Anyway, the building is long gone. I assume it was demolished after the much larger Sunshine complex opened, which was in 1998. It could've been abandoned for a while too, I don't know. It obviously had a very short lifespan: this publication clarifies it was only a temporary premises, taking on the duties of the Port Melbourne branch, which had closed:

From http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/papers/govpub/VPARL1987-88No73.pdf

The above document (dated 1987 BTW) also refers to 'the new [my emphasis] Braybrook office [which] provides a wider range of services with better conditions for both customers and staff' (41). Based on this I assume it was built in either 1986 or 1987.

Obviously it's mentioned in the Melways too (see 1, 2 [seems the weighbridge came before the office]) but this doesn't tell me anything aside from the fact that the whole corner block was used by the RTA/VicRoads and that, for some reason, the office itself wasn't marked in the Melways until 1989. One would be forgiven for thinking it was built then, if they were relying solely on maps. The 1997 and 1998 Melways both show VicRoads offices in Sunshine and Braybrook so I think they operated in tandem for a while. I can't imagine many people would choose to visit Braybrook over Sunshine seeing as the former was sandwiched between various meat processing plants in an industrial area (where someone once fell into a mincer and some youths drove trucks for fun) and the latter was right on Ballarat Rd and next to the fancy new Sunshine Marketplace.

Despite much searching, there are no photos of the old VicRoads, but I did find this which I'm tempted to check out because I'm curious.

What a seriously underwhelming conclusion. Hopefully I'll find out more one day, if only to confirm whether an animal actually lived in the courtyard or not

*11 Evans Street is also given as the address of Pridham, the aforementioned "organic recycling" firm (see this document, p. 784). I wonder how VicRoads came to use this address? Maybe Pridham had some spare land they were willing to lease, which would explain why the VicRoads office was eventually closed and demolished. The factory they constructed seems pretty new, I had a look on Nearmap and their oldest image - from 2009 - shows a functioning plant of some kind, so I'm assuming whatever happened was between 2000 and 2007ish (assuming it takes 1-2 years to build a facility of this size)

Here's a streetview image of the site today:

How is it mid April already

My car broke down (again) so you'd think I'd be walking everywhere and consequently posting more often because I'm taking photos - but really I haven't left the house much, sorry

This dog was by itself on an empty block of land. No idea how it got behind the fence but it was really aggressive and wearing a jumper

Nice Spanish style tiles

Can you tell this was once a bank

There used to be a rooming house here and my dad lived in it when he first came to Melbourne

Old doctors clinic. This place was still leasable in 2014 but is now completely trashed because someone bought it last year with the intention of building apartments

Footscray ghost signs

"Carpet City"

Life as of late

How cool is this sign. So simple

Someone set fire to an under-construction townhouse Saturday night and Barkly St was closed to traffic while the flames were put out and the cause investigated. There were about a hundred people jostling on the footpath to get a better look and the general consensus = arson

What are the odds - 444(4) (if only it was 246246 as well)

Met a big cat

Interesting or strange things at Footscray Savers

Of course I bought this because I had no idea what product this was trying to advertise until I actually sat down and read each recipe. You would be forgiven for thinking its a brand of lard because shortening is literally in every single one, from pastries to chocolate sauce. Also it turns out 'O So Lite' is a brand of flour

All of these recipes included shortening. Check out that continental pizza pie

Horrible

I found all of these addresses on Street View and the houses are pretty nondescript

Cool label, info on the person here

Funglasses or sunglasses