For those that have known me since I was still a twinkle in my mother’s eye, they would know of my obsession with the Harry Potter franchise. While Melbourne boasts a play that was endorsed by J.K. Rowling, but which I consider terrible fanfiction, was it any wonder that I skipped out on seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child? Admittedly, I do like the characterisation of Scorpius Malfoy but the entire plot was off the rails and didn’t quite fit into the world that had been painstakingly created.

Besides, I have a script at home. While I may not have the budget for the special effects, I think I do a superb job doing all the characters. Melbourne Theatre Company, why have I not been hired to play any of the characters?

Regardless, my one excitement of heading down to Melbourne was to hit the Store of Requirement. Though it was a trek, I managed to get there right before the shop opened. When it finally did, I stepped inside to enjoy all the Harry Potter goodness to be found therein…

Only…

Only it wasn’t what I had eagerly hoped for. Sure, there were a selection of wands and a few gift sets but there was nothing anything I actually desired in the store. After spending a few minutes wandering through the store, I resigned myself to another trip, either to the UK or the US, and paying a visit to their stores instead. There’s more to Harry Potter than the occasional pop vinyl or cute keychains. I wanted more.

Disappointed, I headed down towards the Melbourne Museum. And by Jove, it was magical! Certainly, there were a lot of exhibits to see. From minerals to insects to dinosaurs! There were even live specimens on display. Certainly a rare treat when compared to the Australian Museum in Sydney. There was also a forest that had a chimney that had survived the Black Saturday bushfires from 2009. 

Utterly gorgeous.

While I would have preferred taking my time to read all the placards, I also had many other places to see and visit on this second day in Melbourne. Besides, it was also school holidays and I was SURROUNDED by children and parents. Yes, it’s good that you’re taking your children out to get educated but rein them in. Please! Or take them out to the beach/ park where they can’t disturb me taking in the sights and wanting to further expand my knowledge on the natural world!

The other half of the Melbourne Museum also contained an exhibit on Indigenous Australians. There was even a small section dedicated to Northland Secondary College and their fight to keep the school open. Thankfully, unlike most narratives, the Koori school won.

But even with a tale of victory to buoy my spirits, I was soon reminded that Australia’s history with its First Nations people has always been bloody. Colonialism and its impact on the native people can still be felt today with one group above all others trying to impose their own ideals as the norm and squashing out any resistance. 

For a true and proper reconciliation, recognition and restitution must be made. It isn’t simply a matter of sweeping it under a rug. Forgiveness and atonement must go hand-in-hand if the land, and the people, are to heal.

From this exhibit, I headed back up to a part of the museum that was dedicated to chronicling the history of Melbourne itself. It was fascinating to learn that the streets now dedicated to shops and a theatre that was featuring the Hamilton musical was previously known as the red light district. 

Best of all, though, there was a miniature exhibit! Many were models but there was also a huge doll house for the snotty kids to admire. Prepare yourselves for a slew of photos bombarding you in:

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After I managed to emerge from the museum and back into the blinding sunlight, I headed back towards the heart of the city again. My destination? The Museum of Chinese Australian History. As an Australian of Chinese descent, it seemed proper for me to understand some of that history, even if my family were only recent migrants.

Inside, I listened to many stories. Some from those that had arrived in Australia during the gold rush period and others were from my mother’s generation, entering Australia as students or entrepreneur businessmen.

All of it helped illustrate my place in the great Australia story. It also helped me feel less alone, knowing that no matter when we came to Australia, we could still proudly call ourselves Australians.

The other floors also provided some historical information about the Han Dynasty (a historical and cultural connection that I often found lacking in my education because I had grown up in Australia). While I knew some of the facts on the walls, due to my attendance at mandatory Chinese school every Saturday, what I read and learnt felt different to what I had learned somewhat scattershot from my Chinese teachers.

Of course, there was also a floor that had been transformed into a proper show with a tilting ship deck and a mural of Chinese migrants trekking from South Australia to enter Victoria and have a turn at digging up gold in Ballarat. Like many migrant stories, they brought their culture with them such as Beijing opera and their many gods with them into the new world.

As with my time in Seattle, I was disappointed to hear that even in Australia, the Chinese were discriminated against because of their sheer number and work ethic. A tax was imposed on every Chinese arrival and there were limitations on the number of them that could arrive on each vessel. In passing this legislation, the state of Victoria paved the way for similar exclusionary legislation in other colonies.

After drinking in my fill of Chinese Australian history, I decided that it was time to fill up. Checking Google Maps, I managed to wend my way to Becco, an Italian restaurant that wasn’t too far from where I wanted to head to next. The food was decent, if a little pricey, and unlike most Australian restaurants, they had also installed an option to tip a specific amount. While I was tempted to click cancel on the tips, my guilt and social conscientiousness prompted me to give them the second most expensive tip.

Still, I must truly protest. We aren’t America. Are you underpaying your workers in these fine dining places? If not, why are you resting tips? Please, please, please get rid of tipping. It’s not a thing in Australia! And I hope to goodness, it never will be.

After that, I headed down towards Fitzroy Gardens. And summarily bumped into my mother and stepfather. Together, we traipsed past the Old Treasury and cut through the Treasury Gardens where a memorial to J.F. Kennedy could be found. Why an American president was being memorialised in Melbourne was a mystery to me, although it didn’t stop me from taking a few photographs.

I parted ways with my mother after we took in Cook’s Cottage (which also required an entry fee to tour the very small grounds). Whilst she and my stepfather departed to take the free tram, I headed up to see the Fairies Tree before strolling down Flinders Street towards St Paul’s Cathedral and Federation Square.

From there, I crossed the bridge over the Yarra River and headed to the Melbourne Skydeck for a bird’s eye view of the city below. After enjoying a loaded cookie and one of the worst hot chocolate that was ever mixed, I took my time soaking in the sights on the Southbank promenade before returning back to our hotel.

So ended a very busy day.

The next day, my mother and stepfather accompanied me to the Scienceworks Museum in the out-of-the-way suburb of Spotswood. While not as impressive the Melbourne Museum, I liked the exhibits that showcased future technologies and the activities that could be had for all the kids wanting to test the limits of their body. We might be living in a world of COVID-19, but that won’t stop kids (or even teenagers) from touching anything in reach.

The highlight of this trip was taking the Collections Tour and seeing what Museums Victoria had in storage. If ever I had been tempted to be a museum curator, this was that one defining moment. Oh how I would have loved taking people around a warehouse, pointing out iconic pieces of the past and spinning my lies about what it was used for.

Fun fact, a lot of the rotary engines for planes in the past used castor oil as a lubricant. The scarfs many pilots wore was used to help wipe their goggles and to filter it out as well.

From the Scienceworks, we headed to the DFO  at Essendon. After an exhausting day of running around the city of Melbourne, my mother was ready for some SHOPPING!

And shop she did. After the two or so hours we spent there, she walked away with three pairs of shoes. I, on the other hand, bought two jeans and some hiking boots for any future expeditions into the great outdoors (or whenever I decide to visit Tasmania, I suppose).

Friday saw us finally wave goodbye to Melbourne. Deciding to take the coastal route, we stopped first at Brighton to take obligatory photos of the bathing houses. And then it was all uphill from there as we drove to Eden, and back across the border into New South Wales.

On Saturday, we enjoyed a meandering path up the Princes Highway, looking out at the small towns that were scattered on the south coast before finally arriving back home just after five.

All in all, it was an exhausting trip but well worth it. Would Melbourne be ranked high on my list of cities to visit again? Maybe. I certainly did enjoy my time walking its streets and mapping out the city in my head. Then, of course, there are the exhibits I missed or didn’t spend enough time in.

Renowned for its coffee, I was also disappointed that I didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy brunch with my friends. The cafe scene, I’ve heard, is alive and well in Melbourne and that’s also something I’m strangely looking forward to if I should ever visit again.

In any case, Melbourne isn’t so out of reach that visiting again would be out of the question. But perhaps I ought to be a bit more discerning with my travel companions next time, eh?