Austrathilde

Samedi 30 juin - Visite du Fitzroy Garden.

A l'office de tourisme de Melbourne, ils ont 7 petites radonnées de 2H un peu partout dans la ville, avec des petites cartes toutes mignonnes, pour découvrir la ville. La semaine dernière c'étaient les galeries, aujourd'hui, c'était le Fitzroy Garden.
Ce parc de 28 hectare dans le centre de Melbourne renferme le cottage du capitaine Cook: ce cottage a été construit dans le Yorkshire en 1755. En 1933, Russel Grimwade apprit que le cottage était à vendre et l'a racheté pour le faire transférer dans le Fotzroy Garden... Incroyable.
Il faut dire que le capitaine Cook est très important pour les australiens étant donné qu'il a fait des relevés de toute la côte Est de l'Australiedans les années 1770. J'ai regardé ses voyages, c'est quand même impressionnant, ça me donne même envie de lire ses mémoires!!!
File:Melbourne Capt Cooks Cottage - outer00.jpg

File:Melbourne Capt Cooks Cottage - outer00.jpg

Cook's cottage

Allez, je vous mets un lien pour le coup: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cook

Dans le jardin, nous trouvons aussi le "Model Tudor Village":

The Village which is situated in the centre of the Fitzroy Gardens, was modelled in cement by Mr. Edgar Wilson, a 77 year old pensioner who lived in Hamilton Road, Norwood, London, England, who carried out the task as a hobby. He built three such villages.

One of them which he presented to the City of Melbourne through the City of Lambeth, England, in appreciation of Melbourne’s generosity in sending food to Britain, during the Second World War. It was officially opened by the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Councillor Sir Raymond Connelly, on 21st May, 1948. The model buildings represent a typical Kentish village built during the "Tudor" period of English history. The village is composed of various thatched cottages, a village church, school, hotel, barns, stocks, pump, and all public buildings which make up one of the delightful villages. Also included is a scale model of Shakespeare’s home and Anne Hathaway’s cottage.

Six houses were presented to the Lambeth Council on 27th October 1948 for Vauxhall Park. They were subsequently located on the site laid out by the Borough Engineer. A set of houses was also given to Lambeth for Brockwell Park.

Ainsi que le "fairy tree":

Ola Cohn's Fairies Tree, comprising a series of lovely carvings on the stump of one of the original Red Gum trees in the Fitzroy Gardens, well over 300 years in age.

From 1931 to May 1934 - Victoria's Centenary Year - Miss Cohn worked on the delightful likenesses of fairies, dwarfs, gnomes, a marvelous jackass, koalas, flying foxes and a host of typical Australian animals and birds. She used all the natural irregularities and curves to transform the tree trunk into a thing of beauty.

Her intentions are best described in the foreword to her book, "The Fairies Tree", inscribed on the tree's plaque :

"I have carved in a tree in the Fitzroy Gardens for you, and the fairies, but mostly for the fairies and those who believe in them, for they will understand how necessary it is to have a fairy sanctuary - a place that is sacred and safe as a home should be to all living creatures."

The carvings were done years after the death of the tree and so the problem of the trunk's preservation presented a problem. In 1977, the trunk was extracted from the ground for chemical treatment and the removal of rotted wood, and during the process, a mummified brush tail possum over 40 years old was found perfectly preserved within the trunk. The tree was remounted on a concrete base to prolong its life.