Up, up & away

One of the most fun and interesting things to do in Williamstown isn't actually in Williamstown (for the most part).

A sea-plane scenic flight over Melbourne and beyond starts at Gem Pier, Williamstown. You can choose a 15 minute city skyline flight, a trip out to the Dandenongs or around Port Phillip Bay to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula before heading back to Williamstown.

Visit Melbourne Seaplanes website for bookings and prices.

Timeball Tower - History

Here's a link to an interesting site about Lighthouses in Australia and an informative article about the Timeball Tower at Point Gellibrand in Williamstown.

There are historical pictures showing it's previous guises as well as how it looks today. It's an interesting read too.

Lighthouses of Australia Inc.

Cox's Garden

There are lots of charming old houses around Williamstown, some in original condition, but most of them have been renovated now and restored to better than their former glory.

Cox's Garden just behind Douglas Parade has this lovely old house with a wooden shingle roof and a creeping wisteria. It must have seen lots of changes over the years. The Cox's Garden cottage is being restored, but this one gives you a better idea of how the area must have felt years ago.

Williamstown Festival

The 30th Williamstown Festival runs on the weekend of the 23rd - 25th of March this year.

Just looking at the planned events and attractions, Williamstown will be packed. There will be free outdoor movies in Commonwealth Reserve provided by Sun Theatre, heaps of art and music events. The Williamstown Craft Market and the Producers Market will coincide with the Festival on the Sunday, with a dog fashion parade and carnival amusements and rides.

The Historical Reinactment Society of Victoria is even going to fire the cannon at John Morley Reserve on The Strand at 4pm Sunday.... Keep the dog indoors!

Here's the link to the official Williamstown Festival website.

Cyril Curtain Reserve

This tree is in Cyril Curtain Reserve on The Esplanade, between the Williamstown football ground and the beach. The way it and the one behind it are bent over shows how windy it can get here. These trees must have been subjected to strong winds for their entire life to be like this.

Cyril Curtain Reserve is a designated "off-leash" area, so it's a good place to take the dog for a walk or let them off the lead for a run. Plastic bags for cleaning up are provided here by the council in dispensers near the road, so there's no excuse for leaving any nasty signs of your dog's visit behind when you leave.

on the beach

These pictures were taken at Williamstown Beach.

St Marys Church

Views of St Marys Catholic Church in Cecil Street, Williamstown.

Williamstown - Melbourne's worst-kept secret.

It used to be a quiet bayside suburb that the rest of Melbourne thought was near Geelong. Now, everybody knows about the charms of Williamstown. It's changed a lot over the last 10 years too, while still retaining most of the best things about it.

Located about 14km from the city by road or train, it's a nice compromise between inner city and country town. Many of it's wide, tree-lined streets have a distinctive country feel about them, Electra Street for example.

The best views of Melbourne's skyline are to be had from The Strand, which runs along the foreshore up to the mouth of the Yarra at Newport. This area also has a bike/walking path and a large waterfront park and playing fields. Oh to have had the foresight to have bought one of the properties along here 10 years ago. I'm sure they would have at least tripled in price.

That was once the charm of Williamstown. That a person could live in arguably Melbourne's nicest suburb, surrounded by water, parks, and period charm for the same money as living in a non-descript middle distance eastern suburb. Of course, the last property boom put an end to all that and to live there now costs a lot more if you are just buying into the area.

Later, in this blog, I will write about various aspects of life in Williamstown that will hopefully be of interest to locals and visitors alike.