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A few weeks back, I had the pleasure of joining a friend to take the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Tour in Melbourne. It was a joy to walk through the south east of the city centre and hear about the filming of Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mystery novels and gain an insight into the buildings involved. Over three hours our tour leader, Kathy, shared wonderful stories about Melbourne's social and architectural history, especially as it related to the buildings we saw on our walk.
It is not my intention to share the stories here. Those are Kathy's stories to tell on the tour and I did not take notes. I am sharing my photos I took on the tour, an overview of the tour and my impressions of the places. I have visited quite a few of the buildings on the tour at other times. At the end of this post, I have listed links to where I have written more about my experiences with these buildings.
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Our first stop was Cafe Excello (99 Spring Street) for light afternoon tea of lemon slice, brownie (or chai tea cake for the vegan) and hot drinks. It was not a notably historic or memorable cafe but it was where Kathy gave us an introduction: housekeeping, an introduction to Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (as the tv series is called) and the history of Melbourne. I am quite familiar with both the tv show and history but learnt a more from Kathy.
I first heard about the Phryne Fisher books about 30 years ago when hearing the author Kerry Greenwood give a talk about her books to a history group. Since then I have read quite a few of the books and seen the tv series. I have always had respect for the historic research that is the foundation for the story about the dashing and wealthy Miss Fisher who solves murder mysteries in 1920's Melbourne with the support of her maid Dot and a couple of loveable working class communists called Cec and Bert, and the reluctant help of Detective Inspector Jack Robinson. It is great fun but also insightful with social commentary about the time.
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| The Windsor Hotel Ballroom |
The history of Melbourne in the roaring 1920s is an exuberant city of post war optimism with a dark underbelly (including the First Nations people displaced to make this city). The magnificently ornate buildings were erected over the decades following the 1850's gold rush that converted John Batman's colonial village into a wealthy Victorian city. It is a familiar story to me as a Melbourne history enthusiast but Kathy's stories had many details I did not know.
Kathy was a fantastic story teller with lots of colouful details and a keen eye for connections as she told the story of Melbourne. For example she told a story about the decision about the city's wide streets being made to allow vehicles to turn easily, and that this in turn had made space for the creation of a tram system that exists to this day. Often during the tour she would allude to one place having an association with another, but she would pause and promise to tell more about at another stop.
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| The Windsor Hotel reception and entrance |
The first place we stopped was to have a quick peek into was the Windosr Hotel, one the grand 19th Century hotel. I am very fond of this place, having stayed at the hotel when seeing a musical a few years back and had their famous high tea on a couple of occasions. I enjoyed one amazing high tea in the gorgeous ballroom (pictured). The above photo of the entrance reminds me of checking in to stay there.
The Windsor was one of the first places we looked at where the building history included plans to demolish it followed by being miraculously saved. We had a fascinating discussion about Whelan the Wrecker who knocked down so many of the grand Victorian buildings of Melbourne.
Kathy recommended watching a documentary about this called The Lost City of Melbourne. If you are interested in seeing lots of rare footage about Melbourne's history with commentary about the changes in Melbourne that resulted in many extravagant buildings being lost as well as the stories of many who were saved, it well worth a watch. (It is currently streaming on SBS On Demand in Australia).
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| Parliament House |
The area at the top of the city has a wealth of heritage buildings including Parliament House, Tasma Terrace and Treasury building, all of which I have been lucky to visit previously (see links at the end of the post). We stood outside Parliament House with the glow of the sun reflected on the autumn leaves. Kathy told us stories about filming the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries at these buildings and used her ipad to showed clips of scenes from the tv series. We saw a few more film clips during the tour.
The tour is an official tour of the show. Kathy has spent a lot of time with the producers and others involved in making the tv series. She told us stories about how they closed off streets to film, how the editors skillfully stitched together scenes from different locations and how Phryne's stunning 1920 wardrobe was created. The insider stories of scenes I remembered were definitely a highlight of the tour.
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| Treasury Building |
One scene we discussed was the Treasury Building masquerading as the University of Melbourne. Both Parliament House and the Treasury Building have grand flights of steps that make for a popular location for wedding photos. Above you can see a wedding party on the steps of Treasury. While we stood talking about the building, it was fun spotting all the brides in big white dresses.
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| Entrance to the Melbourne Club |
Another fun part of the stories were the private clubs of Melbourne The best known is The Melbourne Club for gentlemen, which has a grand but discreet entrance. There is just one tiny sign well up the other end of the building from the front door. Of course, Phyrne belonged to one of the private ladies' clubs.
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| St Michael's Uniting Church |
Not all stories were directly related to Phryne Fisher. Some were about the general history of Melbourne that helped understand the 1920s Melbourne where her story was set. We stopped at the corner of Russel and Exhibitions Streets so Kathy could talked to us about the buildings on the four corners.
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| Scots Church Melbourne |
On two of the corners are the St Michael's Church and Scots' Church. It is fascinating to see the different architecture of the two churches. I also liked the story of Nellie Melba's association with the Scots' Church.
The top photo is of the facade of the Neo-Gothic Assembly Hall building of Scots' Church where you can see the "Old and Rare Books" sign of Kay Craddock's Antiquarian Booksellers. I love all the random amazing buildings in Melbourne that I pass regularly. The tour was a great chance to stop and think about them in more detail.
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| Collins Street Baptist Church |
We stopped to admire the Collins Street Baptist Church. A church built in the style of a classical Greek temple is a rare sight in the city of Melbourne.
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| Melbourne Place |
Melbourne had a grid of wide streets with generous blocks that allow plenty of space for laneways. I had rewatched the first episode of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries to reacquaint myself with the series. Melbourne Place is one of the narrow laneways where Phryne encountered some of the nefarious characters of 1920s Melbourne.
As we stood waiting for Kathy to start telling us about how the filming of the tv show in the laneway ended with the evacuation of a nearby hotel, a huge truck began to back in with noising beeps to warn us it was reversing. I was impressed at the way Kathy took it in her stride, moving aside and waiting for the truck to stop before repositioning us so she could resume her story.
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| Mayfair Building |
If you want to really appreciate the architecture of Melbourne, you must look up beyond the modern shops and offices to see the impressive facades. We heard stories of many of these such as the facade of the eight story Edwardian Mayfair Building that is all that remains of this old concert hall and cinema which is now modern offices occupied by BHP.
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| The Regent Theatre |
Another common theme was theatres and cinemas. Of the many remaining in Melbourne's city, the Regent Theatre is one of the ones that makes me the most sentimental. It was to be demolished as part of the City Square development but a union ban (thank you Norm Gallagher) and a community campaign saved it. This story makes me appreciate how small the city square is.
In the early 1990s I visited the neglected building before it was restored to its former grandeur. I remember seeing a huge chandelier prostrate on the floor and all the shabby but ornate decorations. A few years later I was there again after it was its first musical performance after restoration: Sunset Boulevard starring Hugh Jackman and Debra Byrne. I was amazed at the lavish interior with a sweeping staircase and golden statues everywhere I looked. I haven't returned since but maybe one day!
I was also fascinated by the history of the Athenaeum Theatre opposite. It is a theatre where I have seen many shows including Wogs out of Work, Barry Humphries as Sandy Stone and the comedian Daniel Kitson.
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| Parrot outside Melbourne Town Hall |
We walked past the Melbourne Town Hall. This is a building that dominates Swanston Street and has a central role in the city's history. I have seen the Choir of Hard Knocks in the Auditorium and comedy festival shows including Dave O'Neil and Rod Quantock. Our tour was on the last day of the Rising Festival and the buzz of the crowds was a sight to behold. The photo of the colourful parrot on someone's shoulder as people came out of the Town Hall encapsulates the colour and crowds.
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| Gin Palace lounge |
A highlight of the tour was that it ended with cocktails at the Gin Palace. This is an icon of the Melbourne laneway bars scene. It is the re-imagining of the Gin Palace in the 1880s Marvellous Melbourne of luxury and debauchery. As we descended into the dimly lit basement, it felt like stepping into history. The decor is opulent extravagance that calls to mind elegant dress and witty banter. Yet it welcomes everyone with the chandelier, fancy couches with plump embroidered upholstery and large floral arrangements.
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| Gin Palace lounge, framed pictures and chandelier |
We sit in this corner with Kathy and order a cocktail that is included in the cost of the tour. I am very happy to find mocktails on the drinks menu. (It was not clear when I checked the website.) I order the Ambrosia: "Sweet, bubbly fruit cup with apple pie spice: raspberry & clove shrub, apple pie tea, cinnamon, and pear soda ($12)." The warm spices in my drink are lovely on a winter's day.
Kathy is very generous in talking about how she came to do these tours and is happy to answer our questions. During the tour she talks so much and dug so many facts and stories from her mind that ishe seems very content to also sit and listen to us talk about our lives. We are all very happy to sink back into the chairs, sip a cold drink and chat after all that walking. We have fun trying to identify the faces in the framed pictures around us. I am particularly amused at the riff on the Claude Monet painting, Woman with a Parasol, only this one had Darth Vader replacing the woman!
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| Gin Palace mocktails menu |
After Kathy left, I stayed with Jo and her friend for another drink. I love that the mocktails menu has an option for adding gin to each mocktail to make them more inclusive. This meant that when I chose to have the Booch Please mocktail (kombucha and tonic: $13), Jo chose to have it as well but with the optional gin ($23). K had a strawberry mocktail. You can see them in the photo below. I was surprised that's Jo's Gin Booch Please was much larger than my mocktail version. No wonder the price difference was so huge. The Booch Please was a revelation. Who knew the kombucha could be so good in a mocktail! It was my first drink with tonic I have really enjoyed. It was a refreshing combination of tart, bitter and sweet.
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| Gin Palace cocktails |
I am really glad I decided to fork out $149 (gulp) and did this tour. While pricey, there was so much information, entertainment and fun in the three hours, so much I learnt, the afternoon tea to start and the mocktail at the end. If you are interested in Melbourne's architectural and social history and/or insider stories about Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, I highly recommend this tour.
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Tour
Run by MELtours (Melbourne Walking Tours)
Melbourne CBD
1.30pm Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
Cost $149
www.meltours.com.au/tours/missfishermurdermysteriestour
Gin Palace
10 Russell Pl, Melbourne CBD
Open 7 days, 4pm to 3am
www.ginpalace.com.au
More posts on Green Gourmet Giraffe about visiting historic buildings in south east of Melbourne CBD that were featured in the tour:
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