Law making and law breaking

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I awoke to another day of rain this morning. The forecast called for it and it was accurate. Even so, I set out on a short run to the east - through Southgate, the botanical gardens and back past the Shrine of Remembrance, which is dedicated to those who fought in WWII.

I had a nice hot shower to warm up - not only is it raining it’s a bit cool today - and had a jelly toast and cereal breakfast at the hostel. My dining companion today was a German girl (I think she said her name is Silva) from somewhere in the middle of Germany. She recently took a hiatus from her job, came down here and is buying a camper van or station wagon to travel clockwise around Australia for the next few months.

Following our breakfast, I took off to go touring. After riding the free tram to the northeastern part of the city center, I got off near the Victorian Parliament to check on tours. The next tour would start at 11:30 so I had an hour to walk around. I walked past the nearby St. Patrick’s Cathedral, only seeing the outside, as it appeared a funeral had just finished. I also roamed down one of the streets that serves as Melbourne’s Chinatown before getting back to Parliament in time for the tour.

I was part of a group of about 20 people, led by Martin, our tour guide. Martin took us through the structure of the government and the inner workings of its political system.

The Parliament building that we were in is for the state of Victoria, with Melbourne as the state’s capital. Victoria and several other states comprise the country of Australia. Interestingly, I learned that Australia still acknowledges the monarch’s authority (currently Queen Elizabeth II), just like England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The government functions in a somewhat similar fashion to ours in the United States and just like the one in the UK. Though, in the Australian government’s case, the federal government reigns supreme by design, whereas in the United States sovereignty lies with each state, at least constitutionally.

The functional government, at both the federal and state levels, is run by the Parliament, which consists of two houses - the 88-member Legislative Assembly (like the US House of Representatives and the UK House of Commons) and the 40-member Legislative Council (like the US Senate and the UK House of Lords, though members may not bequeath their seats). These bodies debate over bills and must agree to the exact same bill and have it signed by the Governor before it becomes law.

Australia also has two primary parties - the Labor Party (on the political continuum, generally sits left of the United States’ Democratic Party) and the Liberal Party (on the political continuum, generally sits between the United States’ Democrat and Republican parties).

Our tour took us through the Queen’s Hall, where there is a statue of Queen Victoria which she sent away “to the far corners of the Earth” since she disliked it, the Assembly Chamber, with its three Waterford Crystal chandeliers, the Council Chamber, the Parliament Library and the vestibule. After an hour, the tour concluded and everyone went their separate ways.

My next stop was to the Old Melbourne Gaol (jail). The tour there was comprised of two parts - the watch house and the cell block. I just made the watch house tour, which attempted to give participants a taste of the life behind bars. I just hoped that Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel and his Marine platoon didn’t show up like they did on the Alcatraz tour.

The watch house tour started with a separation of men from women as we received small papers with our characters. Mine was for Dan Rogers. I had been charged with the manufacturing of illicit materials. Others were for public drunkenness, prostitution, unruly behavior and the like. Many of us read our charges out to the sergeant, who also served as our guide.

The men were then taken to a holding cell, denoted as “The Love Shack”, and the women to a separate cell. The cell was cramped. The sergeant locked the door and turned out the lights for a few minutes to give us an idea of the experience.

Next, everyone was released and free to roam around the area to see a padded cell, slanted floor cells (for those who couldn’t control themselves), normal cells with lots of graffiti, the general exercise yard and a solitary confinement exercise yard. We saw a similar setup on the women’s side.

The last part of the watch house tour allowed us each to get a mugshot of ourselves. Mine was complete with a stupid expression and an accompanying gang sign.

After the watch house tour, I took the self-guided cell block tour. This tour featured many exhibitions, including the story of Ned Kelly (an infamous bushranger), information on the hanging process and gallows, several convicts, babies that would accompany their confined mothers and the use as a WWII prison.

The two tours had lasted about two hours so I was beyond ready for lunch. I went to the nearby Queen Victoria Market again where I picked up a sandwich. I also headed out to the produce section to get some fruit. There I found some strawberries, which I enjoyed immensely later on, and a peach for tomorrow.

After making my way back to the hostel and getting cleaned up, I set out to have dinner and some beer at James Squire, a bar in the city center that brews its own beers. I took a scenic walk through the city to get there and enjoyed a tasting paddle, consisting of six of the house beers - Sundown Lager, Golden Ale, IPA, Pilsener, Mad Brewer’s Orchard Ale (seasonal) and Highway Man. After I killed off the paddle, I had to try the Original Amber Ale, which I heard another guy say he liked best. The Highway Man, a red ale, was not surprisingly my favorite.

I opted to have dinner elsewhere. Having had a late lunch and now a few beers, I wanted something a bit lighter than what was offered as James Squire. On my way back I found a small sandwich shop where I had a wrap and some pasta salad as I read one of the local newspapers.

Back at the hostel, I read for a bit before falling asleep from a busy day. Tomorrow is my last full day in Melbourne.

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Photos

Parliament
The outside of the Victoria Parliament Building.

Old Courthouse
The Old Courthouse is part of the Old Gaol. Conveniently located, it allowed quick processing of inmates.

Graffiti
Some of the graffiti inside one of the jail cells. It reads "Our Land, Your Law" and features a strong man who broke free from his chains.

Mugshot
Scowl and gang sign included.

Cell block
The old cell block where prisoners were kept in solitary confinement.

Beer paddle
From right to left - (1) Sundown Lager, (2) Golden Ale, (3) IPA, (4) Pilsener, (5) Mad Brewer's Orchard Ale (seasonal) and (6) Highway Man.