On a sunny weekend afternoon, Henry and I hopped on a train to Williamstown, which is one of Melbourne's oldest suburbs. In 1835, the first settlers arrived by a sailing ship. It wasn't too long after more people settled here because of the sheltered harbour. Today there are tons of boats docked here. In the early days, Williamstown was the port for Melbourne where ships unloaded the goods and then were transferred by barges up the Yara River. The suburb is about 8km from the city, and from the shore of Williamstown you get a spectacular view of the city. We took a short walk along the beach, then headed towards the downtown area filled with shops and restaurants.
Along the way, we came across the Timeball Tower at Point Gellibrand. It was built by convict labour around 1849, and was first used as a lighthouse, and then as a timeball tower. This is where ships could set their chronometers (an instrument for accurately measuring time) since accuracy was extremely important for navigation on ocean voyages. At 1pm everyday, the ball at the top would descend slowly down its shaft.
From here we headed towards the downtown area. It was a nice area with shops and restaurants on one side and a park on the other. We ate at restaurant called El Burro (http://www.elburro.com.au/). It was delicious! We had tapas and sangria (probably the best sangria I've had). With our tummies full, we headed out to the pier to get a clearer view of the city and snap a couple of pictures. Then we decided to go back to the beach to read and nap before heading home.
View of Melbourne from the pier.
Same here.
Tree Huggin' Henry.
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