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Adrift in Melbourne
Melbourne’s streets have always been marvellous—but the proud facades of the nineteenth-century boom aren’t the half of it.
What about the stories behind them?
The great corset scandal of Melbourne’s belle epoque;
The heritage-listed toilets out the back of the Rialto;
The exploits of the women who ran the brothels in Little Lonsdale Street;
The reason George Mallaby starred in Homicide wearing a hat two sizes too small.
This book contains a series of walks created by Robyn Annear to showcase the hidden histories we might scurry past every day, the buildings now gone and the extraordinary characters who inhabited them.
Charming, erudite and frankly gossipy, Annear’s highly entertaining guide to Melbourne past and present need not be experienced on the move. But whether you enjoy it from a tram stop or an armchair, Adrift in Melbourne will inspire you to unleash your inner flâneur on the lurking surprises of this great city.
What about the stories behind them?
The great corset scandal of Melbourne’s belle epoque;
The heritage-listed toilets out the back of the Rialto;
The exploits of the women who ran the brothels in Little Lonsdale Street;
The reason George Mallaby starred in Homicide wearing a hat two sizes too small.
This book contains a series of walks created by Robyn Annear to showcase the hidden histories we might scurry past every day, the buildings now gone and the extraordinary characters who inhabited them.
Charming, erudite and frankly gossipy, Annear’s highly entertaining guide to Melbourne past and present need not be experienced on the move. But whether you enjoy it from a tram stop or an armchair, Adrift in Melbourne will inspire you to unleash your inner flâneur on the lurking surprises of this great city.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2021
25 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 3, 2022
I'm a proud resident of Melbourne and live close to the CBD where I've witnessed extraordinary changes to the city over the years. I've seen the tallest building in Melbourne erected from a dusty carpark, and then seen the title of Melbourne's tallest building Eureka eclipsed. I've witnessed the opening of Federation Square, the beginning of the metro tunnel, the establishment of new galleries and more. The city of Melbourne is continually evolving and I'm certain we're going to continue seeing further change and development in the future.
Having enjoyed Old Vintage Melbourne by Chris Macheras so much last year, the chance to explore the city further with Robyn Annear was too tempting an opportunity to pass up.
In Adrift in Melbourne - Seven Walks with Robyn Annear, the author guides us through the city of Melbourne and the reader can recreate the tours on the ground or experience them via Google Maps or from the comfort of home. I chose the armchair traveller option but had to keep my device handy as I was constantly looking up images of buildings still present and those lost to the bulldozers of time and progress.
Annear's sense of humour and personal touch accompanies us on every tour and while largely focussed on the history of buildings and locations, here's a funny story from the intersection of Franklin and William streets:
"During a lull in traffic one weekday morning in 1952, a large grey shag landed in the middle of this intersection and disgorged two live fish. A city-bound cyclist, without even dismounting, scooped up both fish and kept riding." Page 255
Can you imagine your astonishment on seeing this today? I imagine it would have been exactly the same for those pedestrians 70 years ago. What a hoot!
Reading Adrift in Melbourne, I was continually learning and marvelling, did you know:
"By the 1930s, Flinders Street Station was the busiest in the world, swallowing and disgorging more than twice as many passengers weekly as Grand Central station in New York." Page 40
I've just started researching Docklands and re-acquainting myself with the well established suburb it is today, and laughed when I read this:
"Take a tram west... and you'll arrive at the intersection of Collins and Bourke streets. Talk about a mind-fuck. Welcome to Docklands." Page 74
Indeed! The meeting of two parallel streets is a complete mind-fuck and Annear couldn't have said it better.
Phrases and sayings snuck into the book occasionally and they were always entertaining. How's this one:
'Latrobe had a smile that might ripen a banana'. Meaning, presumably, that it was radiant like the tropical sun. Page 159-160
What a classic description! I had no idea that 448 Queen Street was once home to Holt's Melbourne Matrimonial Agency, or that thousands of residents would mill around the GPO when a 'flag raised over the clock tower signalled the arrival of a mail ship from England.' Anyone wanting to collect or post a letter had to queue at the GPO for hours, with observations of staff being knee deep in mail. I can't imagine it, can you?
In 1850:
"Something like two hundred thousand letters and three hundred thousand newspapers passed through the Melbourne post office, and within three years, those numbers would increase ten-fold." Page 192
The process for the cleaning of straw bonnets was absolutely remarkable, and I was exhausted just reading about the detailed process that took days to complete on page 146. I just dearly wished the book included some photographs of the sites mentioned. I constantly had to set the book aside and dive into Google in order to bring up images of the buildings and sites mentioned.
The author's love of history is evident and even her casual reference to the veranda blitz of 1954 opened my eyes to periods in our history where heritage features weren't valued and instead residents preferred the new to the old.
I think Annear sums it up best at the end of her guided tours, when she writes:
"Surely the best argument for keeping old buildings in a modern city is one of scale, human scale. That, and the sense they convey of someone having been here before us. I'm not talking about memory: memory can outlive brick and stone. But the solid presence of old places, made and kept at human scale, gives a city and its inhabitants their bearings across time. Lose that and your city's a machine." Page 260-261
Adrift in Melbourne by Robyn Annear is highly recommended for history lovers, non fiction readers and those with even a passing interest in Australian history and the evolution of Melbourne, Victoria.
* Copy courtesy of Text Publishing *
Having enjoyed Old Vintage Melbourne by Chris Macheras so much last year, the chance to explore the city further with Robyn Annear was too tempting an opportunity to pass up.
In Adrift in Melbourne - Seven Walks with Robyn Annear, the author guides us through the city of Melbourne and the reader can recreate the tours on the ground or experience them via Google Maps or from the comfort of home. I chose the armchair traveller option but had to keep my device handy as I was constantly looking up images of buildings still present and those lost to the bulldozers of time and progress.
Annear's sense of humour and personal touch accompanies us on every tour and while largely focussed on the history of buildings and locations, here's a funny story from the intersection of Franklin and William streets:
"During a lull in traffic one weekday morning in 1952, a large grey shag landed in the middle of this intersection and disgorged two live fish. A city-bound cyclist, without even dismounting, scooped up both fish and kept riding." Page 255
Can you imagine your astonishment on seeing this today? I imagine it would have been exactly the same for those pedestrians 70 years ago. What a hoot!
Reading Adrift in Melbourne, I was continually learning and marvelling, did you know:
"By the 1930s, Flinders Street Station was the busiest in the world, swallowing and disgorging more than twice as many passengers weekly as Grand Central station in New York." Page 40
I've just started researching Docklands and re-acquainting myself with the well established suburb it is today, and laughed when I read this:
"Take a tram west... and you'll arrive at the intersection of Collins and Bourke streets. Talk about a mind-fuck. Welcome to Docklands." Page 74
Indeed! The meeting of two parallel streets is a complete mind-fuck and Annear couldn't have said it better.
Phrases and sayings snuck into the book occasionally and they were always entertaining. How's this one:
'Latrobe had a smile that might ripen a banana'. Meaning, presumably, that it was radiant like the tropical sun. Page 159-160
What a classic description! I had no idea that 448 Queen Street was once home to Holt's Melbourne Matrimonial Agency, or that thousands of residents would mill around the GPO when a 'flag raised over the clock tower signalled the arrival of a mail ship from England.' Anyone wanting to collect or post a letter had to queue at the GPO for hours, with observations of staff being knee deep in mail. I can't imagine it, can you?
In 1850:
"Something like two hundred thousand letters and three hundred thousand newspapers passed through the Melbourne post office, and within three years, those numbers would increase ten-fold." Page 192
The process for the cleaning of straw bonnets was absolutely remarkable, and I was exhausted just reading about the detailed process that took days to complete on page 146. I just dearly wished the book included some photographs of the sites mentioned. I constantly had to set the book aside and dive into Google in order to bring up images of the buildings and sites mentioned.
The author's love of history is evident and even her casual reference to the veranda blitz of 1954 opened my eyes to periods in our history where heritage features weren't valued and instead residents preferred the new to the old.
I think Annear sums it up best at the end of her guided tours, when she writes:
"Surely the best argument for keeping old buildings in a modern city is one of scale, human scale. That, and the sense they convey of someone having been here before us. I'm not talking about memory: memory can outlive brick and stone. But the solid presence of old places, made and kept at human scale, gives a city and its inhabitants their bearings across time. Lose that and your city's a machine." Page 260-261
Adrift in Melbourne by Robyn Annear is highly recommended for history lovers, non fiction readers and those with even a passing interest in Australian history and the evolution of Melbourne, Victoria.
* Copy courtesy of Text Publishing *
Read
March 7, 2022The following book reviews have been shared by Text Publishing – publisher of Adrift in Melbourne
'Quite frankly, reading anything written by Robyn Annear is a complete joy. She writes as if it’s just you and her chatting away, strolling through the streets of our wonderful city. I consider this book essential reading for anyone who loves Melbourne. It is the perfect antidote to the last two years...Before you know it, you’ll be completely enchanted again by our city. And it’s all because you became friends with Robyn Annear. Lucky you.’
Readings
'Robyn Annear is the perfect guide for this city tour, comprising seven walks (which can be done on foot or in your armchair)…There’s a gallery of characters too, but none more interesting than the city itself.’
Age/SMH
‘An unexpected delight. Annear writes history with a smile but with a deadly acerbic stare…On this tour of Melbourne we are in the best possible hands.’
Gregory Day, Saturday Paper
'An entertaining romp and joyous celebration of a city that keeps on giving.’
North Melbourne Books
'It is a privilege and a pleasure to walk the streets of Melbourne guided by Robyn Annear.’
ArtsHub
‘Annear is a charming and intelligent guide…A lively sense of humour suffuses the pages.’
Canberra Times
'Quite frankly, reading anything written by Robyn Annear is a complete joy. She writes as if it’s just you and her chatting away, strolling through the streets of our wonderful city. I consider this book essential reading for anyone who loves Melbourne. It is the perfect antidote to the last two years...Before you know it, you’ll be completely enchanted again by our city. And it’s all because you became friends with Robyn Annear. Lucky you.’
Readings
'Robyn Annear is the perfect guide for this city tour, comprising seven walks (which can be done on foot or in your armchair)…There’s a gallery of characters too, but none more interesting than the city itself.’
Age/SMH
‘An unexpected delight. Annear writes history with a smile but with a deadly acerbic stare…On this tour of Melbourne we are in the best possible hands.’
Gregory Day, Saturday Paper
'An entertaining romp and joyous celebration of a city that keeps on giving.’
North Melbourne Books
'It is a privilege and a pleasure to walk the streets of Melbourne guided by Robyn Annear.’
ArtsHub
‘Annear is a charming and intelligent guide…A lively sense of humour suffuses the pages.’
Canberra Times
March 23, 2022
This is a great read featuring seven walks around the City of Melbourne, designed for enjoyment either at home from the comfort of an arm chair, or on location walking the walk, as history comes vividly to life in many stories. Featured are iconic buildings such as ICI (Orica) House, Manchester Unity, Flinders Street Station and the beautiful State Library, as well as locations like City Basement Books (Shop), Batman's Hill, Redmond Barry's Cottage - the founding Father of many Melbourne institutions, and Flying Fish - the intersection where in 1952 a cyclist scooped up two fish dropped by a large grey shag, and kept riding. Enjoy!
January 5, 2022
If the streets of Melbourne could talk, then they would have some fantastic stories to tell. This was a very entertaining read and I learnt a lot of new things about this fascinating city.
March 16, 2024
Well it took a while but we did all the walks! All different amounts of places that no longer exist and a few that do. Gives you a different perspective of the city of Melbourne. And interesting tidbits along the way.
March 16, 2022
I've got all of Robyn Annear's (adult) books. I was there at the 1995 Melbourne Writers Festival at the Malthouse to buy her first: Bearbrass, Imagining Early Melbourne, a book created using the shoe-box system of research. That is, find all the interesting stuff that you can, and put it on cards in a shoe-box. When it's full, that's enough. Then there was Nothing But Gold: The diggers of 1852 (1999); and The Man Who Lost Himself (2002). Fly a Rebel Flag: The Eureka stockade (2004) was for younger readers; but in 2005 there was A City Lost and Found: Whelan the Wrecker's Melbourne (on my TBR); and then there was a long wait for
Nothing New, A History of Second-Hand
(2019). And now there is Adrift in Melbourne, Seven walks with Robyn Annear, (2021) which I like for the same reason I liked Bearbrass. Because it's a quirky, humorous view of my city, offering an alternative history that lies behind our respectable façade. And because Robyn Annear likes to remind us that gone doesn't mean lost forever:
A glimpse at the Table of Contents gives some idea of the style:
WALK 1: WALTZ IN SIX LESSONS
In which we encounter women tight-laced,
in pieces and seeking a place to sit down
Collins Street east to Swanston Street via Flinders Street
WALK 2: COMPLETE WITH ASPIDISTRA
In which we stick close to the Yarra without
ever seeing it and climb a hill that's not there
Federation Square to Little Collins Street west
via Wurundjeri Way overpass
WALK 3: MORE BY LAND THAN WATER
In which we weave through Theatre-land, Chinatown
and the 'back slums' with guest appearances by Joe Cocker
and the ghost of James Brown
Tivoli Arcade to Exhibition Street via Lonsdale Street
and Parliament House
There are seven more walks to enjoy. All I need is a nice autumn day and a new pair of walking shoes since the demise of my Eccos, victims of all those hours of lockdown-approved exercise.
Annear calls herself an unfluencer:
Well so do I...
Do It Yourself Lockdown is no barrier to enjoying this book:
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/03/13/a...
Vanished doesn't mean gone. In Melbourne — in any place — things change all the time. Yet, the way I see it, nothing's ever really gone.
Like other books of mine, this one deals largely in absences — of people, buildings, institutions and even lions that were here before us. Lately we've been absent too. But absence is no obstacle to memory. This book is proof. (p.1)
A glimpse at the Table of Contents gives some idea of the style:
WALK 1: WALTZ IN SIX LESSONS
In which we encounter women tight-laced,
in pieces and seeking a place to sit down
Collins Street east to Swanston Street via Flinders Street
WALK 2: COMPLETE WITH ASPIDISTRA
In which we stick close to the Yarra without
ever seeing it and climb a hill that's not there
Federation Square to Little Collins Street west
via Wurundjeri Way overpass
WALK 3: MORE BY LAND THAN WATER
In which we weave through Theatre-land, Chinatown
and the 'back slums' with guest appearances by Joe Cocker
and the ghost of James Brown
Tivoli Arcade to Exhibition Street via Lonsdale Street
and Parliament House
There are seven more walks to enjoy. All I need is a nice autumn day and a new pair of walking shoes since the demise of my Eccos, victims of all those hours of lockdown-approved exercise.Annear calls herself an unfluencer:
I make no special claims for Melbourne: only that it's the city I know best, having dug deep into it and walked it over and over. Besides, I like the place. (p. 1)
Well so do I...
Do It Yourself Lockdown is no barrier to enjoying this book:
This book is ostensibly a walking guide, but you can drift just as well from a couch. Armchair city-walkers can get their bearings using Google Maps and Street View. Plus, there's a Melbourne mobility map online (or in any Melways) showing the relative steepness of the city streets, so you can chart how much legwork you're missing out on. (p.2)
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2022/03/13/a...
February 11, 2022
Loved this book and the concept of the walks through the city of Melbourne.
How often has an old building or site in the city raised your curiosity? Well, Robyn Annear provides the answers!!
A collection of interesting stories and quirky snippets behind the city streets. Some stories humorous, some bizarre, and some shocking, for example, the rounding up of 300 First Nation people at the Merri Creek campsite. Truely awful.
If you have a passion for Melbourne and its history - this is the book for you!
I can’t wait to visit Melbourne to do the walks!
How often has an old building or site in the city raised your curiosity? Well, Robyn Annear provides the answers!!
A collection of interesting stories and quirky snippets behind the city streets. Some stories humorous, some bizarre, and some shocking, for example, the rounding up of 300 First Nation people at the Merri Creek campsite. Truely awful.
If you have a passion for Melbourne and its history - this is the book for you!
I can’t wait to visit Melbourne to do the walks!
May 13, 2022
I'm always guaranteed an enjoyable and entertaining read from Robyn Annear. This time taking a walk with her through the streets of Melbourne left me with some some new knowledge about the city and its history past and present. What a sight it must have been to see the chap on a bicycle pick up two live fish and keep on riding, I wish I had been there to seen it happen.
May 29, 2022
This is a book that I’d been wishing for ever since I returned to Melbourne.
During my ramblings through Melbourne I’ve often wondered about the history of many of the old buildings still standing and mused on the backgrounds behind the facades of the buildings lost to ‘progress’.
This book has sated my curiosity to some extent… although I will be seeking other books by this author to find out more about Melbournes past.
I really enjoyed this book.
The author’s quirky humour made it a pure delight.
During my ramblings through Melbourne I’ve often wondered about the history of many of the old buildings still standing and mused on the backgrounds behind the facades of the buildings lost to ‘progress’.
This book has sated my curiosity to some extent… although I will be seeking other books by this author to find out more about Melbournes past.
I really enjoyed this book.
The author’s quirky humour made it a pure delight.
July 22, 2022
I read this book from my couch in the third year of the pandemic, to the accompaniment of Google Maps, looking up photos of each location. I didn’t keep count, but I think about half of the buildings Annear describes are still there; the rest have been demolished and built over, so the reader needs Annear to explain what was there before. What surprised me, though, was how many of the existing landmarks I could picture in my mind before looking for photos of them. I love this city so much, my favourite city in the entire world with only Glasgow approaching anywhere close to it in my heart, and for years walked through it every weekday, and its street scenes have apparently been burnt into my brain. So as covid19 cases rise yet again, and gratuitous trips on public transport feel a wee bit risky, I travel Melbourne’s streets in my mind.
February 13, 2022
Appealing mostly to Melburnians, this book looks at the history of many buildings in our CBD area. Each chapter focuses on a specific area which is prefaced with a map for walking the streets mentioned to see the buildings or their original location. I only wish there were lots of photos included for those of us unable to walk the streets.
April 19, 2022
Absolutely brilliant.
Seven self guided walks that let you explore Melbourne at your own pace, highlighting quirky, overlooked and forgotten history and places along the way. I took the book with me, and stopped regularly to read the sections as I went along.
Had 7 great afternoons, with this as my companion. Highly recommended for Melbournians.
Seven self guided walks that let you explore Melbourne at your own pace, highlighting quirky, overlooked and forgotten history and places along the way. I took the book with me, and stopped regularly to read the sections as I went along.
Had 7 great afternoons, with this as my companion. Highly recommended for Melbournians.
January 25, 2025
I loved this book which felt like having a series of conversations with an extremely interesting - funny, smart, cheeky, curious - aunt. It has loads of quirky history and engaging stories and facts. I read it on my couch, following the walks in my mind’s eye, and now I want to read it again actually walking the seven paths through Melbourne.
March 11, 2022
A must for residents and visitors to Melbourne, Australia. I thoroughly enjoyed this well written and informative guide to exploring the streets, laneways and history of Melbourne's CBD. I look forward to undertaking all 7 of the suggested walks. Entertaining and informative.
April 3, 2022
Robyn Annear's latest book is a delight to read, leading the reader on a stroll through Australia's second biggest city and highlighting buildings now sadly gone and the characters who lived in them. Her writing style is humorous and the book will make you eager to meander along many of the city's streets again.
August 19, 2023
Seven themed walks around Central Melbourne. Explore the Pompeii like layers of history as you meet historic figures including CJ Latrobe, Redmond Barry and Jack the Ripper suspect Frederick Deeming. I knew a lot, but there’s heaps here I didn’t.
January 29, 2022
This was an absolute beauty of a book - 7 great walks and as a bonus gave me the history of my work place in the 1980s. Anyone interested in Melbourne and her history this one is highly recommended.
April 1, 2022
An interesting and easy read.
July 6, 2022
Absence is no obstacle to memory! This book explains it all, thoroughly enjoyed following the map routes in every chapter and getting to learn more about Melbourne's past.
October 4, 2022
A delightful, fascinating series of jaunts around the city. God I love Melbourne.
November 29, 2022
I loved this book. So many interesting facts about our city presented in a concise and fun way.
December 26, 2022
A delightful ramble through the streets of the Hoddle Grid, with many an anecdote about the buildings that stand (or once stood) on its streets, and the people who made the city a home.
June 12, 2023
A great description and bite sized history facts of my home city. Each walk has a map shown at the start and can be done on its own.
March 29, 2024
Really interesting read about my favourite Aussie City
May 6, 2024
(7/10) Lovely little book, Annear's stories are extremely charming and she does a great job mixing wider narratives with funny, very humdrum ones. It's a great time capsule of several earlier eras of Melbourne. I perhaps would have got more out of it if Annear had talked more about buildings etc that were still there, so I could recognise them, but that's hardly her fault.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews