Day 33. Castlemaine and Melbourne

We met Barry and his wife Elizabeth at the motel at 9am. We had some time to become acquainted, so we frequented a bakery/cafe in Castlemaine. Barry and I had never met personally, but through writing and by phone, we had become close friends. Our first appointment was at Billman's Foundry where Barry works. Barry has cast the flywheel and the furnace door for my 6 inch Rider.

We were met there by “Doc” the chief moulder who took us through the complete casting process. It was enthralling. Adrienne found it very interesting and asked many questions. We now both have an understanding of the complexities of the casting process. One lesson we learned was despite the “How to do it at home” books on casting; don't. It is a complex process which uses many chemicals and levels of heat unobtainable in the domestic environment.

After the foundry we left for Barry's place in the country at Chewton. Barry lives a life unconnected to reticulated electricity, water or sewerage, but has a conventional house and workshop which are powered by a combination of solar and generation with wood fired major cooking. While we were there Barry's son Peter turned up. Peter is also a restorer, but of stationary engines and tractors. Peter fired up his Jelbarts tractor which were made in nearby Ballarat. This part of Victoria was prolific in the early part of last century in the production of engines and farming machinery.

In the early afternoon we left Chewton for Melbourne. We decided that we would visit the various houses in which Adrienne lived while studying at Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and working. We found the location of three. The first, a hostel in Rathdowne Street has been demolished and the Cancer Council building stands there. The second, on Gratton Street, is beside the Lemon Tree hotel. The building still exists and is most likely under renovation. The third house, on Nicholson Street also remains, but appears to be no longer a share house. The three windows were in the room Adrienne used, although the rear window has now been changed to an opening onto a new balcony.

On our return home we went down the famous Lygon Street eating area. Adrienne was reminiscing about James Watson's Wine Bar and we found the bar was still there. Jimmy Watson's was the first wine bar in Melbourne. During her days in Melbourne between 1968 and 1971, she was unable to drink at the bar due to drinking age being 21. These days there are tables on the footpath, where we enjoyed our drinks.

We strolled up Lygon Street back towards the city and came across Toto's Pizza Place which is recognised as being the first pizza shop in Australia, opening in 1961. We had our dinner here.