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Tour Diaries

The sights, the sounds, the smells, the cricket

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December 28, 2009

Posted by Osman Samiuddin on 12/28/2009

Spooked out on the William Barak footbridge


Festive cheer: a home on the outskirts of Melbourne is lit up for Christmas © Getty Images
 


It's taken three days to do a diary, and it's not that Melbourne is dull – far from it, in fact. But what can you really write about a beautiful city with a bright and humble skyline, naturally built for walking, home to more cultures than is generally thought, where everything seems to work, the queues are orderly, the people mostly polite, the electricity on, and water can be had from the tap? Only the weather is tempestuous.

There was a certain drunken weekend boorishness to proceedings in the city centre over Christmas and that can be intimidating if you're not drunk yourself, or new. I'm told it's harmless, and I think most of it might be good-natured, but there is a fine line to these things. And as I walked down the spookiest bridge I've ever walked down, late one night, with a man of no hair and much drink jogging to nowhere in particular along the same path for much of my journey, I shivered and scuttled a little. Newspaper headlines about attacks on Indian students here.

The William Barak footbridge improves the link between the MCG and the Rod Laver arena to the heart of Melbourne CBD (Central Business District). Barak was an early, influential aboriginal advocate for social justice, and also an artist; the 525m bridge named after him is actually is as pleasant as things of concrete can be.

But the sound installation project Proximities, conceived as "a sonic corridor of human voices" for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, as you walk across gives it a different feel. There are 56 speakers in all, each with different voices, sounds and music, literally culled from around the world; Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, indigenous sounds from within Australia and New Zealand. But the thing is, at night, if there's no one else on the bridge, the mesh of sounds is disorienting and worrying, especially if your ears are not attuned to some of the sounds. Noble it is, but spooky it can be.

Drink and public behavior are issues du jour. Launched at the MCG yesterday was the "Know When to Declare" campaign, a bid to get people to control their drinking during the cricket. It'll take a little time if the woman who lurched into an MCG lift, loudly and screechingly convinced that Hollywood actor Jack Black was in it, is anything to go by. A local spectator said generally drinking among younger folk has increased and is a problem. Perhaps, says another voice, it just gets more media attention now.

Is an echo to be found in the public worry over the Australian team's poor behavior on the field and in recent years?

 
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Comments

Posted by: Bill on 12/28/2009

Wow - this is really offensive. So everyone in Melbourne is a drunk - even the joggers are drunks. Three days of observation and that is the only point that can be made. Perhaps something about the cicket?

Posted by: Omar on 12/28/2009

Edward, joggings more like an act of running at a gentle pace. Kinda what Shane Watson does as he approaches the crease.. are you telling us Shane Watson could out run a walking man?

Posted by: Shahid Hashmi on 12/28/2009

Salam Osmna Bhai, good diary and make me feel that I am also in Melbourne.......

Great reports, worth reading... thanks for all this......

Salam
Shahid

Posted by: Pete on 12/28/2009

There are things in this blog that just don't ring true. But they have have already been discussed in prior posts. I just want to know why this blog (full of personal social opinions, and questionable observations) was printed on a cricket website.

Posted by: Manas Agrawal on 12/28/2009

There is nothing wrong i could see in Osman's article as i myself have lived there and so aware of all these issues, he has rightly pointed out the fear factor but at the same time has talked about beautiful Melbourne skyline and other good things

Posted by: Terry Jones on 12/28/2009

I'm not sure whats up with the Aussie bashing. I never like articles that arent cricket related (on a cricket website) and take shots at another country, particular the general public of my home country.
Osman, I agreed with another article of you'se, but what are you trying to achieve here?

Posted by: Mitch on 12/28/2009

I don't see this at all offensive, to somebody from a different culture we drink a lot-this is nothing new.
I agree about the bridge too-that thing is one of the most terrifyingly tripped-out creations I've ever traversed

Posted by: Bilal Choudry on 12/28/2009

Osman I have lived in melbourne for 7 years and i can assure you that most of the scary stuff is made up and I personally never had any problems what so ever. So dont worry enjoy yourself and make sure you go to St.Kilda

Posted by: Hollis on 12/28/2009

Why not look at the positives ? From Trinidad in the sunny Caribbean and also getting the cricket (Aus vs Pakistan ) live on TV, the article adds to all the excitement mun ! Melbourne seems to be just beautiful. If you are concerned wear a helmet and pads before getting on the bridge !

Posted by: Jarrod on 12/28/2009

Being born in Melbourne and spending a lot of time there, I can see why somebody new to the city would feel intimidated on a weekend. Any Australian who doesn't understand this is kidding himself, and it's not a slur on Melbourne. I've been over that bridge, and it's freaky enough during the day! It's in a very secluded spot and the recordings are soft and weird.

Posted by: Nadeem Mirza on 12/29/2009

Take it easy, Edward and co. This is someone's personal experience of a stroll at night in a foreign country. I am sure you would be able to relate to this if/when you get to travel to some totally foreign country/place.

Seems like you missed all the good things Mr.Osman pointed out about the city and its people. Selective reading? Or you are just trying to read something that is not there. Having said that, I also don't understand how this is related to cricket.

Posted by: Khan Man on 12/29/2009

great perspective.. loved the post.

and terry man..get over it!! melbourne is great.. i think the poor guy was just voicing his observations.

Posted by: Meiko Georgouras on 12/30/2009

Firstly, I'm going to state that, while a Sydneysider, Melbourne is by far my favourite city in Australia (Melbourne Cup, MCG, great for walking, best architecture, logical layout, best public transport). Having said that, walking around Melbourne in the later hours on one's own can be a pretty dodgy experience, especially as all the streets are so wide and some places seem quite isolated. Also, I think we'd shock most visitors except perhaps the English with our drinking skills. We are after all the country that gave birth to Boonie! Hope you enjoy your stay, Osman.

Meiko from SDPT'K

Posted by: Graham Teale on 12/30/2009

And is there no concern about the behaviour of the Pakistani cricket team? I'd like to see a comparison of the two teams' fines and sanctions in recent years.

Posted by: ozseppo on 01/02/2010

Try walking around South East San Diego. Nothing feels better than coming home, to Melbourne, every 8 months, and walking the streets late at night. I've only ever been beaten up in the outer suburbs. At least it's a fist, and not a gun. And by the way, I drank WAY more than the kids of today, in the 70's. Peak drinking and smoking per capita was 1981, for Melbourne. Coincided with my 21st. Hmmmmmm, when I think about it, Melbourne has improved since I left in '86!

Posted by: Стратегии игры в on 02/28/2010

Great idea, thanks for this tip!

Posted by: рулетки on 02/28/2010

Great idea, but will this work over the long run?

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