Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance and Royal Botanic Garden (Day 4 in Victoria)

Day 4, we went back to Melbourne City again to visit Shrine of Remembrance and Royal Botanic Garden. Shrine of Remembrance is located at Birdwood Avenue, opposite of Royal Botanic Garden Melbourne, around 1.2 kms south of Flinders Street Railway Station and Federation Square.

Shrine of Remembrance was built as a monument to commemorate the Australians who participated in the war, armed conflicts, or peacekeeping operations. The shrine was completed in 1934, served as a memorial to those who died in World War 1. The shrine was designed by two local Australians, with the inspiration from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and built with the fund raised from the public. Since then, more memorials were added to the shrine. The shrine opens 9 am - 5 pm daily (closes on Good Friday and Christmas). The admission is free.

We arrived at the shrine at noon. We strolled around the compound of the shrine first, before we entered the main hall. The main hall houses 40 Books of Remembrance- a list of the soldiers participated in World War 1, and a plaque states "Greater Love Hath No Men" (a part of John 15 verse 13). From the main hall, we climbed up to the observatory platform to see the beautiful scenery around the shrine. We went down to the lower level to see the crypt and the exhibition hall after that. We left the shrine at around 1:15 pm and continued our trip to the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria at Melbourne Gardens (or Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne).

There are numerous sculptures erected around the shrine, including The Man with The Donkey which depicting the real story of a stretcher John Simpson Krikpatrick who used his donkey to carry the wounded from the front line in World War 1 (upper left), the Driver and Wiper commemorating the war fought at Ypres (upper right), and the angelic sculptures (lower right). We could see some school children having their activities at the shrine.

There are several paths lead to the main hall of the shrine.

The staircase to the main hall.

School children were gathering at the center of the main hall with the plaque "Greater Love Hath No Men". Sunlight will shine directly on the plaque at certain time of a day. Photography is allowed in the shrine (with no flash). Out of respect, we decided not to post more photos we took in the shrine.

Scenery of Melbourne city center from the shrine.

Another part of Melbourne city.

Medals with each of them representing 100 Victorians who lost their life in military operations since World War 1. These medals are exhibited at the medal gallery at the exit of the shrine.

Royal Botanic Gardens at Melbourne is located opposite of the shrine. We just need to cross the Birdwood Avenue to reach the main gate of the gardens. As the name suggests, the site is a collection of several types of gardens, including the Australian native forest walk, roses, cacti, succulent gardens, and the collections from different countries. Visiting hours of the gardens are from 7:30 am until sunset daily.

Well, one can stay in the gardens for whole day. For us, strolling around center lawn alone took us around 1 hour 15 minutes. Then, we left due to the falling rain. There was only one cafe in the gardens (another one was located at the main entrance), so it will be good to bring our own drinks and maybe, some snacks. Good walking shoes and umbrella are required too. The visitor transportation is provided (garden explorer) with extra fee and prior booking.

The Royal Botanic Garden Victoria at Melbourne is located opposite of the Shrine of Remembrance. 

We can see visitors gathering and enjoying the cooling weather and colours of autumn.

There are several cottages around the area. The one in this photo was built in 1886.

View by the lake with water birds walking around the beautiful lawn.

The scenery of central lawn, with "overgrown" sky scrappers. 

Nice walking path.

Plants available around the gardens.

For us, both Shrine of Remembrance and Botanic Gardens are must visit places in Melbourne. For better experience, a more relaxing and slower pace is recommended. And, we would suggest to visit the shrine first before the botanic garden. 

2:30 pm, we left the botanic garden and continue our trip to shop for souvenirs. We will share our experience about food and shopping in Melbourne in our next post.

[Walk Around Melbourne City] [Great Ocean Road]

[Healesville Sanctuary Day Trip] [Shrine of Remembrance and Botanic Garden]

[Food, Shopping and Moving Around Melbourne]

[All Our Destinations]