A post from the middle of the day!!

A quick note in the middle of the day! Just finished an amazing tour of city hall. Wanted to make the post before I forget anything. Our tour guide Ken took us on a tour sharing his wealth of knowledge to myself, a couple from Switzerland, and the locals!!! Melbourne has an interesting history, including city planning from the beginning. 30 meter wide roads mean that the trams are still able to run today. Also, this explains the little lanes that give way from no where and the european feel as a result.
There is a kangaroo on top of the coat of arms as an Australian symbol but also because a kangaroo can only go forwards, so it represents going forwards. The kangaroo looks back to see what has been accomplished. There is a whale, a sheep, a cow and a ship to represent the industries when the coat of arms was designed. (wool, whaling, agriculture, and shipping). Whale of course is no longer allowed. Also, the coat of arms was designed before the gold rush, so that is not represented. The saying, written in Latin means we gather strength from within. City hall chambers are all built with Australian materials. The Melbourne major used to be elected, till about ten years ago, by the city councillors that had been elected by the people. He would have course already been a city councillor. Also, they major would be elected yearly.
Melbourne sits on the edge of the third largest volcanic plane in the world.
(enjoying your history lesson yet? You have my parents to thank for me wanting to do all the tacky touristy stuff!! Thanks mom and dad :D)
Melbourne was originally settled by farmers from Tasmania. But thankfully named after Lord William Viscount Melbourne, who was Prime Minister of England in 1835. One of the original names proposed for the town was Batmania. Several streets here are named Batman.
The original auditorium was lost to a fire in 1925 and therefore rebuilt with a very different feel and art deco design. There is a huge organ with 9500 piped stored in 6 different air condition rooms. We got to hear it being tuned today. We also saw the reception room where the Beatles were and stood out on the balcony. Okay, that seems to be all I can recall. Hope you like the picture as me as mayor. Oh yes, Melbourne also was one of the first to pass mandatory schooling acts!! And had a very large Greek and Italian community.