Melbourne is full of secrets. It’s bursting at the seams with them, really. From rock and roll laneway art to VR cinemas, bizarre natural oddities and more — here’s a brief rundown of some of our favourites. Get out there and explore.
Melbourne City Baths are turning into a giant live art piece
Going down as part of the Festival of Live Art, The Melbourne City Baths will feature two immersive art pieces in the form of Landing and SQUASH!. Landing is a continuous relay in which the distance between Manus Island and Australia will be collectively swum. Moving back and forth between the idea of home, punters are invited to attempt to swim the distance equivalent to the ocean stretch between Manus and Australia’s mainland.
A new and permanent tribute to AC/DC legend Bon Scott has been erected outside Cherry Bar. The collaborative effort between the Victorian Government’s ‘Rockin’ The Laneways’ Initiative, Cherry owner and booker James Young and local street artist Mike Makatron arrives as a large-scale ode to the famed frontman. Rock on.
Melbourne’s first virtual reality cinema
The Virtual Reality Cinema is a unique approach that has been developed for seamless viewing of VR Content across all the gear VR headsets which enables all participants to experience VR together and see each other. Pop down to have your mind blown.
Pink Lake at Westgate Park
When you’re thinking of exciting, interesting aspects of our fair city – the Westgate isn’t really the first thing that comes to mind. However, the lakes that flow underneath have unusually high salt concentration, and when combined with a long spell of hot weather results in the water turning a surreal shade of pink. If this summer shapes up to be as hot as the last, we’ll have a pink Christmas to look forward to.
Underground Drains
Alright. This is a strange one, and no one at Beat would recommend pursuing it. However, Melbourne sits atop of an underground labyrinth of drains and caves that can be accessed from openings at waterways. There’s even secret societies that have made it their mission to explore these hidden caverns and underground parties rumoured to kick on until dawn.
Meet the GAP Cafe, a place where you can stop by for a coffee and come home with a lifetime mate. GAP Cafe gives retired racing greyhounds shelter, while they wait there until some kind-hearted specimen (i.e, you) comes to bring them home. You can even bring your own doggos along to chill, with the cafe serving up puppaccinos and doggy doughnuts for them to tuck in to.
Lava Blisters at Williamstown
Millions of years ago, in a time before Netflix and 24-hour ramen houses, Melbourne’s west was thriving with volcanic activity. Though long dormant, Victoria has the world’s third largest volcanic field. Seeking out these often forgotten lava blisters are reminders of when molten lava flowed freely through Port Phillip Bay.
The Wreckage of HMVS Cerberus
First ordered in 1867, the HMVS Cerberus was once the flagship of the Victorian Navy. However, the public did not take kindly to the vessel, earning it the nickname of ‘Floating Gasometer’. After being fitted with torpedoes and travelling far and wide, it was eventually decommissioned and sold off to be broken up for scrap parts in 1924. Over one hundred years later, it now sits around 200m off the coast of the beautiful Half Moon Bay – one of Melbourne’s lesser-known beaches.
Party at the Old Melbourne Gaol
Once filled with dangerous criminals in the mid-1800s, the Old Melbourne Gaol will now play host to one hell of a party — hundreds of years later. Featuring music from Prok & Fitch — one of the most acclaimed acts in house music at the moment — the party will also feature an in-house taco truck providing Mexican street food throughout the night. Plus, the first 100 punters through the door will score a free taco.
