Speaker's mound at Speakers' corner

Birrarung Marr is a park located on the south-east edge of the central business district in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The 69,000 square metre (17 acre) park was opened on Australia Day, January 26, 2002. The name means "river of mists" and "river bank" in the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people, the original Indigenous inhabitants of the Melbourne area. ImageMetadata File history File links Birrarung_Marr_Speakers_Corner. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Birrarung_Marr_Speakers_Corner. ... The Hoddle Grid is the layout of the streets in the central business district of Melbourne, Australia. ... Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ... Australia Day is Australias official national day, January 26. ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Wurundjeri are Aboriginal people of the Kulin nation, who occupied what is now Melbourne, Australia prior to European settlement of the area. ... Australian Aborigines are the main indigenous people of Australia. ...

Geography

The park is bounded to the south by the Yarra River, to the north by the rail lines eastbound out of Flinders Street Station, and to the north-east by Batman Avenue, the extension of Exhibition Street, which was constructed at the same time as the park. The Yarras lower reaches travel through central Melbourne. ... Rail can mean: Rail tracks, see also third rail Rail transport A Railroad-related periodical For the group of birds called rails, see Rallidae For the Mayfair Games board games, see Crayon Rails For rail in electronics, see . ... Flinders Street Stations main entrance and dome. ... Exhibition Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne. ...

The park incorporates three terraces. The lower terrace is next to the river, and has a gravel surface. The middle terrace is on the east side of the park, adjacent to Batman Avenue, and has a grassed surface. The upper terrace is on the north side of the park, and is also grassed. The terraces serve both as open spaces and sites for special events, such as the Moomba Waterfest. In gardening, a terrace is an element where a raised flat paved or gravelled section overlooks a prospect. ... Gravel being unloaded from a barge Gravel is rock that is of a certain size range. ... A grassy swamp. ... Moomba is an annual festival in the city of Melbourne, Australia. ...

Features

As might be expected in an urban park, the spaces in Birrarung Marr are highly landscaped. Urban area is a term used to define an area where there is an increased density of man-made structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... Landscaping can refer to more than one subject: Real estate on large scale, see Landscape architecture Gardening on a large or small scale, see Landscape gardening Artwork, see Landscape painting Maintenance, see Landscape maintenance This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share...

Design

Like Federation Square, Birrarung Marr has been designed to incorporate long lines of sight towards various Melbourne attractions, such as the spire at the Victorian Arts Centre and the towers of St Paul's Cathedral. These paths mimic natural gullies and hills, and also serve to channel visitors through the park. The open spaces in the park are largely shielded from nearby traffic, and the park is remarkably quiet and peaceful, given its proximity to major roads and railways. Inside the Atrium Federation Square (or Fed Square) is the new public heart of the city of Melbourne, Australia. ... A modern spire on the Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. ... The Victorian Arts Centre spire The Victorian Arts Centre is a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Southgate precinct of Melbourne, Australia. ... A tower is a high structure, usually man-made. ... St Pauls Cathedral: the north face and the spire St Pauls Cathedral, Melbourne, is the cathedral church of the Anglican diocese of Melbourne, Victoria, and the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Most Reverend Peter Watson. ...

The Federation Bells on the middle terrace, which were commissioned in 2001, are a collection of inverted temple-style bells of various sizes mounted on steel poles. The result is not unlike a collection of church bells, however they are spread throughout an open space rather than being confined to a tower, allowing people to walk between them. There are thirty-nine bells in total, with a combined weight of 1.2 tonnes. Tuned in the just intonation method, the bells are controlled by computer, and play seven different compositions, each lasting for five minutes. This sound sculpture plays three times a day. The bells were designed by Neil McLachlan. A bell is a simple sound-making device. ... Just intonation is any musical tuning in which the frequencies of notes are related by whole number ratios. ... A drawing of a desktop computer. ... Sound sculpture is one term for the multimedia artform where, as the name suggests, sculpture produces sound or, less often, the reverse. ...

Speaker's Corner, in the south-eastern corner of the park, was the location for public protests and demonstrations throughout Melbourne's history. For example, in 1916, an estimated 50,000 people came to protest against conscription. The mounds which speakers used to stand on to address these crowds can still be seen in the corner of the park. 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ...

In October 2004, the Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design was awarded to Birrarung Marr. Look up October in Wiktionary, the free dictionary October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Facilities

The park incorporates 1.5 kilometres of walking and cycling tracks, most of which follow the north bank of the Yarra River. These tracks provide a link between the city centre and the sporting precinct to the south-east. A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ...

Towards the south-east corner of the park are barbecue facilities, as well as public toilets. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Planting near the upper terrace

Image File history File linksMetadata BirrarungMarr-Cycads. ... Image File history File linksMetadata BirrarungMarr-Cycads. ...

Horticulture

Approximately 200 new trees, including evergreen cycads, were planted in the park during its construction. Hundreds of smaller Australian native shrubs and bushes are also present. A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... Families Cycadaceae cycas family Stangeriaceae stangeria family Zamiaceae zamia family Cycads are an ancient group of seed plants characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. ...

Along the bank of the Yarra is an avenue of established elm trees, which predate the park and follow the original course of Batman Avenue. These mirror the elms on the southern bank of the Yarra. Species See text Elms are deciduous trees of the genus Ulmus, family Ulmaceae. ...

History

Birrarung Marr was constructed as part of the Federation Square redevelopment. The park was designed to fill the space created when the railyards to the south of Jolimont Station were removed to allow for the Square to be built. The park also occupies space created by the diversion of Batman Avenue, which now runs north and joins into Exhibition Street. Inside the Atrium Federation Square (or Fed Square) is the new public heart of the city of Melbourne, Australia. ... Jolimont is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

Construction began in September 2000, at a cost of AUD $15.6 million. The project was a joint venture by the City of Melbourne Council and the Government of Victoria. The park was completed and opened on January 26, 2002. September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four Gregorian months with 30 days. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... Au. ... The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia. ... The form of the Government of Victoria is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1855, although it has been amended many times since then. ... January 26 is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2004, one of the railway buildings remaining from the Jolimont railyards was converted into a children's art centre and gallery, called ArtPlay. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Gallery can refer to several things: Short for Art gallery An element in architecture, a long hallway flanked with walls or rows of columns A horizontal passage in an underground mine A collection of digital photos hosted on websites, often called galleries. ...

While the name comes from the language used by the original inhabitants, it is unclear whether the name was invented recently, or an actual placename used by the orginal inhabitants.

Further Development

The William Barak Bridge, officially opened in December 2005 for the Commonwealth Games in March 2006, is the Yarra Precinct Bridge. This bridge links the middle terrace and the area near the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The bridge will be strictly for non-motorised traffic only, and will allow pedestrians to walk from the MCG through to Birrarung Marr over the CityLink tollroad safely and easily. Current flag of the Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event held every four years involving the elite athletes of the British Commonwealth. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The MCG situated in Yarra Park The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is an iconic Australian sporting venue located in Yarra Park in inner Melbourne, home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. ... CityLink is a tolled freeway system in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. ...

References

• Melbourne City Council - Birrarung Marr
• Melbourne City Council – Map of Birrarung Marr (pdf, 193 kilobytes)
• Australian Bell Pty Ltd - Federation Bells