On a sunny day in Spring, an excited group of adults with vision loss enjoyed a three hour Hidden Secrets Tour of the city’s most iconic laneways and arcades.
Taking just a short rest in the middle for a necessary coffee pit-stop, each minute was jam-packed full of interesting history, funny anecdotes and surprising revelations.
Some highlights included, visiting The Manchester Unity building that was built in 1932 and took around 11 months to complete (which was an incredible feat at the time, setting many efficiency records), feeling its intricate copper plaque lift doors and old glass letter shoot; touching camouflaged 3D graffiti down Hosier Lane; learning about Coles’ bookshop emporium, “The Palace of Intellect”, that stretched a block from Little Collins Street to Bourke Street in 1883 and housed a whopping one million books; and visiting the Block Arcade where mosaic floor tiles featured a unique design of floral motifs and geometric patterns, and expensive perfume wafted through an ornate gold sphere purifier.
After the tour ended, some of the group headed back to Central Place to grab a cheap Vietnamese Bhan Mi, support social enterprise, The Little Social, and taste specialty Swedish chocolate at Mork Chocolatery – all places they had just learnt about in the tour.
Thank you to Melbourne City Council and BSRV volunteers, Liz and Darren.
Written by Miriam Bilander, BSRV Program Manager.
This event was made possible thanks to the support of the City of Melbourne.
