HORSE & RIDER

Horse & rider: Homage is paid here to Rupert Bunny’s ‘The forerunners’ (oil on canvas, circa 1894)      Rupert Bunny was born in 1864 in St. Kilda. His childhood was a cosmopolitan one and after finishing his studies at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School in 1983 Bunny had successful career in Europe particularly in Paris. The Rupert Bunny Foundation Visual Arts Biannual Fellowship was established in 2005 by COPP to support a local contemporary visual artist.

LUNA PARK

Luna Park: The historic Luna Park opened its doors on 13 December 1912 on the St Kilda foreshore of Port Phillip Bay and has been operating almost continuously ever since. It is not clear exactly who designed the famous mouth entrance; S. Eslickis credited with the design of the park in the opening day brochure, and as the 'engineer-in-chief' in contemporary newspaper reports, while Vernon Churchill was described as the scenic artist "in whose fertile brain the various attractions have been arranged".

MIRKA MORA

Mirka Mora (1928-2018) came to Australia in 1951 having survived the Nazi occupation of her homeland, France. For the next decade, Mora her husband Georges lived and opened gallery cafes in Melbourne’s CBD and then opened Tolarno’s in Fitzroy Street, St Kilda. Mirka always loved St Kilda’s raffish charms decorating Tolarno Bistrow/Gallery with vivid murals and a bas-relief above the bar. Angels and the ethereal were a common theme of her work throughout her career. In 2018, a state memorial service to honour Mirka fittingly took place at the Palais.

PALAIS THEATRE

Palais theatre (originally Palais Pictures) has a capacity of nearly 3,000 people, it is the largest seated theatre in Australia. Replacing an earlier cinema of the same name destroyed in a fire, the new theatre, designed by New Zealand born Henry Eli White, opened in 1927. Sitting adjacent to Luna Park, it helped to establish the St Kilda beach foreshore as an entertainment precinct, and remains an iconic landmark in the area.

PAUL KELLY

Paul Kelly AO (1955- ) is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter and guitarist. He has performed solo and has led numerous bands. Kelly's music style has ranged from bluegrass, to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output straddles folk, rock and country. His lyrics capture the vastness of the culture and landscape of Australia by chronicling life about him for over 30 years. His songs have become anthems for ‘everyday’ Australians and have championed indigenous rights.  Born in Adelaide, he came to Melbourne in 1976 and although he has travelled widely, he lives in St Kilda.

NICK CAVE

Nick Cave AO (1957-) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting his band The Bad Seeds, Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity, a wide variety of influences especially religion, love and violence. Cave lived in melting pot of drugs, students, poverty multicultural and anti-culture of 1980’s St Kilda

THE NGARGEE TREE

 The Ngargee Tree, an ancient Bunurong Corroboree Tree, is nestled amongst regenerated indigenous plants in the Northeast corner of Albert Park.  Thought to be one of the oldest living things in Melbourne, this ancient River Red gum is between 300 and 500 years old and has been a meeting place for the local Bunurong people since before European Settlers arrived. It is still considered a sacred site and used by Aboriginal Elders for important discussions and cultural business. The Bunurong tribe (sometimes spelt Boon Warrung) were one of the four language groups who made up the larger Kulin Nation.

CATANI GARDENS

Catani Gardens: Early in the nineteenth century Carlo Catani (1852-1918) arrived in Melbourne in 1876, working for the public works Department in 1880. Catani's last major project was the reclamation of the foreshore of St Kilda. This included the landscaping of the gardens at the beach end of Fitzroy Street, later named the Catani Gardens, foreshore works all the way to Point Ormond. Catani was involved in multiple landmark projects across Victoria including the major engineering and beautification works associated with the Yarra River and Alexander Avenue.