Port Phillip Arcade Mural

Port Phillip Arcade was designed by architect JFW Ballantyne and completed in 1961. Located at 228-236 Flinders Street, Melbourne it is an exemplary example of architecture from this era. Internally the arcade had major alterations made during the 1990's but the original mid-century mural signage still remains on the facade.

Created by Charles Bush, the facade features a stylised King Neptune/Seahorse holding a trident. This semi-figurative metal sculpture is positioned in front of a tile mosaic featuring a star motif.

The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) is hopeful that the Charles Bush sculpture will be conserved and incorporated into the new Melbourne Metro Rail Project (MMRP) Flinders Gate Precinct design.

Hosie's Hotel Mural

Hosie's Hotel Mural is one of the few large scale abstract works on public display in Melbourne. It's located at the busy intersection of Flinders and Elizabeth Street. Created by Richard Beck in 1955, this Modernist ceramic mural was considered a bold design at the time and is now Victorian Heritage Registered.

I like how the block coloured shapes interact with each other to create unexpected colour intersections. Despite being faded with time the colours seem to relate to their surroundings, such as the ochre colour of the Rocke Tompsitt & Co building next door and the sky blue and slate colours of the nearby buildings.

Shell Mace

Shell Mace is located at the corner of Flinders and Spring Street, Melbourne. This aluminium sculpture was created in 1989 by Charles O. Perry.

There is a precarious stillness to the sculpture yet also wonderment in its balance and symmetry. When walking around the sculpture, surprises appear through different lines, shadows and angles which create an unexpected sense of motion. Like an object that has been smoothed and rounded by constant tumbling through the ocean or by the perpetual movement of the wind.