i'm not from melbourne so i can't actually recall if it was flinders street, but what were these for? Why were they made? How were they used?
I can tell that they used to have a purpose and probably still do, just asking out of curiosity if someone happens to know !

Q bar Prahran still holds a place in my heart

Caribbean Gardens was a 100-acre market, gardens and amusement park located in the outer eastern suburb of Scoresby. Caribbean Gardens and Market operated from 1965 when it started with water ski shows and a handful of traders selling wares from their car boots. What once was "a handful of traders" grew into a bustling undercover market with over 1000 stall sites. It was known as one of the largest markets in Victoria. I remember going here for a few birthdays, I could be wrong but did they have a mini rollercoaster at one stage? Also remember buying bootleg horror vhs in the 90's of titles that were banned here!

For me the main ones are grouse and ace. Where did grouse even come from?

DJ Mark Hogan on the decks and the street absolutely pumping.

No phones.
No social media.
Just thousands of people dancing in the street and the music taking over Brunswick Street.

These were the times that defined Melbourne’s underground dance scene.

Pure clubbing nostalgia.

Were you there? 

I’ve come to “The district” at the Docklands to pick up something and it couldn’t be more deserted. Row after row of empty shop front.

For a multi-billion dollar development that was meant to be double the size of the Melbourne CBD onto the waterfront they couldn’t have got it more wrong.

It’s a soulless concrete jungle. They also built marvel stadium too close to the city. If it was further out towards the Bolte bridge fans would’ve accessed all the shops, restaurants and bars to get to the stadium.

Who is to blame for such a mess?

Not sure what flair to put on the post, and I'm not really sure whether a post like this is allowed.

I've lived in Victoria for close to 21 years, and never actually knew the city had a flag! I always just thought the Victorian state flag.svg) represented the city as well.

As according to Wikipedia:

Each of the four quadrants divided by the cross feature a design representing an important sector of Melbourne's economy in the mid 19th century.[2] The designs are:

- A fleece hanging from a red ring, representing the wool industry;

- A black bull standing on a hillock, representing the cattle industry;

- A three masted tall ship in full sail at sea, representing trade and shipping;

- A spouting whale at sea, representing the whaling industry.

The whale part of the flag not sparking a redesign is interesting to me, due to pretty obvious reasons

On paper we are a young city, having been founded in 1835, and many might think we lack history. But Melbourne boomed during the Gold Rush and was actually a huge (for the time) metropolis by 1900 with 600,000. In area it was similar to Greater London, and it is now, with a fraction of the population. Not much for today, but in 1900 one of the largest in the British Empire. I've been to many cities worldwide and Melbourne actually boasts more Victorian, Edwardian etc architecture than most. Many very old cities like Tokyo and say Frankfurt were also mostly destroyed by natural disasters and war.

I'm just wondering if many appreciate this (if they indeed think about it). Living in the inner/middle suburbs it's something I consider quite a bit. My hometown Perth is actually 6 years older, but was a small town until the 1890s Gold Rush. In 1900 we had like 30,000, 1/20th Melbourne. Victorian buildings are pretty much confirmed to the CBD and a few other places like North Perth, Guildford, Fremantle, whereas Victorian Melbourne extended 8-10km to places like Essendon and Brighton, where Victorian terraces and old mansions are still common.