St Kilda has changed so much over the years that I sometimes feel as though I am visiting a place caught between memory and reality. I was glad, at least, to find the old pier still stretching into the water, a familiar landmark holding its ground against the passing of time. Beyond it, Melbourne’s skyline continues to grow wider and taller, its ever-expanding collection of buildings reshaping the horizon I have known for decades.
Time really does change everything. I have lived in Melbourne for more than 36 years now. When I stop to think about it, that is a substantial part of a lifetime. Yet, people still occasionally ask me when I jumped off the boat, as though I have only recently arrived on these shores. Perhaps it is my accent that gives me away, an unusual blend that belongs neither exclusively to Mandarin nor to any of the other Chinese dialects I speak. What makes it rather amusing is that I completed my medical training entirely here in Australia, working my way through the local system from beginning to end, much like any other locally trained doctor. Apparently, even three and a half decades are not always enough to convince people that you have been here for a while.
St Kilda, too, has lost some of the little things that once made it familiar. My favourite café, where I used to indulge in its excessively sweet ice cream and decidedly overpriced fish and chips, is no longer there. Perhaps the food was never quite as good as I remember it, but that was never really the point. Some places become part of our lives through the simple repetition of ordinary pleasures, until one day we realise that we have been collecting memories without knowing it.
The old pier remains, the skyline keeps rising, and the familiar streets continue to change their faces. I suppose Melbourne has been moving forward all these years, just as I have. Yet, standing in St Kilda today, I cannot help feeling that a little piece of the place I once knew has quietly slipped away.
Perhaps that is what time does best. It leaves enough behind for us to recognise, but takes just enough away to remind us that we can never truly return to the past.
Sony A7RV
FE 20-70mm f4 G
Linking Skywatch Friday
Cityscapes from the water are nice to see, and it is also nice to read a little more of your story.
ReplyDeleteToo many scammers trying to get details off us
DeletePlaces, just like people, do tend to have that sometimes hard-to-define quality of both changing and remaining "the same"...
ReplyDeleteContradictory qualities
DeleteI suspect that happens a lot to people here -- but 36 years! That's a half a lifetime or close to it. This is a beautiful view. The light was so nice!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully composed and shot!
ReplyDeleteI really like this image of the Melbourne skyline seen from these piers.
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning photo. The beautiful aqua water. And I don't think I have ever seen the Melbourne skyline. The way the light is shining on one side of the buildings is lovely. The pink clouds and the boats in the water adds to give it so many points of interest.
ReplyDeleteI will focus on city sunset for a while. Driving on roads with potholes is a nightmare lately
DeleteLa luz en esta imagen es una maravilla. Ilumina la ciudad y destaca esas nubes del cielo de forma increíble.
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful cityscape.
ReplyDeleteLas ciudades también cambian como nosotros. Y aunque llevemos tiempo viviendo en una, 44 años en Béjar, el acento lo llevamos encima. Precioso atardecer.
ReplyDeleteUn abrazo.
Well said.
DeleteAs children, we didn't live in StKilda but had Sunday lunches in Fitzroy St, shopped in Ackland St, played on the beach near the pier and were members of StKilda synagogue.
ReplyDeleteBut only when spouse and I lived in StKilda from the mid 70s did we consider it home. The best home, actually.
You have a good eye and a great memory. We have lived here in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA for 34 years and the city has changed immensely. Most people don't notice but I remember almost every little change and I'm sure I missed 95% of the changes at least.
ReplyDeleteSt Kilda has changed a lot, but if you sit and watch in Acland Street, you will still see the local people going about their business, as they always have done.
ReplyDeleteNice shot.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lovely shot.
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
The water is powerfully shown--- I like this.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful perception
ReplyDeleteNice photo. I believe these day some people think many people have not long been in Australia when in fact like you, lived here for 36 years which is a long time and a true blue Aussie now :)
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful views, great POV
ReplyDeleteA well composed image!
ReplyDeleteEn esta foto si que hay muchos contrastes que incluyen el color del cielo y el mar, junto a esa planitud del viejo muelle y la línea que marca sobre el horizonte la ciudad de Melbourne.
ReplyDeleteTodos esos cambios que nos dices sufrió la vista desde donde realizaste la foto se notan mas si durante todos esos años no se estuvo allí o revisando viejas fotos.
Saludos.
Good shot and comments about the town too.
ReplyDeleteA fine photo. 36 years, that is a long time.
ReplyDeleteMelbourne has a beautiful skyline. Nicely photographed!
ReplyDeleteLes coses velles que encara perduren a la memòria, s'ajunten amb les noves i formen un paisatge realment interessant.
ReplyDeleteSalutacions.
What a lovely sky that is.
ReplyDeleteA very nice cityscape.
All the best Jan
Preciosas fotografía con muchos contrastes y tonalidades. Besos.
ReplyDeleteOh, so that’s what St. Kilda Pier looks like now? Life is all about change, and sometimes we feel that change quite intensely in certain places. And sometimes, that brings a sense of melancholy...
ReplyDeleteWhen we were there in 2024 to see the Little Blue Penguins (we didn’t manage to spot any—mostly just kitesurfers), the pier looked different. Even then, there was a construction site all around, along with a sign indicating that St. Kilda Pier was being renovated, with measures in place to protect the Little Blue Penguins. (My post from back then: https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2024/05/weltreise-2024-3-station-melbourne.html )
If I’m interpreting your photo correctly, the original decking has been removed, but not much else has been done yet (and honestly, even two years ago, I wondered if the penguins would even want to keep coming back to this spot). I still hope that, one day, this place will once again have a face that is a pleasure to look at—and where you might gather new, hopefully beautiful, memories.
All the best from Austria 🤗
Traude
Unfortunately, nothing remains as it is; everything changes—yet the sky above us stays familiar.
ReplyDelete