2^nd Dec (Friday)

Sheila and I took a trip down into the heart of Melbourne with the intent of checking out the cottage of Charles Joseph La Trobe, whose drawings of Ightham Mote, near Sevenoaks have recently been exhibited there.  Sheila acts as a National Trust volunteer at Ightham Mote and Charles La Trobe rented Ightham Mote for a year in the 1860’s when he returned to England from Australia.  La Trobe travelled extensively and sketched as a record of his journeys.  He was appointed in 1839 superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and, after the establishment in 1851 of the colony of Victoria (now a state of Australia), he became its first lieutenant-governor.

La Trobe's Cottage

La Trobe’s cottage is very close to the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne and at first we thought that the cottage was in the Gardens but this turned out not to be the case.  Nevertheless, we explored the Gardens after taking a look at the cottage.  The cottage had original been located in Jolimont but had been transported to the current location many years later.

Sheila enjoying a snack in the Botanical Gardens 

In the evening my cousin and her husband were holding a pre-Christmas soirée so we headed back to help with the final touches and get changed. The soirée was a great success.

Frances & Hazel find time to smile during soirée preparations