VM City Experience 

VM City Experience -Chinese Museum & Shrine Of Remembrance Guided Tours.

On Wednesday April the 2nd, our Vocational Major students enjoyed a day in the Melbourne CBD. Students made their own journey to Federation Square for a 9am roll call. 

From there, we embarked on our first activity of the day - a walk along Birrarung Marr before embarking on a lap of the Melbourne Cricket Ground where we admired the Boulevard of Champions statues including Shane Warne, Ron Barassi, Betty Cuthbert, Sir Donald Bradman and Dennis Keith Lillee. 

It was a picturesque blue-skied, just-right temperature Melbourne Autumn day, the kind that walking amongst the Yarra Park's iconic River Red Gums and English Elms feels like an "I must pinch myself for how lucky I am" privilege. 

Students strolled happily around the outskirt of the southern hemispheres largest sporting stadium without complaint and with several conversations unfolding amongst peers. We noted how beautiful walking through one of the World's best sporting precincts is as we wound our way from the MCG between Rod Laver and AAMI Park before opting to have a kick to kick at the Collingwood Football Club - Olympic Park Oval. 

Students took great delight in punting the Sherrin at the home of a marvellous sporting team. The first activity was chosen as several students had created passion projects centring on Australian Rules Football and another several students had mentioned that community mental health is a topic of importance for them. After a few minutes of kick to kick and spotting one or two Collingwood footballers enter their place of work, the VM Squad made our way by foot to Chinatown. 

Our second activity encompassed a guided tour of the Museum of Chinese Australian History in Cohen Place. We were treated to a brilliant tour learning about life in the gold rush era, Chinese mythology and symbolism with the highlight of seeing the parade dragons, Dai Loong and the Millennium Dragon who awaken twice a year (Chinese New Year and Moomba Festival) to parade the streets of Melbourne City. 

We learnt briefly about the Han Dynasty and stopped to pose for photos alongside the terracotta warriors and a jade burial suit. 

Following lunch, we journeyed by tram to Birdwood Avenue's Shrine of Remembrance. We were fortunate to have another guided tour. We learnt of people like Private Jim Martin, who enrolled as a 14 year old serviceman in World War One to serve on the shores of Gallipoli and was one of 20 Australian soldiers under the age of 18 to have died in World War 1. We viewed and held replicas of medals such as the Victoria Cross, observed the illuminating of the Stone of Remembrance in the centre of the Sanctuary and ventured onto the balcony of the Shrine where we could see one of the world's most liveable cities around us. 

Thank you to the 21 VM students and  Jacqui Arthur and Mr. Dunne for helping to make this year's VM City experience one to remember.