Sometimes a place that we stop is so lovely, so expectation exceeding, so singularly charming, it seems like it was built on a sound stage so some scenes from our trip could be filmed there. Queenscliff came with high praise from our Aussie friends, and it now ranks in my top 5 towns/cities of the last 6 months.
During the Australian gold rush in the late 1800's, Queenscliff was the seaside destination for the super-wealthy. The Southampton of Oz. Huge Victorian hotels sprang up to service the fabulous coming in from Melbourne via paddle steamer and later from Geelong when the train was built. The thing that makes it so unusual, though, is that the heyday is long past. After car travel became possible, Queenscliff cooled way off. The train service was reduced and then cancelled. The rich built grander houses in other seaside villages destinations. And what's left is a glorious, architecturally perfect, virtually forgotten ocean town, population: 1400.
Queenscliff is very "Ye Olde Post Office"-y which I sometimes hate (see: Colonial Williamsburg). But I think because it feels abandoned rather than manufactured, its just plain magical. We spent a too-short 24 hours browsing the main street shoppes (har), wandering the coast where the antique trains have retired to, haunting our ancient, fabulous hotel, and eating every delicious thing we came across. I hope to return in short order.
During the Australian gold rush in the late 1800's, Queenscliff was the seaside destination for the super-wealthy. The Southampton of Oz. Huge Victorian hotels sprang up to service the fabulous coming in from Melbourne via paddle steamer and later from Geelong when the train was built. The thing that makes it so unusual, though, is that the heyday is long past. After car travel became possible, Queenscliff cooled way off. The train service was reduced and then cancelled. The rich built grander houses in other seaside villages destinations. And what's left is a glorious, architecturally perfect, virtually forgotten ocean town, population: 1400.
Queenscliff is very "Ye Olde Post Office"-y which I sometimes hate (see: Colonial Williamsburg). But I think because it feels abandoned rather than manufactured, its just plain magical. We spent a too-short 24 hours browsing the main street shoppes (har), wandering the coast where the antique trains have retired to, haunting our ancient, fabulous hotel, and eating every delicious thing we came across. I hope to return in short order.
Ye Olde Post Office:
Our hotel. As the proprietor put it "We're just a country pub with rooms upstairs. But they're clean and tidy and we're happy to have you." Bless.
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