An 86-year-old woman phoned the Immigration Discovery Centre asking about a certain lane in Melbourne, wanting to know if it was still a lane, and where it was located. I found Rankins Lane using Google maps and described it to the woman: "I can see the Commonwealth Bank building, and bins, and chefs eating their lunch, and an old sign advertising a printer." In turn, she told me about the Rankin family, and how her pioneering ancestor had run a funeral parlour from this tiny back street. She used to come into the city quite a lot, she told me, but today had to depend on my voice and my eyes to tell her the story of this shady corner of the CBD. "I can see some graffiti," I explained - "but it's nice graffiti." 

Photo of street art in Rankins Lane. By Doogsta via Flickr

Today a family visiting the Immigration Discovery Centre explained rather breathlessly that they were staging a holiday in their own city - renting a 5-star hotel room, visiting CBD attractions, eating well, reducing their carbon footprint. "We saved heaps on the air-fare!" the father explained, before giving enthusiastic reviews of Dalì, Pompeii and a number of posh-sounding restaurants. So come on school-holiday Melbournians - get out and see the sights!  

Historic photo of the city of Melbourne  Source: Museum Victoria

At the Immigration Discovery Centre we're often visited by people who know a lot about ships - their names, their functions, their histories. Today, a visitor was interested in only one ship, the SS Edina, which ferried people between Melbourne and Geelong in the early decades of the twentieth century. He explained to me that the vessel had carried his favourite uncle, once, during the First World War, on a trip back to camp from the city. So I understood the visitor's preoccupation, and shared his glee as we sourced image after image of the useful and lovely boat. 

Photo of SS Edina by G Mulcahy  Source: Museum Victoria

People ask about all sorts of things at the Immigration Discovery Centre, including its columns. "What's this stuff?" asked one visitor from Perth, touching the dark stone. So we learnt about bluestone together, researching the quarries that sprang up to the north of Melbourne in the first years of European settlement, learning that the material was sought after for prisons, cathedrals and cobblestones. "Oh look," I enthused, "they used it for the Carlton Receiving House for the Insane - and Pentridge!" A moment of silence; we looked at the walls.