I’m still behind on posting old photos from ten years ago, and catching COVID last week didn’t help. Here’s February 2013.
Some motorists love to complain about impact of protected bike lanes. Here’s William Street before it got them. Difficult and dangerous for cyclists, but also demonstrably slow for motorists back then as well. Remember: the main thing blocking cars is other cars.
The presentation standard of the Siemens train fleet at the time really was poor.
I don’t recall the context for this – perhaps it was related to proposed redevelopment in the area. The quoted MP Lee Tarlamis was (and is) an upper house ALP member. I wonder if he’s concerned now that Highett Station is to be demolished and replaced by sky rail? Perhaps not.
Tram inspectors (Authorised Officers) didn’t wear paramilitary uniforms back then.
Before Flinders Street Station got its makeover, many areas were in poor condition, no more so than the subways.
Some CBD streets had a number of defunct National Bus Company signs – many used for bus layovers, so the rebranding to PTV missed them probably because they weren’t in their database of bus stops. Google Streetview still shows one surviving on Lonsdale Street, tucked behind a parking sign.
Either this bloke was planning some cricket with colleagues, or expecting a zombie outbreak.
When stopping at an intersection, keep the crossing clear, and obviously, keep left.
And then there’s this. Sigh. Rule 128 really does elude some people.
Back when advertising was appearing on train windows. You could kind of see through it up close, but from a distance, anything outside was just a blur. Gone from metro trains, but still a problem for trams, buses and V/Line.
3 replies on “Old photos from February 2013”
On busses, window advertising is a cost effective way of reducing etchings in windows because they cannot be seen easily and they cannot be seen from outside of the bus. I personally would prefer there to be as much advertising as possible (within reason) that creates revenue and adds extra services to the system or reduces graffiti and vandalism. Advertising is always better to look at than graffiti.
I’m looking forward to next month – marking 10 years since you first started posting photos from 10 years ago =)
I’m sure you’ll have some interesting reflections. To me, the gap between 2003 and 2013 feels a lot bigger compared to the gap 2013 and 2023. Of course this could just be our perception of time, getting older, etc. But perhaps there is an actual difference between those two time periods, in terms of the rate of technological progress, and the rate of development in Melbourne.
It’s worth noting too that much less of 2003 was documented and photographed and widely available online, compared to 2013. You can’t just jump on Google Street View and flick back to 2003.
As an anonymous reader who has been following along the whole time, it’s interesting reflecting back. I moved to Melbourne in 2011 at the age of 18. When the series started in 2013, I was getting to see photos from 2003, and it was a glimpse of a Melbourne that I had never known. Now, these posts show photos from 2013, which is a Melbourne I have lived experiences of – so now it’s more for the nostalgia, and being reminded of changes or aspects of life (or transport!) that I’d forgotten about.
Wonder if we’ll be still looking at these posts in 2033.
Thanks Harry – I hadn’t realised April was the anniversary! Will have to think of some way to mark it!