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November 24, 2004
I had a day in Melbourne today in and I was able to find an hour or so to walk around my old haunts in Fitzroy and Collingwood. I had no interest Lygon St Carlton, as the bohemian kind of scene of the 1970s had long gone, when it went upmarket and became very boring. Brunswick Street become the bohemian centre of Melbourne, then it attracted money and people, and the rents went up.
I peeped in here and saw some Lloyd Rees works on paper.
I did not have time to go inside and have a close look.
Lloyd Rees, South Coast, Pastel/Mixed Media
A reflection
The bohemia culture of writers, artists, musicians and poets with its roots in the 1960s was still there in Carlton, Fitzroy and Collingwood. From what I could make out these areas have seen significant increases in property values, particularly residential and commercial rent. Commerce has descended and the inner city bohemian culture that has nurtured so much creative activity looked a thin. Was commerce killing it? Was it the drugs and prostitution around the Commission flats?
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