John was our tour guide as he showed us the best of Art Deco in Melbourne’s CBD.

We started at the magnificent Manchester Unity building with its extraordinary facade, mosaic floors and panelled lifts. This was built in 1932 in absolute record time. A floor a week by a dedicated workforce. After the war and the depression people needed the employment, and the economy needed a boost.

Note the Ms in all the corners and the beehive in the crest.

We walked along Collins St, one of the most prestigious roads in Melbourne and admired the many Art Deco buildings and arcades along the way, not least the interesting mosaic mural on one of the walls –

The Mural was all about a new future, technology and innovation. Telephones, telegrams, cars and aeroplanes, submarine cables and connecting the world.

“I’ll Put A Girdle Round About The Earth” is a large-scale oil painting completed in 1933 by artist Napier Waller.Waller (1893-1972) overcame the loss of his right arm at the Battle of Bullecourt in WWI to become one of Australia’s finest Art Deco artists. He had to retrain to draw with his left arm.

Commissioned by Keith Murdoch, ( yes, Rupert’s dad ) in 1932, Napier Waller’s mosaic on Newspaper House, Collins Street, I’ll put a girdle round about the Earth, is considered to be one of the most outstanding pieces of public art in Australia.

Century Building is another stunning example.

A smaller quite striking building which used to cater for mens fashion as shown by the images at the top now houses other commercial ventures.

Apart from all the Art Deco buildings the City is full of wonderful arcades, long established tea rooms and mosaic floors of floral patterns.

We loved the stories, the histories and intricacies but most of all the fact that we were joined on this tour by a group of young men on a stag do – now that is a real step up from strip clubs and raunchy shows which might have been an attraction once – a wonderful inquisitive bunch of young men from Tassie.

The future may be in safe hands.