DAY 5: The Docklands Experience

Our final day has arrived in what seems like a blink of an eye. After breakfast the students went for a walk to Queen Victoria Markets, a couple of blocks up the road. After a short exploration of the famous stalls, we loaded the bus with our noticeably heavier bags and took off to begin the big day with the Docklands experience.

Our first stop was the O’Brien Icehouse Complex which was built in 2010 at a cost of $16M. It features two Olympic-sized rinks, one of which has been fitted for viewing ice hockey.

We arrived to see what can only be described as champions of the future, the junior state ice hockey team, who were participating in a boot camp on the ice. These boys and girls were about 10-12 years old and where practising drills and defensive moves on the ice (much to the disbelief of the students who were just hoping to remain upright). We assembled for a coaching lesson by professional coaches and then skills were tested on the Bradbury ice rink (named after Australia’s first Winter Olympic gold medalist, Steven Bradbury). 

Some kids had never stepped foot on ice before and it was heartening to see our more experienced students holding hands of newbies, helping fallen mates stand back up and all around have a lot of laughs together.

Across the road we went for our next tour stop - the Melbourne Star observation wheel. Next term, students will be studying a Geography unit on liveability. Students were able to view one of the world’s most liveable cities from 120 metres above the ground in the Melbourne Star. The Star is one of only four giant observation wheels in the world, rotating very slowly – one revolution every 30 minutes.

We continued our day with exploring another nearby attraction: The former Etihad Stadium. Newly renamed Marvel Stadium, it is the home of several AFL teams: Essendon, St. Kilda, The Western Bulldogs, Carlton and North Melbourne. It seats 55,000 people and is incredibly impressive. Students experienced all aspects of the stadium on a personal VIP tour of the stadium from the dressing rooms and change benches to the corporate boxes. 

Sadly, it was time to bid Melbourne adieu as Craig took us on our final bus trip to the airport.
It has been an incredible five days and all of the teachers have all been utterly impressed with the positive attitudes and eagerness of the students. They were wonderful ambassadors for Townsville Grammar School and all teachers received many comments on the wonderful behaviour and manners of our students. We are sure this is a trip they will never forget, nor will we!
~Mrs Winkel, Miss Preston, Mr Franich and Miss Ohlin.