WALK/Tour-free. Yarra river Riverside & Melbourne Heritage +Lunar New Year event

Walk/Tour - Yarra River Heritage, & Melbourne History.
Plus Lunar New Performance @Crown, +[Optional*] Chinatown Festival

Walk alongside the Yarra River, learn about the 1830s-1880s anglo-european settlement of Melbourne, discover some riverside heritage places & enjoy views.

Meet at Outdoor tables @Cups & Cones, Southgate Shopping Centre, Southbank; alongside the Southbank riverside promenade. We'll depart 3:30 Sharp & walk quickly to Crown, for 4pm LNY Performance. May do only that; depends on weather/rain.

If lose me/us walking to Crown, or at/& to Re-Group at Crown:
Meet in Upper Foyer @Crown main Atrium (towards Queensbridge St);
at top left of the big marble staircase in the Atrium.

Though the walking pace is casual, it will be a 4-5km walk, & a full afternoon & early evening, learning a bit re Melbourne heritage places, Yarra River heritage, & more.
We will be stopping a number of times to learn of Melbourne history, & will visit a few heritage places.
Please note: event is Tour-ish. It's not a full tour, just to show/explain some things of interest. It's also not just a walk as will stop several times.
Route, & Listed Locations/Points of Interest, below, may change on day.

From Crown/After the CNY performance
This will be a walk along north side of river & along parts of South Wharf & Southbank riverside precinct, where we can stop briefly at a pop up cafe along the riverside promenade, right next to the river.
*From the river, we will walk via Heritage listed Arcades, to Chinatown/Little Bourke St/Russell St areas & enjoy the festivities*.
**Dependant on weather: Clear till about 5pm then chance of light rain between 5-7pm. Probable heavier rain & thunderstorm from approx 7pm (after the Meetup). 26C@5pm; 22C at7pm with probable rain.

During our Walk - some of below may be included, not all - as replacing with some LNY events & locations:
Walk over the Sandridge Pedestrian bridge, with sculptures & panels dedicated to everyone who came to Melbourne in past many decades.
Learn of the first train line (1854) in Melbourne (& first in Australia).
See where sailing & steam ships used to dock in the Yarra River, before the Spencer St bridge was built.
Learn where the first ships & the first european immigrants landed when they came up the Yarra River.
Find out why a row of old buildings was called Banana Alley
Learn a few things about Melbourne generally, such as the Hoddle Grid (Melb's CBD street's layout).
There will be also some 'modern' places included in the walk/tour.
Stop to take photos of some of the best views in Melbourne.
Past Spencer St, walk on the Jim Stynes & Seafarers pedestrian bridges & have a look at North Wharf before that area is closed for a redevelopment
Also go into Seafarers House which is not much different to as it was in the early 1900s.
We will take a 10-15 minute break during the walk for a cold drink, takeway food but NO cafe break this time. But time @Little Bourke CNY
We will finish walk at a cafe or eatery; or at something cool - literally.
Please do not attend this event if unwell, have cold or flu like or covid symptoms.
Bring mask if prefer to wear in crowded indoor places or outdoor ones.
Remember to:
-take care when crossing roads without signals/crossings, or obey walk/don't walk signals
-keep to left side on paths (many are shared with bikes)
-Bring water/drink bottle, hat or cap, jacket, sunscreen or umbrella, etc;
-wear suitable clothing and footwear,
-act appropriately in/to your surroundings.
Disclaimer: The organizers of this group cannot accept any liability for any loss or accidents by participants on this activity.
This meetup will be combined with a Multinationals group, & Daytime Events group