Melbourne, the Harbor City
My kids and I first moved to Melbourne in 1993 when I received a job offer. Back then, we chose to live in Melbourne Beach, nestled between the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean. When I mentioned to colleagues and friends we would be moving to Melbourne, they immediately exclaimed, “Australia!”
“No, the ‘other’ Melbourne."
Like many cities in Florida, Melbourne is relatively new. In 1867, three Freedmen settled in an area known as Crane Creek. Within 20 years, the community was now called Melbourne, named after the city in Australia, where the first postmaster had once lived.
With the development of the citrus industry (1880s) and extension of the Florida East Coast Railway (1894), the community gained in prominence, which faded with citrus freezes, a fire and the Depression.
In the late 1950s, Melbourne grew quickly with the space program and Cape Canaveral in nearby Merritt Island, which brought major aerospatiale industries to the area along with a university that became Florida Institute of Technology, which developed educational programs for engineers working in the space program. Today Melbourne is known as the Harbor City on the Space Coast.
Having lived for short periods in France and Virginia, I’ve recently moved back to Melbourne. Exploring former walking routes and destinations brings up a series of memories from earlier years here.
Boat launch under repair on Front Street, Indian River Lagoon
The bike rides and walks across the Melbourne Causeway. Our destination in those early years--Beaujean’s, a delightful New Orleans style café that served breakfast on its outside brick terrace. Some evenings, we headed for Shooter’s or Conkey Joe’s, both overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. Sadly, these places have disappeared from the culinary scene.
But other favorites remain—the well-known waterfront restaurants like Ichabod’s Bar & Grille overlooks the port, and Meg O’Malley’s is an Irish pub in the Historic Downtown.
Longboard House – These days, I’m buying tee shirts for my two grandsons.
The trips to Longboards for t-shirts or stickers or beach gear. Surfboards replaced boogie boards years later. Walks to the beach to paddle around on bogie boards or collect shells and sea glass. And that tireless Australian shepherd who wanted to bring the kids back to shore.
On my walks these days, I look for natives and invasives in landscape. This interest arose from my kids’ elementary school curriculum, which included hands-on activities to educate children and parents about protecting the local ecosystem (nesting turtles, scrub jays and numerous wading birds), eliminating non-native, invasive species (Brazilian Pepper) and restoring mangroves, which at one time provided an effective buffer to prevent coastal erosion.
Now that I no longer have a “day job,” I have time to explore unfamiliar areas--the nearby Sebastien Inlet State Park and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge as well as the Kennedy Space Center. I'll also return to familiar haunts like the public libraries.
The Eau Gallie branch of Brevard County libraries overlooks the IRL.
I'm looking forward to gatherings with Florida friends and family, now within a day's drive, as well as opportunities to connect with close friends in Virginia. Zoom with prosecco, a neighbor suggested.
In the meantime, I am finishing paperwork that such a move requires and attending the Melbourne Community Theater later today. Volunteering, house hunting and cafe sitting are also in the plans. . . .
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