The Melbourne Reprise and Surprise (Part 2): "Habemus Doctorem" at La Trobe University

- May 16, 2025, Friday.

- I can finally breathe now!! And yes, I am now officially a doctor! (Not that kind, the other kind. Yes, that kind. Not the hospital kind.) And yes it was something I've been hiding for so long from almost everyone. Mainly, it's because I wanted to surprise everyone, but also because I needed the peace and quiet I needed during the past 6 years of doing my doctorate. My family also did not know (they only knew there was an awarding, but not a graduation!) so they were very shocked and clueless at the same time. Honestly, the surprise reveal was the highlight of my whole Melbourne trip!

- My set up was quite unusual as it was a co-supervision agreement between La Trobe University and my home university here in the Philippines. I was fortunate enough to be chosen as a recipient of this full scholarship. My cohort (there are six of us, but I was able to finish ahead by miraculous reasons and a ton of hard work) got to do our research mostly offshore, in the Philippines. This set up was most convenient especially after the pandemic hit! We also were eligible to stay in Melbourne for 4 months (hence, my very long "work-related" or "research-related" stay in 2022!)   

Finally here!

My family still doesn't know. By the way, I'm wearing something that reminds me of the Philippines, Australia, China, and India. The colors not only remind me of these countries, but the colors also match the toga!! The shirt was also custom-made by a good friend! The necklace is a brass necklace handmade by the Tboli people, as a way to honor my country. I'd like to think that the three gongs symbolize three aspects of my identity: Chinese (by ethnicity), Filipino (by citizenship), and Indian (by scholarship). Yes, I really put so much thought into what I wanted to wear to graduation and why.

- My doctorate is by research (no coursework), and interdisciplinary, which is the norm in Australia and many other universities that follow the British system. In my diploma it just says PhD and the title of my dissertation (and it was about the Indian community in the Philippines). My main discipline in La Trobe was community planning (where my supervisor was part of), but I also incorporated sociology (my Philippine supervisor's field), and communication (my field). I investigated how Indians in the Philippines express, understand, and communicate their identities through private spaces like homes to public spaces. I wanted to know how they make their mark in the Philippines especially since they are rarely noticed and understood unlike the Chinese diaspora (the biggest diasporic group), which I'm part of. 

- La Trobe was a long way from the city (86 Tram to La Trobe University) but an Uber ride was also convenient and reasonably priced given that there were three of us. We got off near Union Hall where the graduation was to take place. I had to stall my family because we arrived a bit too early and I wanted to surprise them when I was gowned up in my toga! I think their reaction was a little bit underwhelming, from shock I guess. But I think they finally understood why I was extremely busy in the past years.

- The whole ceremony lasted only an hour since there were just around 25 PhD graduates for our ceremony. (Not sure why the other PhDs joined the other graduation ceremonies, but all I know it our graduation session was a PhD-only graduation ceremony.) Although I was not one of the few lucky ones who were given a shiny research medal, I wore a necklace that looked like three medals HAHAHAHA. (But honestly, I only realized that minutes before the ceremony. I really just wanted to wear this necklace and I saved this occasion to wear this necklace for the first time!) 

My family finally knows.

With my La Trobe supervisor, Dr. Kiran Shinde. (My Ateneo supervisor, Dr. Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu, was not in Australia during my graduation.)

Preparing to march!

Finally!

I am so glad my eyes caught the photographer taking candid photos of us, and I smiled right away. The photographer sent this to me as a complementary VIP photo! It's one of my favorite photos of the day!

Alumni walk - we had to march along a certain path outside Union Hall all the way to the bar.

Walking with the other PhD alumni! (The undergraduates had a black toga, master's graduates had a black toga and maroon hood, while the PhDs had a colorful red and blue toga (see I told you my shirt inside matched the toga!) 

Another photo with the school name WITH my diploma (which we call a "testamur").

I look like Professor Quirrell from Harry Potter (imagine Voldemor hiding behind my head!) I got to take the fancy hat home but not the toga huhu.

- I was happy that my family was finally able to meet my supervisor and other key people in making our co-supervision set up a success. We had a brief school tour after our post-graduation cocktail and post-graduation photography session. I used the time to print out my transcript of records from the library as well (convenient!) It was also a good chance to pay a visit to the inverted statue of Governor Charles La Trobe, whom the university was named after. Erected (is it still the right word as it is upside down?) in 2007 by artist Charles Robb, there are many reasons as to why he is upside down. Apart from raising attention and eventually awareness of  Charles La Trobe's contributions to the development of Melbourne, it also wants to send a message that universities must "turn ideas on their heads".

Yes, he is!

With Dr. Anthony Moran, our coordinator, and Dr. Martina Boese, my colleague's supervisor!

Now with my testamur.

The food was amazing, to me at least.

The agora, the central meeting point of our university.

I really wanted to see Charles La Trobe's head.

Bye for now, La Trobe.

- That evening, we rode the tram back to the city and celebrated in Brunetti Oro (Flinders Lane), one of my favorite restaurants in Melbourne for Italian cuisine. 

Riding the tram home.

Brunetti will forever be food for the soul!!!!

This place serves pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and an infinite variety of Italian desserts omg.

Gnocchi and some mushroom focaccia.

- This day was honestly surreal and I couldn't be happier that I can now finally breathe, and my doctorate is now public knowledge. I really want to thank everyone who was there for me (whether you knew, knew not, or sort of knew). I also want to express my thanks not just to my advisers and colleagues, but also the Indian community which really helped me during my data gathering stage (I literally won't be able to start my research without the community's help!) Because of this milestone, I really wanted to use my next days in Melbourne to not just explore and catch up with friends, but also to take a brief pause from many things. 

** Check out my other adventures in Melbourne/Victoria here!

Part 1: Revisiting Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) - here

Part 3: Werribee - here

Part 4: Geelong - here 

Part 5: Melbourne Central and Titanic VR - here

Part 6: Bendigo - here

Part 7:  The Lume and Dax Centre - here

Part 8: Hot Air Balloon, NGV, UniMelb, State Library, and Hello Kitty Cafe - here

Life Down Under (Part 4): Bundoora, Melbourne Museum, Smith Street, Brighton Beach, Polly Woodside

- August 1-7, 2022, Monday to Sunday.

- August welcomed me with grander things to discover in Melbourne. On Wednesday the 3rd, my colleague and I visited La Trobe University, which is our partner institution and research funder. It was nice to physically be in the university after sending e-mails back and forth with our colleagues there. La Trobe University is a public research university. Its main campus is in Bundoora, a suburb that's around 40 minutes from the CBD.

Here we are!

It reminds me a lot of Ateneo.

Yes, the statue of Charles La Trobe, the first governor of Victoria, is really upside down. The statue, known as "Landmark" was made my artist Charles Robb in 2004. He intentionally made the statue upside down as a challenge to how we commemorate historical figures. It was also meant to encourage academics to "think on their heads." (OK, if you say so.)

The agora, or the main square/plaza.

One of the many lecture theaters.

- After a day in La Trobe University, we hopped once again to the Winter Night Market in Queen Victoria Market to check out more treats.

I finally got to try cheese wheel pasta!

This is why it's called cheese wheel pasta!!

Churro bowl with ice cream.

- Come Friday, I decided to visit the Carlton Gardens where the Royal Exhibition Building was (Tram 86 or 96 to Melbourne Museum stop). Built in 1879, it was one of the many venues around the world used for the international exhibition. Although it is not always possible to visit inside the hall, it is still nice to look at it from the outside.

Bridgerton anyone?

Just sitting around.

- However, one's trip to the Carlton Gardens can be maximized by also visiting the Melbourne Museum just behind the exhibition building. The roots of the museum go back to 1854, but it was then located in La Trobe Street in the CBD. It has been in its current location in the Carlton Gardens since the year 2000.

Museum entrance.

There was an area where you can hold indigenous tools, like this big boomerang. Traditional boomerangs may come in this size, and are commonly used for hunting.

Indigenous representations of animals.

Pacific cultures gallery. You can see these giant boats, just like the ones used in Moana.

Australian emblem with an actual stuffed kangaroo and a stuffed emu.

Melbourne Gallery.

There were dinosaurs!

The most surprising were actual live spiders and bugs.

A plump mantis!

OK maybe this wasn't real.

Tricerotops.

One of the random things I saw in the museum.

And yes, Pobblebonk is alive.

One think I liked about the museum was that it had an actual forest with free-roaming animals as part of the exhibit.

- From the museum I rode tram 86 to Smith Street (Smith Street stop) to look at the quirky shops and restaurants. It is one long street spanning several blocks. It has international restaurants and cafes, thrift stores (called "op shops" in Australia, short of "opportunity shops"), fabric stores, art stores. 

Smith Street! So far, one of my favorite streets in Melbourne!

One random store had this almost life-sized Power Ranger Lost Galaxy megazord (or if you're familiar with the original Japanese super sentai, Gingaman's Seijuu Gattai GingaOh).

- On Saturday, I had an early trip to a suburb called Brighton in the far south (Sandringham-bound train from Flinders Station to Middle Brighton Station or Brighton Station). The suburb is known for its beach and its colorful bathing boxes. Yes, it is named after the famous Brighton Beach in England. The history of Brighton Beach goes back to the 1800s. The bathing boxes are all privately owned, so no one can go inside each box, but visitors are free to go and take photos of them.

Bathing boxes.

I waited for this moment to wear my Australia shirt!

A little costume change and a little sand kicking.

Inside a mini-mall.

Brighton. The streets are cozy and lined with cafes, restaurants, and shops.

Train tracks in Middle Brighton Station.

- After my morning at Brighton, I had a bit of downtime and errand time in the afternoon. On Sunday, I had an early start once again and headed to Polly Woodside at the south bank of Melbourne (Tram 12, 29, or 160 to MCEC / Casino / or Clarendon stop). Do note that Polly Woodside is only open to visitors only during the first Sunday of the month, and everyday during school holidays.

Here I am!

I am totally loving my outfit here by the way.

I am not a ship person, but I am fascinated by how ships look and how they get to fit everything in one vessel.

Small kitchen.

Got to meet some pirates! (They were just visitors dressing up! I thought they were staff!)

- The ship was built in Belfast in by William Woodside and launched in 1885. The ship was named after his wife Marian, whose nickname was "Polly". Hence, the name "Polly Woodside." It was a cargo ship that carried numerous goods in 16 around the world trips. The trip has worked almost nonstop before restoration works were done in the late 1960s. 

Office.

Captain's room.

Scrubbing the deck.

At the ship's bow.

Pulley being used inside the basement where all the goods and supplies were supposed to be. 

- I also joined the free tour that comes with the entry ticket, and our tour guide shared lots of stories about Polly Woodside and how things worked. My favorite part of the tour was when he asked for volunteers to scrub the deck and all the kids volunteered (I'm not included!). He explained that scrubbing the deck didn't only ensure that the deck was clean, but scrubbing the floor with sea water helped ensure that the wood the ship was made of would last longer.

I knew I had the right outfit for the day! My ship guide and I were dressed similarly!

Scrubbin' the deck.

Anchors outside Polly Woodside.

Polly Woodside from afar.

- After spending time at Polly Woodside, I went to the nearby DFO (Direct Factory Outlet) to check out their stuff. There were many branded items for less though nothing interested me at that time. It was nice to see which brands and products they had, just in case I needed something. The prices were generally good too.

DFO.

Crown Melbourne (a casino and resort.)

Also passed by the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

- I am overwhelmed by the fact that there are still lots of unique and unusual finds in Melbourne. What more if I had the chance to see more things around Australia? It excites me to know that there is still so much that I can experiences to learn more about Australia's culture, history, and society!