Melbourne – The old cement works

When i last visited Melbourne at the start of 2013 we kept driving past a large building with a tall chimney and a lot of graffiti on it. From the look of it it was obvious that it had been abandoned. This time I ended up staying a lot closer to it and when I mentioned that I would love to take a closer look I discovered that Nathan (my daughters partner) was keen to explore as well. It was one of those locations where you never know who might be squatting so it was best to not go alone.

Now I am sure that we were trespassing on someones property but as there were no signs saying keep out and the holes in the fence were large enough to drive a car through, we felt reasonably comfortable that no one would get too upset with us looking around and taking a few photos. We first went for a look late in the afternoon but once we got inside realised that we needed more light so returned the next morning.

The roof has completely gone in this first section

The outside of the conveyer room. We assumes that materials were loaded on the conveyer and transporter into the tower that contained the machinery to make cement

A first look inside one of the storage areas in the morning

This entire wall was painted which must have taken some time

There were signs of some inhabitation however the people were very tidy. There was even rubbish sacks in the corners and the look that areas has been swept.

I quite liked the reflection in the puddle although the effect that flash has on the silver paint is not really to my liking

After venturing round the larger building we found a way into the tower block.

The ground floor was very dark and a real mess but when we made our way up a set of crumbing concrete stairs we found a marvellous area full of old machinery and graffiti. I have converted a couple of these images to black & white because I think that treatment suits them. My only regret is that I would love to use the location for a model shoot but it just too far away.