Visas
Visitors to Australia typically require a visa. As detailed on the
Department of Immigration site,
the
ETA (AUD$20) and
eVisitor
(free) visas will allow passport holders from Europe, North America,
and a number of other countries to obtain their visa online, with 2
weeks processing time.
Other passport holders will require a
Business - Short Stay (Subclass 456)
visa (AUD$105). This cannot be lodged online and requires longer
processing times (allow 6-8 weeks). To support the application
for a 456, candidates should obtain proof of conference registration
from the ACM. Invitation letters from the Chair are not normally
required. However, if you do need a visa support letter, please send an email to
supportletters@acm.org.
Accomodation
The conference will be held during the horse racing season's Spring
Carnival, an extremely busy time for hotels in Melbourne.
In fact, Tuesday 2nd November is a public holiday in honour of the
racing highlight, the Melbourne Cup.
It is strongly recommended that
hotel bookings be made as soon as possible.
Conference Hotel
The conference hotel is the
Crown Promenade,
a 4.5 star hotel a pleasant 15-20 minute walk across the Yarra river
and downstream of the conference venue (see their
zoomed map).
It is about 10 minutes walk across the river from the Southern Cross railway station.
A block of approximately 200 room-nights covering the Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 inclusive, at a
conference rate of AUD$252, are available. These are Standard King
rooms and some Standard Twin.
Further nights at the conference rate are possible, subject to
availability. Breakfast is not included. Internet access (both wireless and wired) is
complementary for IMC delegates.
Booking can be done directly through this
weblink,
or by telephone (+61 3 9292 6688) or email (
reservations@crownpromenade.com.au). Please
note that rooms not booked by October 17
will no longer be guaranteed! the web based reservation will
cease working on this date, and although telephone and email bookings
will remain open, they will be subject to (unlikely) availability.
Other Hotels
The conference venue is in the
heart of Melbourne and there are a wide variety of hotels to choose from. The
following (selected by a proprietary algorithm) are worth looking at if the conference hotel is not suitable.
**** Medina Executive Northbank [ very close to buses to the MEL airport ]
**** Hotel
Rendezvous
[
very close to venue, a `grand' hotel ]
**** Riverside Serviced Apartments [ city views ]
**** Clarion Suites Gateway [ city views ]
**** Park Regis Griffin
Suites
[ a bit further, but direct tram access to venue in
one direction,
beach in the other ]
*** Magnolia Court Boutique Hotel [ a bit further, but very nice ]
*** Georgian Court Bed and Breakfast [ a bit further, but charming ]
Alternatively, this site
may prove useful. It gives room rates and availability for multiple
dates and multiple hotels on a single page. It does not cover all
hotels but the selection is wide, and is clickable. Note that
accomodation under 4 stars is hard to find in the city centre, the 3
star options above are a little further out (40 mins walk, or 10mins +
tram).
Travel Information
Arriving From Overseas
Australia, being an isolated continent, has a very strict quarantine
regime, which can result in long customs queues. To avoid problems,
bring absolutely no food or anything suspiciously organic.
Duty free is available on arrival, before reaching immigration, at both Sydney and Melbourne.
Melbourne Airport [MEL]
Melbourne Airport
is relatively small and efficient. After negotiating immigration and
customs (if arriving direct), just walk straight ahead, step outside,
and you will be close to taxi ranks and the `
Skybus', which stops at the
Southern Cross railway station not far from the conference hotel, and then drops off at a number of hotels including the
Crown Towers hotel which is in the same complex as the conference hotel. There is no rail link.
The trip to the Central Business District or CBD (this is what we call
downtown) is about 30mins. The taxi fare will be close to AUD$50
one way, and the Skybus about a third of that.
Navigating Downtown
Central Melbourne has the world's largest
tram
network (and a simple underground rail loop). Moving between
hotels, the conference locations, and central attractions can be done
on foot or by tram. Useful maps for finding the conference venue and moving around the CBD on foot can be found
here.
The Conference
Conference Venue
The conference will be held in the
BMW Edge which is part of
Federation Square in the heart of Melbourne, by the
Yarra River and many of the city's main landmarks such as
Flinders Street Station.
The square itself is a sculpted urban landscape with a video-wall which
functions as a focus of the city during major events. It is a
good option for breakfast and emergency coffee breaks and has free
public WiFi.
To find it (see map), enter Fed-Square from Swanston Street and
walk up and past Cafe Chinotto (which actually looks into BMW Edge),
then downstairs, or alternatively enter the glass Atrium from Flinders
St and go straight ahead to the end.
The venue is a unique space with transparent walls and embedded metal latticework, as can be seen from this
quicktime virtual tour.
It overlooks the river and from the river's edge appears as a glass
cube. It is a well known venue in the city and often hosts televised
events. For cricket fans: the
MCG is visible from inside the auditorium through the east wall.
The screen used for presentations has a resolution of 1024x768.
Presenters are requested to use their own laptops, and if this is not
possible, to contact their session chair and/or local organisers well
ahead of time.
Cocktail Reception
This will be held within the BMW Edge auditorium. There is a
transparent elevated walkway contouring the space which looks out over
the river as well as a large adjacent outdoor terrace.
Banquet
To be held at the
Blue Diamond,
a jazz/caberet club on the top floor of a highrise in the middle of
downtown, from 7pm to midnight on Tuesday November 2nd. There is
a wrap-around balcony which gives a unique avantage point into the
skyline, particularly at sunset. The evening will include a buffet
style dinner, and from 9:30pm, live entertainment in two sets. Partners
are welcome to participate for AUD$90. A cash payment will be required (correct change please).
The City of Melbourne
Climate
The average [min, max] temperature for
the beginning of November is [8.7, 20.8] Celcius ([48,
69] Farenheit), but the variability is quite high, so it is best
to prepare both for summer and cool weather. Current conditions
related to La Niña suggest that temperatures will be above
average.
Weather forecasts and
Rain radar
are provided by the Bureau of Meteorology. An entertaining and useful
view of weather conditions in central Melbourne over the last few days
up to the current minute is hosted
here.
The City
Melbourne
is the most European of Australia's major cities, and generally
regarded as the cultural, sporting and culinary capital. It has a
population of around 4 million, and is well known for its multicultural
character, gardens, cafe culture, festivals, understated outlook, and
`3 seasons in one day' weather. It lies on the banks of the
Yarra River
and the northern shore of the very large Port Phillip Bay,
and enjoys a mix of Victorian, Art Deco and modern architecture
(well, and 60's too..). There is far too much to talk about or
see, but here are some of the obvious things to look out for, starting
roughly from the centre of town. To find out "what's on in
Melbourne", take a look at
thatsmelbourne.
Across the river from the conference are the
Royal Botanical Gardens,
Arts Centre, Southgate Precinct and the Eureka Tower, the cities' tallest building and owner of its
best view. The
Melbourne Aquarium,
across the river from the conference hotel, is very good and the
preferred way to get close to sharks. The Italian quarter is just to
the north - take any tram up Swanston St to the
University of Melbourne,
then walk a couple of blocks east to Lygon St. A few more blocks gets
you to Brunswick St (but it is best to take tram 112 from the city centre) a very lively district full of bars and
restaurants.
In the other direction, tram 16 on Swanston Street will take you
in south to the beach, the sea baths and the amusement park in St
Kilda in 25 minutes. St Kilda defies description - you just have
to go. Be warned, the water is not warm! and for surf you will have to
travel much further to the ocean side of the bay, however diving in the
bay is quite interesting with seals, sea horses, dolphins, wrecks,
rays, coral, lots of fish.....
Melbourne Zoo is excellent and has just seen two baby elephants arrive. It is close to the centre and can be reached by tram and train.
Ballooning at sunrise over the city and suburbs happens almost every
day of the year, and is fantastic (imagine contouring the skyline). Yes
you can still be back in time for the sessions! Finally, since the city
will be stopping in the middle of IMC for the Melbourne Cup and
Federation Square will be buzzing with it, details of the
Spring Racing Carnival are here for any racing and fashion enthusiasts.
It is very easy to eat well in Melbourne, but if greater certainty is needed, the
Age Good Food Guide is well respected. The
side streets and alleys in the downtown area are full of hidden bars,
cafes and restaurants if you feel like exploring. As for coffee,
it is becoming a national obsession. Ask for a `flat white', a kind of high density latte and our favourite drink.
And Beyond
For those having a little more time to look around, here are
three classic Victorian destinations not too far from Melbourne. Many
more will be listed on the official
tourist site for Melbourne and Victoria.
Healesville Sanctuary
is a zoo specialising in native animals an hour to the east of the
city. All the wierd creatures you have heard about and a lot of others
you haven't can be found here. You can get there by public
transport and you won't regret it.
The Great Ocean Road is
Australia's version of California's Highway 1. It begins an hour
to the south of Melbourne near the iconic surfing destination
Bells Beach, and goes west for as long as you want, taking in the
Twelve Apostles along the way.
Wilson's Promontory National Park
is another place where native animals can be easily seen, this time
running wild. It is a beautiful geographic anomaly which forms the
southernmost point of mainland Australia, some 3 hours to the south
east of Melbourne. It has some of the purest beaches on the
planet.