It looks like the love lock craze has well and truly hit Melbourne…on the Southbank Bridge to be exact!
If you have no idea what I am talking about, love locks are padlocks that are attached to bridges…even fences or gates…some are inscribed with initials and messages…and then the key is thrown into the water, as a symbol of eternal love!
The concept apparently first appeared in China, although some say it was in Rome, but now love locks can be seen in locations all over the world.
We first came across this in Perth when we were there last year…at the Bell Tower.
Apparently the locks started appearing on the Southbank pedestrian bridge back in June 2013, and there are now a few hundred attached to the wires.
To be honest, we hadn’t been over that bridge for ages, so were unaware the locks were there…so yesterday, we wandered down to Southbank to have a look for ourselves!
The locks have appeared all along the wire of the bridge…and unlike the uniform locks at the Bell Tower in Perth, there are not only locks of every shape, size and colour…there are also bicycle locks, chains and ribbons….
Even the wooden railing is not immune…
Two local businesses have jumped on board, and you can now buy locks..even get them engraved!
Melbourne Council is apparently monitoring the locks as they may cause the damage to the bridge…but as the locks started appearing over a year ago and they are still there, hopefully they can stay as a permanent fixture!
The added bonus is that is a tourist attraction…people come to Southbank to add their own padlocks to the display of “locked” love!
I actually love this whole concept…its romantic, and we all just don’t get enough romance in our busy, hectic lives anymore.
I also think it’s a perfect spot for them…a bridge across the Yarra River, with a perfect 360 degree view of the city, and Southbank!
Did we put a lock on the bridge…not yet…but I am tempted…yep, I am a romantic at heart!
Have you put a lock on the bridge in Melbourne…or somewhere else around the world?
