Above: Walking group with ‘Kenny’ (Shane Jacobson) on the Marvellous Smellboom Tour
Melbourne Walks is one of Melbourne’s longest running walking companies. Our first walk in 1991 on the trail of escaped convict William Buckley has evolved into 100 different tours. We have published fifteen history books in our mission to promote and preserve Melbourne’s natural, built and Indigenous heritage. Our walkers include Melbournians, overseas and interstate visitors and several thousand school students annually for whom we design imaginative learning adventures.
The miners dug for gold, we dig for hidden stories in the landscape to provide our walkers with rich and personal experiences of the hidden heritage and culture around them. Every walk is a unique interaction between participants, place, time and memory.
We are passionate about promoting sustainability through our tours such as Sustainability, Indigenous Landscapes, Social Justice, Sustainable Architecture and Liveability.
Meyer Eidelson and traditional owner Carolyn Briggs at the St Kilda Ngargee Tree
Melbourne Walks is accredited with Tour Guides Australia and Guides of Australia. We maintain public liability insurance, working with children check and first aid certificates.
We partner with traditional owner groups in reconciliation projects including Indigenous guidebooks. In 2015 two of our books won awards at the Victorian Community History Awards. The judges described Melbourne Dreaming: A Guide to Important Places of the Past and Present as ‘a finely crafted example of a historical guide that provides inspiration for other guide writers.’
See Our 15 books
1991 Author of submission to Government to create St Kilda Breakwater Penguin Sanctuary – now thriving, check it out!
1997 Australian Sister City Award:‘Alfreda the City Penguin’ (children’s environmental book in English and Japanese)
2001 Australian Centenary Medal: ‘contribution to community tourism‘
2002 Victorian Community History Awards – Best Walk/Tour Commendation
2007 Civic Project of the Year Award – Port Phillip (Coordinator St Kilda Children’s History Project)
2007 Citizen of the Year nomination – Port Phillip
2011 Indigenous Victorian Home and Community Care Award (VICAAD)
2011 Immigration Museum Exhibition ‘Fighting for Equality’ – ADEC Coordinator
2011 Civic Project of the Year Award – Port Phillip ( Book & film ‘The Heart of Middle Park’)
2012 St Kilda Film Festival: Our film ‘A Century of Lunacy: The Story of Luna Park’.
2014 Finalist: City of Port Phillip Business Excellence Awards – Tourism
2015 Lonely Planet votes Melbourne Walk’s Literary Tour as one of the ten best in the world.