Fifty History Walking Tours – the perfect social event for members of Seniors Clubs, U3A, Probus clubs, Rotary Clubs, RSL or similar groups.
Melbournewalks.com.au is one of Melbourne’s oldest walking companies. We deliver over fifty highly-researched walking tours in Melbourne’s city centre and also suburbs e.g. Lanes and Arcades, Street Art, Crimes, Early Melbourne, Indigenous, Architecture and many others.
We currently provide (2024) a discount rate for seniors’ groups of only $25 per person for a 2.5 hour tour if there are 12 or more persons participating – the best and most cost-effective tours in Melbourne.
MELBOURNE LANES TOUR: Explore the fascinating labyrinth of lanes in Melbourne’s historic warehouse, fashion, maritime and residential precincts with their amazing culture, shops, architecture, hidden places. More..
MELBOURNE STREET ART TOUR: Melbourne’s back lanes are internationally famous as creative galleries and feature thousands of amazing stencils, posters, paintings, murals, light boxes, graffiti and installations as well as historic typographies. Journey with us through the maze to learn how the radical transformation of industrial lanes into urban canvases occurred. More…
MELBOURNE DUNNY LANES TOUR: Join an 1880 dunny crew and undergo training in the maze of historic lanes and arcades exploring Melbourne’s hidden infrastructure… More
1835. THE FOUNDING OF MELBOURNE (BEARBRASS): Explore all the original places of settlement before the gold rush in the heart of the CBD… More
MELBOURNE BOOKSHOPS AND WRITERS TOUR – A walking tour of booksellers and books: Melbourne is the world’s second UNESCO City of Literature. Explore, with a local writer, many of the 70 CBD booksellers hidden in obscure and historic locations. Learn about the history of Melbourne writers and read extracts from stories, poems and scenes from books set on location in Melbourne. More …
MELBOURNE INDIGENOUS LANDSCAPES … More.
MELBOURNE’S CRIMES TOUR: ….More
THE GREAT MARKETS OF MELBOURNE TOUR More…
CITY CEMETERIES TOUR: Did you know that there are 9000 bodies of early settlers, Aboriginals, Quakers and bushrangers buried under the Queen Victoria Market Car Park and nearby Flagstaff Gardens? Walk the market and learn their astonishing stories using maps, photos and records. Find the last monument standing. Read the many grave inscriptions on record. We remember, honour and pay our respects …..More
MADAM BRUSSELL’S MELBOURNE: Explore the 19th century life and times of Marvellous Smellboom during the reign of the city’s greatest ‘Madam’ visiting the slum sites of former opium dens, brothels, music halls, joss houses, sweatshops, dance halls, gold rush theatres, lodging, houses, ‘salvation janes’ and ‘slum sisters’.…..More
SIGNS IN THE CITY – A MELBOURNE CULTURAL TYPOGRAPHY TOUR Explore the City of Melbourne’s oldest historic neon and electric signs as well as other heritage letterforms in architecture, infrastructure , murals, puzzles and stencils and learn their cultural stories.…More
MELBOURNE ARCHITECTURAL TOUR Take a tour of landmark architectural buildings in the Melbourne CBD that reflect local and international achievements …..More
MELBOURNE ARCHAEOLOGY TOUR: Two Tours: 1. Explore the archaeological sites of magnificent Half Moon Bay, Black Rock including pre-history wells, ochre site, stone scatters, shell middens, fossils, lookouts and stone tool ‘knapping’. 2. Explore the largest urban archaeological digs in Australia in Little Lon in the CBD. …..More
THE LAST MAN HANGED – THE RONALD RYAN TOUR…..More
WOMEN’S MELBOURNE: Retrace the historic places and significant buildings which tell the story of Melbourne’s women campaigners for equality and social justice from settlement to today including Vida Goldstein, Emma Silcock, Saint Mary MacKillop, Clarence, Mary and Clara Stone, Helen Dugdale and others.
MELBOURNE HALLOWEEN TOURS….More
DIVERT INTO DOCKLANDS: Take a walking and tram tour of Melbourne’s waterfront suburb with its innovative architecture, public art, sporting and other attractions. Learn about its extraordinary evolution from indigenous estate, wetland and seaport to modern precinct.
SOCIAL JUSTICE MELBOURNE: ….. More
SQUIZZY TAYLOR TOUR: Take a tour of the CBD sites associated with the notorious gangster Squizzy Taylor: bootlegger, jury rigger, thief, blackmailer and gambler as outlined in the novel ‘Runner’ by Robert Newton…..More
GHOST SIGNS TOUR Go on a hunting expedition of Ghost Signs in the CBD, to record and photograph hand-painted signage and stencils up to a century old, that tell rich stories of Melbourne’s commercial, industrial, creative and consumer history….. More
LIVING WILD OFF THE LAND: Go on a foraging expedition on suburban parks, waterways, street and foreshore and learn how Indigenous people, pioneers and locals harvested wild food, medicine, tools, shelter and other resources from before and after settlement to today.. More…
MULTICULTURAL MELBOURNE Explore the iconic places of Melbourne influenced by waves of immigrants such as the CBD, Chinese (Chinatown) and Greek (Lonsdale precinct).
PORT MELBOURNE WALKING TOUR: Discover the amazing transformation of Port Melbourne and Station Pier, the greatest immigration and transport hub in Australia. Explore the places of early settlement along bay Street and learn the history of indigenous people, settlers, soldiers, dock workers and immigrants. More
ELWOOD WALKING TOUR: Explore the extraordinary built and natural heritage of Elwood with the author of the ‘History of Elwood’ including the canal, the Ormond Road village, the foreshore, architecture and indigenous sites…. More
RIPPONLEA WALKING TOUR: Ripponlea’s historic places from indigenous times to heritage village by the author of ‘Ripponlea. The Village’ (2010)….. More
FOOTSCRAY WALKING TOURS (2) – Take a stroll through the heart of Footscray and explore the fascinating history of its, people, homes, hotels, businesses, immigration, warehouses, transport and changes over time. Also we have a Footscray Heritage Wharf Tour of the original settlement, bridges, pubs and indigenous sites on the Maribyrnong River. See pictures Footscray
MARVELLOUS MELBOURNE: Explore the golden age of the Melbourne boom of the late nineteenth century: the palaces of commence, great hotels, vaults, cathedrals, galleries, banks and stock exchanges.
DIVERT INTO DOCKLANDS: Melbourne’s newest suburb has an extraordinary history of Indigenous landscapes, wetlands, seaports, architecture and industry.
MULTICULTURAL MELBOURNE: Explore the iconic cultural places of Melbourne influenced by waves of immigrants .
WILLIAM BUCKLEY’S MELBOURNE – In the footsteps of the ‘wild white man’: Retrace the escape route of convict William Buckley who lived with Aboriginal people for thirty two years before settlement in 1835. We trace the route along exquisite Port Phillip Bay discovering indigenous sites, bushtucker, wildlife and historic places.
YARRA BEND : Explore the history of the Yarra River and Merri Creek junction,
St Kilda, the Dark Side: Walk the back lanes of St Kilda at night to discover 180 years of murder, arson, prostitution, slygrog, cannibalism, bushrangers, theft and the redoubtable Squizzy Taylor…..More
Acland Street: Walk the length of legendary Acland Street to visit the amazing architecture, history, cafes, cake shops, pubs, mansions, theatres, churches, artists, writers, and more.
Literary St Kilda
In Pursuit of Ronald Ryan: On 3 February 1967 Ronald Ryan and Peter Walker escaped from Pentridge to an Elwood hideout, triggering a reign of terror resulting in murder, bank robbery and the last hanging in Victoria. Investigate the locations of pivotal events in this extraordinary saga….More
Elwood: Fire Flood and Fever: Explore the Elwood village and streets to discover the history of its early settlers, wetlands, poets, landscapes, homes, transport, businesses and local identities.
St Kilda Hill: Walk St Kilda Hill from the Astor down to theCarlisle Streetvillage to explore a crowded landscape of theatres, churches, army base, cottages, mansions, synagogues, pubs, parks, post office and drain.
Art Deco St Kilda: Visit the great art deco buildings of the St Kilda foreshore.Art Deco ElwoodVisit the delightful art deco flats and buildings of Elwood
Marvellous Middle Park: Learn about the recent heritage study of Middle Park undertaken by the City of Port Phillip and discover the fascinating range of architecture, streets, building styles and historic personalities revealed in the landscape.
Poetry Streets of Elwood: Take turns to read the poetry of the thirty or so authors and poets whose names are borne aloft on street signs such as Dickens, Tennyson, Byron, Browning, Barrett and Gordon.
The Charge of the Light Brigade: Relive the events and personalities of the Crimean War by traveling the score of war-named streets such as Odessa, Malakoff, Nightingale, Alma, Balaclava and Inkerman.
The Spirit of St Kilda: Discover 180 years of spiritual heritage of St Kilda’s places of worship established by Aboriginals, settlers, refugees, today’s communities and the persecuted for ‘matching, hatching and dispatching’
St Kilda Hill: Explore St Kilda’s architecture since settlement from its wealthy seaside mansions, great hotels, amusement palaces, seabaths, boarding houses, flats, brothels, punk venues and immigrant cafes.
St Kilda Dreaming: Explore St Kilda’s indigenous landscapes.
Historic Pub Crawl St Kilda: Discover fascinating stories behind St Kilda’s great 150 year old hotels including The Gorge, Esplanade, Elephant and castle, Prince of Wales and others.
Elwood Canal: Explore the Elwood canal (formerly Elster Creek) at Point Ormond near its junction with the sea and discover the history, wildlife, flora, early settlement, and indigenous places of this ancient swamp and coastline.
Merri Creek Meander: Travel down the Merri creek valley.
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