Sydney Road Brunswick History Tours: Remarkable People and Places

Each tour in this tour series will cover a different area, and will cover either verbally or via the included booklet:

Walking Tour 1 – Saturday 30 August

• Balfe’s Paint Shop, 58-62 Sydney Road Brunswick (now the Bergy Seltzer)
• Peter Russo of Russo and Russo, 150 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Miss R. E. Yon, Dressmaker, 159 Sydney Road Brunswick (now Record Paradise)
• Thomas Manallack, brickmaker and publican and licensee of the Cornish Arms Hotel, 163 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Allan MacVean, Presbyterian minister of the Brunswick Uniting Church (previously St Andrews Presbyterian Church), 212 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Retreat Hotel and its various publicans, 280 Sydney Road Brunswick

Walking Tour 2 – Wednesday 10 September (stops still finalising)

• Michael Dawson, St Ambrose Church, 287 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Pyramid Chocolates, 293 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Annie Hanson and Jenny Walker, Kaleidoscope Café, 295 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Founders of the Sydney Road Community School, Former Wesleyan Church Sunday School, 340 Sydney Road Brunswick
• The Penny Black (former Brunswick Post Office)
• Various sites -Thomas Wilkinson and family
• Franco Cozzo, 466 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Mr J H Swinbourn, John Hooper, Mariana Hardwick, Hardwick Building, 459 Sydney Road Brunswick

Walking Tour 3 – Saturday 20 September (stops still finalising)

• Mr J H Swinbourn, John Hooper, Mariana Hardwick, Hardwick Building, 459 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Brunswick Stitch House Alterations, 537 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Dejour Jeans, 542 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Sebastian Danelli –  Don Bosco Youth Centre, 715-719 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Laurie Larmer, Court House Hotel and founder of Sydney Road Brunswick Association, 615 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Maxine Fensom, Maxine’s Erotic Ultra Lounge and Burlesque School, 672-676 Sydney Road Brunswick
• Walshe and Whitelock, 701 Sydney Road Brunswick

Ticket Price
Ranging from $21-$40.

Duration & Inclusions
Tours run for approximately 1.5 hours, commencing at 11am and ending around 12.30pm. Included with the ticket is:

• Printed booklet with images and information on each of the stops
• Sydney Road Brunswick tote bag with collateral
• Walking tour and knowledge exchange

Accessibility & Toilets
Please note that historical walking tours are from the footpaths of the Sydney Road Brunswick precinct and inside some of the stops listed above. Some of these locations include stairs. The walk itself is a slow stroll, for roughly 1km, with stops along the way, at the above locations.

Toilet locations include:

Tour on Saturday 30 August
– Barkly Square Shopping Centre
– Brunswick Town Hall

Tour on Wednesday 10 September
– Brunswick Town Hall
– Sparta Place (next to the car park, accessed off Victoria Street)

Tour on Saturday 20 September
– Sparta Place (next to the car park, accessed off Victoria Street)

Previous Tours
Interested to know about the sites and stories told from previous history tours? Download the tour booklets below:

• Booklet on Brunswick Road to Glenlyon Road can be downloaded here
• Booklet on Dawson Street to Victoria Street can be downloaded here
• Booklet on Victoria Street to Albion Street can be downloaded here
• Booklet on Albion Street to Moreland Road can be downloaded here
• Booklet on the Hotels of Brunswick between Victoria Street and Brunswick Road can be downloaded here
• Booklet on Fashion & Textiles between Merri Street and Ballarat Street can be downloaded here
• Booklet on Churches & Welfare between Blyth Street and Michael Street can be downloaded here
• Booklet on Iconic Shops between Sparta Place and Barkly Square can be downloaded here

Future Tours
If you’re interested in attending future tours, please subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on social media (links at the bottom of this page)!