Author archive

Claire Donovan

Claire Donovan is a Melbourne-based local reporter focused on community life, family events, school initiatives, neighbourhood updates, and weekend things to do across the city. A mother of two living in the inner north, she brings a practical, community-first perspective to her coverage, with a strong interest in local festivals, markets, playground upgrades, public spaces, and family-friendly events happening around Melbourne.

Published by Claire Donovan

Vote Now in Boroondara’s Free Photo Exhibition

Sihan Jiang’s winning photograph leads the 10th annual Boroondara Photography Competition exhibition in Hawthorn, with People’s Choice voting open until 20 June.

Final Grants Help Session in St Albans Before Sunday Deadline

The final in-person help session for Brimbank community grants of up to $15,000 runs at St Albans Community Centre on 11 June, days before the medium and large grant applications close.

South Yarra, Melbourne: Chapel Street, Domain Road, and the Gap Between Them

Four kilometres from the CBD and consistently ranked among Melbourne’s most walkable suburbs, South Yarra operates simultaneously as a fashion precinct, a dining destination, a running track, and one of the city’s more expensive postcodes. The tension between those four identities is what gives the suburb its character. Chapel Street draws the shopping tourists. Domain […]

Glen Waverley, Melbourne: The Suburb Where the School Zone and the Food Scene Are Both Serious

Glen Waverley is the suburb that Melbourne’s food obsessives quietly rate as their best outer-suburb dining option, and that parents of school-age children rate as the most competitive property market in the eastern suburbs. Neither reputation is exaggerated. The 7-level King’s Centre food complex, the Kingsway restaurant strip, and a density of Chinese-Australian dining that […]

Dandenong, Melbourne: Not the Ranges, and All the Better for It

Say “Dandenong” to most Melburnians and two pictures arrive at once. One is misty hills, a steam train whistling through fern gullies, and a giant strawberry milkshake at the bottom of the Puffing Billy queue. The other is a flat, busy grid of streets where charcoal smoke from kebab grills drifts past trays of fresh […]

Werribee, Melbourne – What It’s Actually Like and Whether It’s Worth Your Time

Werribee earns two audiences and serves both. This guide covers what a day trip looks like, what living here actually means, and whether either is worth your time. Most people go to Werribee for one reason: the zoo. They book the tickets, pack the kids into the car, spend the day watching a safari bus […]