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

Aunty Alice Kolasa leads NAIDOC Week flame walk

Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Alice Kolasa carried the ceremonial flame from Camp Sovereignty to Federation Square as Melbourne opened NAIDOC Week 2026.

Altona Water Plant Offers Rare Peek Behind the Flush

Free tours of the Altona Recycled Water Plant July 25-26 offer a rare look at wastewater treatment and Agnes Denes’s spiral forest artwork. Only 160 spots – book fast.

Taylors Hill author’s series for young inventors launches at Watergardens

Family-authored children’s series Johnny, The Inventor completes its four-book run with a week-long signing event at Watergardens Town Centre, 29 June to 5 July 2026.

Mother-Son Duo Revives Dilapidated Richmond Edwardian Home

Gail Lee and her son Alex spent 18 months restoring a crumbling Edwardian cottage on Cubitt Street before it sold for $1.38 million on Saturday, $130,000 above guide.

Knoxfield’s Ovata estate: 400 homes and a wetland for the blue-billed duck

The Ovata development in Knoxfield will deliver around 400 homes, 10% affordable, plus purpose-built wetlands for the endangered blue-billed duck. Display suite opens mid-2026.

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 […]