Local Life · Promenade / City Road
The Two Southbanks
One suburb, split between the river-facing city and the streets where everyday Southbank gets on with it.
Journal 01Southbank · VIC
Southbank,
at street level.
A close-read of the suburb between the river, the arts precinct and City Road. Walks, useful local knowledge and the details that survive between towers.
01 / RIVER EDGELatest field note · Walks
Southbank Before Nine
A river-edge walk for the hour when the promenade belongs to commuters, rowers and the first coffee of the day.
Recently observed
Latest Notes
Culture · St Kilda Road / Sturt Street
The Arts Precinct Without a Ticket
A compact route through forecourts, public art and overlooked architecture—no booking required.
Culture · City Road / Queens Bridge Street
Industrial Southbank Is Still Visible
Warehouses, service lanes and fragments of the working river remain under the high-rise city.
Local Life · 207 City Road
A Quiet Hour at Boyd
The community hub that makes a case for Southbank beyond spectacle.
The publication
The neighbourhood is more than its skyline.
Southbank Notes is an independent, tightly edited guide to a small and complicated part of Melbourne. We look past the postcard riverfront to the routes, buildings and civic spaces that make the suburb work.
Our compass runs from Princes Bridge to Boyd Park, and from the Birrarung south to the edge of South Melbourne.
Begin with the journal