4/32 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000

Ray always wanted to live ‘in the city’. In 1999 we were living in South Yarra but that didn’t qualify. He meant the CBD. So the hunt was on for a suitable property. The individual nature – two-level, natural light in every room, high ceilings and large spaces – of 4/32 Bourke Street immediately attracted us. Much of the space was a blank canvas and we had great fun choosing the special features – the sandstone window ledges, plaster columns, hand painted Italian wall tile, the antique claw foot bath, the Victorian fireplace and mirror – that we hoped would create a unique, beautiful environment.

Fifteen years on, this has been a fantastic place to live. It has been a launching pad to explore the city and all it offers, a quiet and secure haven at the end of the day.  Walk out the front door and you are immediately in the action. While high rise living may leave you isolated, here you are  part of a community – local traders who know you and stop for a chat, waiters who greet you by name and find you a table, the many folk who say hello. Through the windows on Bourke Street we see the myriad aspects of our culture. The passions reflected in the demonstration marches to Parliament steps, the weekend weddings, the arrival of Father Christmas, the Sikh festival all keep us in touch.

Entertainment options are many and varied. The big ticket items are obvious: the MCG and Etihad, the film festivals at the Kino and Nova cinemas, shows at the Princess and Her Majesty’s, exhibitions at the NGV and ACMI at Fed Square.  But more than that, living in Melbourne alerts one to a range of hidden secrets like the Spring Street Grocer basement cheese shop, the Petit Bourke French cafe, Madame Brussels roof top bar, quirky shops like Wunderkammer on Lonsdale Street. The more you look, the more you find. On a cautionary note, be prepared for friends to use your home as a starting point for White Night, the fireworks, the Chinese New Year dragon dancing. Living here can make you very popular!

Two special delights for us have been the wonderful walks through Melbourne parks, as one example a circuit of 5km to the Botanic Gardens with almost no bitumen to cross. And following the tram routes: taking the 96 from our front door to Ceres environmental park and walking back along the Merri creek, or, in the other direction, going to St. Kilda beach, walking along the Esplanade and back via the light rail from Port Melbourne.

Samuel Johnson wrote “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”. The same is true of Melbourne. I’ve mentioned some of the highlights, but not the number and quality of the restaurants, the best coffee in the world and shopping shopping, shopping! Those are for you to discover.

Ray was right. Being on the spot has made all the difference to our life in the world’s most liveable city. We leave with many wonderful memories of our time at 32 Bourke Street. We wish you the same.

June and Ray