A look at Bayswater in Melbourne’s outer east
A few years ago, I was sitting in the hair salon near my stylish home up north and telling the story of a gentleman friend I had recently started spending time with.
“He lives in Bayswater,” I said casually. “No, I haven’t been there yet.”
My hairdresser, who was also local, paused in the middle of cutting. “Oh Bayswater! If you’re looking for a second-hand DVD player, great. You can find anything in the pub car park! But seriously, it’s not as dangerous as it used to be.”
Relaxing! I soon discovered that “Bayswater” was a misnomer (see also: leftover winefun runs). It is nowhere near a bay and the only water is a nice meandering creek. As an ex-Kiwi who spent years enjoying Melbourne’s cool inner north, with its high rents and carefully selected old pubs, I can safely say my expectations weren’t high. However, in the following months, I began to warm up to the idea of spending time outside the city. After all, a little more space (a lot more space, actually) and cheaper living costs can alleviate the effects of longer commutes. (Meeting one’s significant other who already lived there was also a convincing pull factor.)
So why the wrong name? Bayswater was originally known as Scoresby North, but in 1889 the area was named after the nearby The Basin estate of bookmaker and publisher JJ Miller; itself takes its name from its English birthplace – the posh enclave of Bayswater in Westminster overlooking Kensington gardens.
It’s a fair assessment that “Baysie” is not as flashy an area as its name suggests, and has been tarred with the Bogan Bayswater label (I’m looking at you, Heathmont reporter). Located in Melbourne’s outer east, it lies near the foothills of the Dandenongs, tucked between lush Heathmont, Wantirna to the west, and Boronia (somewhat crudely nicknamed “Borosnia”) to the east and south. Here’s how I’d put it to a Melburnian unfamiliar with the area: “Right, you know the Yarra Valley? Where did we go on the winery tour? Yeah, so you kind of pass Bayswater on the way there.”
The first thing you need to know about Bayswater is that it is 18 miles from the CBD. When the stars align, my commute into the city takes about 39 minutes. In favor of my Kindle and my sanity, I completely exempt myself from the pleasures of the Eastern Freeway during rush hour.
The second thing to know is that, apart from the train station area and its colorful characters, Bayswater is a mostly peaceful, family-oriented suburb. The streets are lined with 1960s red brick bungalows and are increasingly dotted with medium-density modern townhouses. But look a little closer and you start to notice the ghosts of its orchard-filled past. For decades, apple and pear orchards, market gardens, dairies and chicken farms dominated the area, with many operations continuing into the 1950s. Street names also echo that history: Orange Grove, Orchard Road, Lemon Grove.
Huge farmhouses from the turn of the century still exist: Highmoor, which Dame Nellie Melba visited regularly when her sister lived there, and Bona Vista, an 1880s adobe-brick cottage that feels like a little architectural time capsule. Now a local curiosity at the corner of Mountain Highway and Bayswater Road, the Bayswater Wine Cellar is the oldest surviving building in the area and is cared for every day. It was originally built in the late 19th century to supply cold beer to loggers traveling between Melbourne and the Dandenong Ranges, and was sold to a developer in 2017; it’s a reminder that even its sleepy outer eastern heritage eventually satisfies Melbourne’s appetite for development.
Beyond its residential streets, Baysie’s identity is also influenced by its industrial past. Post-war growth saw major manufacturing come to the area: Dunlop Rubber established a factory to produce aerospace products in Bayswater North in 1952, and much of this industrial footprint remains today in the form of sprawling warehouses and light industrial estates. But you’ll occasionally come across little surprises among the wholesalers and breweries: places like Hard Road Brewing, tucked away on an industrial strip and producing truly excellent craft beers.
There was a second wave of German-speaking residents in Baysie in the post-war years. Many were interned at Tatura in the Goulburn Valley during the Second World War and were members of the Order of the Temple religious movement. After their release they settled in Boronia and Bayswater, and even today there are small reminders of this legacy, including the bilingual English-German program at Bayswater South Primary School.
Bayswater may be lacking in trendy boutiques, but it more than makes up for it with excellent Asian food. Thai Tables serves some of the best Thai food in Melbourne’s east and is packed most evenings. And if my blood sugar levels could sustain it, I’d happily drink iced coffee every day at Annie’s Bakehouse on Station Street, arguably the best Vietnamese iced coffee outside of Ho Chi Minh City. Are you still hungry? Head to the delightfully quirky Hatter and Hare cafe on Scoresby Road. Or queue up at Drom Bakery, right next to us, which has become a popular destination for patisserie lovers.
To walk or bike to this meal, the underrated Dandenong Creek Trail passes through Baysie. On a sunny morning, you can follow it for miles under towering gums and giggling kookaburra, sometimes forgetting you’re still in metropolitan Melbourne. And of course the Dandenong Ranges are just minutes away.
Bayswater may not be the leafy, prestigious suburb that estate agents wax poetic about, but it’s peaceful and surprisingly rich in small pleasures. The soil, enriched by decades of orchard farming, is ridiculously fertile. My vegetable garden now acts like it has something to prove. Not bad for a place that used to claim to specialize in second-hand DVD players.
Michelle Glennon is a project manager and sometimes writer based in Bayswater.
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Michelle Glennon is a Project Manager and sometimes writer based in Melbourne.
