Old Vintage Melbourne, a culinary chronicle: Melbourne Book Launch

A celebration of the restaurants, bars, cafés, pubs, and markets that have helped shape Melbourne’s unique cultural identity.

From the immensely popular creator of Old Vintage Melbourne and Old Vintage Melbourne, 1960–1990, here are profiles of around 120 of Melbourne’s culinary institutions, drawing on original research, historic photography, and direct contributions from the venues themselves and their families. Some are iconic and enduring, such as Grossi Florentino, Pellegrini’s, and France-Soir, while others have long since closed but remain etched in Melbourne’s memory, such as Cafe Scheherazade, Coles Cafeteria, and even Dine-In Pizza Hut. Each entry combines images radiating nostalgic warmth alongside Chris Macheras’s landmark informed historical text.

An enchanting collection of annotated historical images and contemporary photographs, revealing the change and development that Melbourne has experienced over the years.

In 1835, as he walked the sacred grounds of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung peoples of the Kulin Nations, John Batman wrote in his diary, ‘This will be the place for a village.’ That small village rapidly grew into the vibrant city of Melbourne.

Historical photographs are a window to the past — a time capsule that allows us to walk in the footsteps of our predecessors. Now, this collection enables us to imagine strolling down Bourke Street in 1875, or catching a Collins Street tram in 1910, or walking through the city’s inner suburbs many years ago. As well, a series of then-and-now photographs reveals a striking contrast between the Melbourne of yesteryear and the city we are familiar with today.

Adapted from the popular ‘Old Vintage Melbourne’ Instagram account, this book invites you to reminisce about and cherish the important heritage of the city of Melbourne. Turn back the clock and immerse yourself in these captivating chronicles of an incredibly diverse, unique city.

A sequel to Old Vintage Melbourne, this collection invites you again to turn back time and revisit the diverse past of the much-loved city of Melbourne.

This captivating compilation of photographs taken between 1960 and 1990 provides a fascinating glimpse of a time that is familiar and yet different, when significant changes started to affect the city and its suburbs. As historic city buildings were demolished and streetscapes altered, Melbourne embraced modernity. The skyline grew, and so did suburban shopping centres. Under the impact of a rapidly rising population and large-scale migration, the city’s distinctive and vibrant culture that we know today began to emerge. Cafés, fashion, sport, architecture, infrastructure, technology, and even the law were all transformed.

Adapted from the highly popular ‘Old Vintage Melbourne’ Instagram account, this collection allows us to behold iconic sights and scenes — some as they were, and some as they still are, generations later. For many readers, it offers a chance to indulge in rare memories of growing up in our unique city.