Walking Tour: Newstead & Bowen Hills

Cloudland, Theatre, Church, Homes.

Join New Farm & Districts Historical Society at the Plaza at Newstead Gasworks within the Gasometer. This is the starting point for a 90-minute walk up and over Bowen Hills.

For a certain generation, Cloudland ballroom evoked magic, being renowned for its dances, romances, music—and for some, meeting their lifelong love…

Well before Cloudland, the spot was called Mt Pleasant then O’Reilly’s Hill, and was the site of a grand home named Montpelier. There’s even a tiny Mary Poppins connection…

The amble will also pass by the Twelfth Night Theatre, Cintra House, Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church, the house where aviatrix Lores Bonney lived, as well as historic Miegunyah House.

After enjoying the panoramic vistas, the group will return to the Newstead flats (once notable for railway sidings, heaps of coal and all sorts of industry) in order to enjoy a cuppa.

Your tour guide will be Gerard Benjamin, author of Reflections on New Farm and Homes with History. He is also the regular history columnist for My Village News.