Queer Girl City Guide: Melbourne, Australia

I’ve been out in Melbourne since my early teens and I’ve danced, shopped, laughed, eaten, drank and smoked my way into my early 20s without ever losing my love for this city. Melbourne is safe and queer-friendly on the whole, with fantastic grungy areas to shop and eat scattered around the CBD. We’re a bit of a melting pot of British, European and Asian cultures and so our café culture is competitive which amps up the quality of coffee and food. Public transport can get you just about anywhere. I could never tell you everything that there is to do/see/adore because I still don’t know everything even after 23 years in one place.

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First and Most Importantly: Where to Dance

Melbourne queer venues and events are mostly mixed for lesbians, gays, trans* and their friends. We’re very attached to our lesbros here and any bar that tries to deny men entry quickly goes out of business. The key to a rich social life here is definitely to have the right facebook friends — all of the events and a few bars have their own pages that advertise when/where/what is on. Some of the best dance nights are not on regularly and they don’t always stay in the same bar so if you want to be where it’s happening, get on facebook!

There are several dance nights that are more or less once a month, on the north side of town or in the CBD.

Danceteria Party Every third Friday at Laundry (50 Johnston Street), this queer dance party packed to the hilt with hipsters in beanies and flannel shirts plays mostly RnB and Hip-hop.

Danceteria

Grouse Parté (various locations) Has a few different types of events and moves around a bit so definitely check their page. They’ve got more varied music ( think a mix of indie, retro and RnB) and thus different types of women for different tastes!

Lick (various locations) Lick prides themselves on unique events, so it’s different every time.

Pinkalicious (various locations) They hold varying events, but their Sundaylicious parties usually attract a slightly more mature, better-dressed crowd. Not to mention that their parties are always held at gorgeous venues. Check out their Facebook.

Pinkalicious

Tomboy The opposite of Sundaylicious. Tomboy is still finding its feet but is bound to improve.

Q: Is there an underage Dance Party?! A: Yes! Even the under-18s have a place to go and let it all hang out. Minus18 (various locations) has been operating for at least a decade now. I went as a miniature queerling and it’s still going strong with huge support from the community.

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Bars

Sircuit (103-105 Smith Street, Fitzroy) Free pool. Cheap drinks. Fab drag. Women are only allowed entry on Thursday and Sunday nights.

A Bar Called Barry (64 Smith Street, Fitzroy) They’ve got IQ Thursdays and queer dance night.

DnM Nightclub Bar (119 Commercial Road, Prahran) Open all week, DnMM does a packed Bounce RnB on a Saturday night. Other nights have food and themed shows.

Libation (302 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy) Looking for a laid-back Sunday evening drink? This is not it. I’m always surprised by how many people want to get their dance on, even on a Sunday.

Libation

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Now That You’re Danced Out…Other Events

ButchFemmeTrans a monthly catch-up at Hares and Hyenas (63 Johnston Street  Fitzroy) LGBTI book store.

Queer Melbourne Stitch’n’Bitch (various locations) a knitting group!

Lesbian Open House (681 Sydney Road, Brunswick) a lesbian discussion group on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month.

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Where To Eat and Shop

We don’t have a designated Gaybourhood in Melbourne, but with the obvious exception of 3am on the weekend (when it’s a bit dodgy to be on the streets alone regardless of your gender and sexual orientation), I’ve always felt safe walking the streets of Melbourne holding hands with a beautiful lady.

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Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Easily accessible with the 112 tram, there’s lots of shopping to be done on Brunswick Street. For something that you won’t find anywhere else in Melbourne check out Polyester Books (330 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy); you’ll see the sandwich-board with an aroused manga schoolgirl in bondage out front). Vegie bar (380 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy) has some of the most interesting vegetarian and vegan food around and Bimbos (Corner Brunswick Street & Rose Street, Fitzroy) is a seriously awesome pub with cheap pizza and a hipster vibe.

Bimbos

Sydney Road, Brunswick

For the one-and-only lesbian café in Melbourne you’ve got to jump on a no. 19 tram in the city and head up Sydney Road to Empire Café (295 Sydney Road, Brunswick). They do a mean hangover breakfast and are conveniently located across the road from the Retreat (280 Sydney Road, Brunswick), a laid-back pub with fake grass, a pool table and occasional live music. Also on Sydney Road is the Cornish Arms (163A Sydney Road, Brunswick), where monthly Grouse queer dance parties are sometimes held.

The Retreat

Smith Street, Collingwood

The 86 Tram will get you to Smith Street, a grungy street that’s home to A Bar Called Barry (64 Smith Street) and Sircuit (103 Smith Street) for all your drinking/dancing/pool needs and a variety of vegetarian restaurants, $2 shops, vintage stores and In.cube8r, a store that sells jewellery by up-and-coming designers. Wilde Yak (97 Smith Street) has vegan food and designer beers. It’s a short walk to the Peel, the only gay bar that refuses women entry. Avoid it at all costs!

Chapel Street, Windsor

Chapel Street will forever hold my heart as the most wonderful place to be young and fabulous in Melbourne.

Just off Chapel on Commercial Road is DnM Nightclub/Bar (119 Commercial Road), one of Melbourne’s few bars that is equally friendly for gays, lesbians and trans* people all week round.

Eating on Chapel includes Tusk (133 Chapel Street), Yellow Bird (122 Chapel Street), Tyranny of Distance (147 Union Street) and Buddah’s Belly (75A Chapel Street) for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all with vegetarian options and great coffee. Lucky Coq (Chapel Street & High Street) has cheap, delicious pizza in the evenings and afternoons. Borsch, Vodka and Tears (173 Chapel Street) has spectacular cocktails and hearty Russian food. Mad Mex (129 Chapel Street) has the best Melbourne has to offer in Mexican food.

Polyester

Many of the cafes as well as the bars have happy ‘hour’ from 4-8, such as Wonderland (right next to Windsor train station on the Sandringham line) which also has outdoor heaters and couches, and Holy Grail which has sneakily circumvented the smoking laws and basically allows you to smoke inside.

The next best things to eating and drinking are the Op Shops (thrift stores) which are scattered along the Windsor end of chapel street and have fantastic quality clothes, and make looking your best a very cheap prospect.

Important tip about Australian dining: Tipping is not a thing here. If you go somewhere really top-notch then you might tip 10%, but regular cafes and restaurants don’t expect you to tip. Drop some pocket change in the tip jar at the register if you’re feeling generous.

Empire Cafe

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Get fit! (or watch people doing it, and feel fitter)

The Australian Football League, or AFL, is locally known as Aussie Rules or ‘footy.’ Professionally, it is our national pastime and is sexist and gross but word on the street is that the Victorian Women’s Football League is where the hot fit ladies play. It’s a winter sport so for us that’s the middle of the year. To join a club with known out ladies, check out the St Kilda Sharks.

Victorian Women’s Football League

Roller Derby has taken off in Melbourne and the games were selling out so fast that they had to move the matches further out of the city to a bigger stadium. There are massive waiting lists to get onto teams and it’s virtually impossible to get a ticket unless you know a player. If you’re really keen, though, best of luck to you!

Other sports reported to be packed to the brim with queers:

Touch Football
Hockey (a cool article about equality in hockey)
Soccer (the website says ‘football’ but it is actually soccer)

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College! (or as we say down under, Uni!)

Rather than listing the numerous educational institutions that are accessible from the CBD by public transport (there are so many and most major universities have multiple campuses all over the state) I’ll give you UniLodge, the easiest way to find accommodation right next to the place you want to study. As far as cost, well, it’s affordable by Melbourne standards. (If you’re not a student check out Gumtree, our version of craigslist.)

All Unis that I’m aware of have a queer department of varying amazingness and life on campus could not be more queer friendly. Look to the union building or campus centre for info.

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Health

The Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (9663 2939) is a valuable telephone counseling, referral and information service for the LGBTI community. They also provide specific support for other minority groups within the community and for family and friends.

Drummond Street Services (177 Drummond Street, Carlton) is basically a mental health service with a primary focus is on youth and family relationships.

The Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (580 Swanston Street, Carlton) is the place to go for testing and treatment of STIs.

The Northside Clinic (370 St. Georges Road, Fitzroy) is a General Practice specifically focused on the health of the LGBTI community.

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Midsumma and Pride

Our Midsumma Pride celebration is not just about marching and partying, it’s a full-on arts and culture festival with theatre and visual arts at the centre, book-ended by Carnival on the 13th of January and Pride March on the 3rd of February. Carnival includes performers, stalls and grassy hills to picnic on and Pride March ends with a very chilled party by the bay.

So, now that you’ve danced, eaten, played, gotten healthy, bought books and clothes and hopefully met some rad people along the way, the last thing you need to know is that the joke Melbournians make about living in Melbourne is that our city has “four seasons in one day.” So grab a jumper (sweater) and don’t be surprised if you leave the house in the rain and come home sunburnt.

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Kerry

Kerry has written 1 article for us.

35 Comments

  1. Arrived in Melbourne and within the first few days I had unintentionally toured the Australian Open stadium with Tegan and Sara’s manager and bassist, then got invited to join an equal marriage rally by a girl with a really cute haircut. #1 Australian city, no question.

  2. This is great. I totally have this vague plan of going to Melbourne at some stage in the near future. I need to start devaguing it.

  3. I spent a week in Melbourne this July and this article would have been handy. Oh well, guess I’ll need to make another trip over in the summer!

    • totes. come for midsumma, stay for the queer film festival. feb/march the weather is completely awesome.

  4. This is FANTASTIC! Thanks bunches. I’m moving down undaaa at the beginning of next year and so far I have no exact plans after I land in Sydney. So, although I’ve heard that Melbourne will suit me right down to the Aussie-ground, your rainbow inspired article has certainly encouraged me to not only visit the city but consider unloading my over packed rucksack here. So thanks for that!

    • Melbournites will tell you we live in the better city, but test-drive both! They both have their charms.

  5. This is awesome, I kept on waiting for you guys to do Melbourne!

    It’s so cool that I live around 10 minutes away from a bunch of this stuff!

  6. Melbourne is awesome! I was there for a few days’ vacation and decided that i wanna live there someday. I feel like it’s the perfect city for me in the world…
    However.. some people have been basically discouraging me to migrate there because they say australians can be racist towards asians. Is this true? I dont think so though because there are a lot of Asians there as I’ve seen. But I am quite aware that a few days’ fun trip there is very different from living there permanently.. =)

    • Hey!
      I’m glad you loved Melbourne… I just needed to defend my city to this outrageous claim.
      There is racism everywhere. Same way there is homophobia everywhere. It’s seriously shit, but that’s just how it is.
      However: The Asian population of Melbourne is HUGE and the many many many Asian friends I have had over the years have never said anything about feeling discriminated against.
      I feel like what you were told is the equivalent of someone going on a holiday during summer and getting rained on and then saying to everyone “Don’t go there, it rains all the time”.
      Please come back! We’re amazing.

    • No way! Melbourne is defs not racist against asians, there are many asians living here! JOIN US!!

  7. Ah, but what about the Market! It’s such a great place to buy stereotypical lesbian clothes on the cheap. It’s loaded with tourists, but it’s cheap! Cheap! Cheap! (If you barter, and charm.)
    And the St Kilda Sharks are so very attractive. I wasn’t at all into footy until I saw them play.

  8. I’ve been waiting for the Melbourne guide! I’m an Adelaide girl, but Melbourne has my heart and I’m hoping to move there next year, so I’m really glad to have a few tips on places to check out.

  9. The moment when not only do you know about all of this, you’ve actually been to/done most of it. I feel very gay.

  10. Yay! I used to live there! Melbs is wonderful! Just needed to correct one thing “We don’t have a designated Gaybourhood in Melbourne” Technically I guess not, but.. Toorak. Toorak is so gay the rainbows have rainbow flags. More for boys though probably. Melbourne is the San Francisco of the southern hemisphere. SO many queers, it’s beautiful.

  11. I feel like a bad Melbourne homo right now as I live right near Sydney Rd and it’s only from reading this that I figured out why once every blue moon that street gets way, way gayer. It’s Grouse! Now I have no choice but to check it out.

    But generally yay Melbourne! Most liveable (and very gay) city.

  12. I love the lesbian scene in Melbourne. And although I now live in Glasgow, (Yet another great queer city) I can rate it up there with lots of other great queer cities in the world. Asian people shouldn’t be discouraged from living here, it is a lovely city. It’s only the boring and dull outer suburbs that one occasionally stumbles upon boring, dull and racist people. Melbourne is a queer friendly bubble with funky cafes and bars and awesome music. The queer neighbourhood is the five pointed star of Toorak, Armadale, St Kilda, Balaclava and Windsor. There you can find pretty much everything you need including BDSM leather goods if that’s your thing. Fitzroy and Brunswick are also pretty gay friendly. Happy travels.

  13. Nice guide but I’ll make one amendment – No Unilodge! They will crush your soul. Best way to live cheap is sharehousing in the inner north or out in Yarraville for a bit cheaper again.

  14. Pingback: Lesbian Gay Melbourne, Australia | Purple Roofs Gay Travel Blog

  15. By the way, I am visiting Melbourne for a couple of months and keen to make new queer friends so do get in touch if you want to hang out!

  16. Great article Kerry! Thanks for all the tips. My partner and I are looking to relocate to Melbourne from Canada this year. Any advice on cool/hip/queer friendly areas to look for renting? We’re in our late twenties.

    • Hi there, local Melbournian here. Fitzroy and Northcote is considered the cool/hipster and queer friendly area in Melbourne. Almost all the queer bars/cafes and clubs are on Brunswick Street or Smith Street (Smith street has a small footpath permanently painted rainbow to celebrate how queer the street is).

  17. Thank you for putting this together! I’m going to Melbourne on my first trip by myself this week, super excited. And I’m catching Hannah Gadsby at the MCIF!

    Fingers crossed I can check out some roller derby! And the empire cafe sounds awesome.

    Also someone should have stopped me buying another two flannel/checked shirts yesterday but I did not so ?

    So thank you thank you thank you!

    • Hey! I’m sorry to say this article badly needs an update…. it was written a long time ago and as is the transient nature of queer venues, many of those listed are closed/have moved/have different names. Such as empire – which is gone now, sadly.

      Kerry

  18. Visit ‘Vegas Hair’ Brunswick St We Will
    Word you Up on Events and places to Go :) !

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