“The centre of my universe”
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Register here for 1-7 people
Enquire about a Group Booking for 8-15 peopl
About the tours
Three years ago, two friends visited me from the US, and I took them on a wander through the Fitzroy I grew up in. No script, just stories from the old streets and shops near my childhood home. They enjoyed it, and that’s where the idea for the Roy Boy Fitzroy Walking Tours came from.
I’m thrilled to announce the first tour kicks off in November. Come along and experience the adventure for yourself.
Every street has a story. These are mine.
Roy Boy is my memoir about growing up in Fitzroy during the 1950s and 1960s; the child of migrant parents in Melbourne’s oldest and most storied suburb. To outsiders, Fitzroy wore an ugly label. For decades it was dismissed as a slum: overcrowded, worn at the edges, and forgotten by those who lived in more comfortable corners of the city. That reputation would cling to it right up until the 1970s, when gentrification began to reshape its streets and rewrite its story.
But that is not the Fitzroy of my memoir! And it is not the Fitzroy of this tour.
To a boy like myself, who grew up here, there was nothing broken about this place. There were back lanes to race through and shop owners who knew your name. There were schoolyard friendships and the smell of a dozen different kitchens drifting into the street. There were migrant families, Greek, Italian, and more, building new lives with quiet determination, turning a so-called slum into something rich, warm and entirely their own.
You are invited to step inside the pages of my memoir and walk the very streets where it all happened – to see Fitzroy not through the eyes of those who judged it from the outside, but through the eyes of a child who loved it from within.
This is not a tour of monuments and dates. It is a tour of memory, of what it felt like to grow up in a place that was, in every sense, the centre of my universe.
Walk the streets. Hear the stories. See Fitzroy through the eyes of a boy who loved it!
Upcoming Tour Dates
- Friday November 27th 2026, 10:30 am
- Sunday November 29th 2026, 2:00 pm
- Friday December 11th 2026, 10:30 am
- Sunday December 13th 2026, 2:00 pm
- Friday January 15th 2027, 10:30 am
- Saturday January 16th 2027, 2:00 pm
- Friday February 12th 2027, 10:30 am
- Sunday February 14th 2027, 2:00 pm
Feedback
‘Chris Bennett’s walking tour around the streets of Fitzroy, Melbourne is a delight, whether you have read his memoir, Roy Boy or not. As he leads you through the streets of Fitzroy, he shares his memories of growing up as a boy in 1950s and 1960s Australia, the child of immigrant parents who owned a fish and chip shop.
Many buildings and activities have changed in sixty years, but memories and feelings endure. Chris conveys such sentiments along with the history, the culture and the shenanigans he and his mates got up to. It’ a fun and most informative activity whether you’re a local or a tourist.’
Robyn Stratton-Berkessel – Positivity Strategist
DETAILS
Duration: 1.5 to 2 hours
Distance: 2km – leisurely walk
Area: The heart of Fitzroy
Maximum number of participants: 15
Fees: $50 per person (up to 7 people). Group bookings for 8-15 people $400 flat rate
Free cancellation: Full refund if cancelled up to 24 hours before tour starts (local time)
Start & End: The tour starts and ends on the corner of Kerr and Brunswick Streets – two blocks down from the intersection of Brunswick and Johnston Streets.
Public Transport: If you’re traveling from the city, catch the Route 11 tram in Collins Street.
Historic lane ways: The tour includes walking down some narrow uneven paved blue-stone cobbled lane ways so wear comfortable shoes or runners.
Book Now
Register here for 1-7 people
Enquire about a Group Booking for 8-15 people
Note:
An autographed copy of Roy Boy will be available for purchase during the tour for $30