I live in Eltham, Melbourne now, but I kept my sculpture studio in Frankston. Frankston is about 50 minutes south of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, on land traditionally owned by the Boonwurrung people.
The town centre isn’t cute; it’s not like, “Oh, look at those beautiful old buildings.” It’s at the end of the metro line so there’s characters coming in from everywhere and it has a colourful energy. I love it for all those reasons. And it’s popping off right now; there are so many cool new places.
Frankston Tattoo (run by Danny Young, the drummer from my band, Eddy Current Suppression Ring) and Lucky’s Deli have helped to make the main strip feel more inclusive and welcoming.
Food
A lot of people moved back from Melbourne and wanted something different to what we grew up with. There’s a new joint called Humdinger, co-run by Clint Hyndman from [the Melbourne band] Something for Kate. It’s in an old Tudor-style pub with a warm and cosy vibe. If, like me, you don’t eat meat, I recommend the eggplant parmigiana.
Ceylon Girl’s is low-key but it’s the best Sri Lankan food in town. The vegetarian banquet is delicious.
Green spaces
Sweetwater Creek walking track feels like a snippet from a national park. We start up near Olivers Hill lookout. There are waterfalls, streams crossing beneath the boardwalks and loads of birds and native grasses.
You can canoe at Kananook Creek walking trail or just do the walk (my mum loves it). It’s accessible from Frankston beach, which is a great spot for a swim. The beach is off Gould Street and feels kind of private, but it’s accessible to the public. It’s on the bay so there are no big waves and there are little sandbanks you can kick back on. As a kid I spent many summers jumping off Frankston pier; it’s a real scene on a hot day. (Editor’s note: jumping and diving off the pier is now prohibited.)
The Frankston to Baxter trail is an asphalt bike path running along the V/Line train track. You can ride out and then train it back to Frankston on the Stony Point line. Greens Bush in Mornington Peninsula national park is a beautiful bush walk too. It’s about eight kilometres and it takes you to the back beach of Cape Schanck. You’ve gotta watch out for kangaroos bouncing past, as well as snakes and people doing marathon runs.
Nightlife
Back in the day, Frankston pubs were pretty brutal but that’s changed with new places like The Hop Shop. It has heaps of beers on tap and great Asian-leaning food.
Singing Bird Studio is a rehearsal space for bands that also does festivals and gigs. It’s in some old factories in the industrial area, pretty close to Kananook station. Eddy Current Suppression Ring recorded our last album there. The guy who runs it, Stu Anderson, wants people to feel welcome and the line-ups are getting people from Melbourne coming down, especially young crew because there’s not many all-ages shows for them in the city.
Inspiration
McClelland gallery has a sculpture park set in the bush. My parents taught pottery and sculpture there, so it was my playground as a kid. It’s always nice seeing the large recent sculpture acquisitions in the natural surroundings.
Danny Lacy was the director of Mornington Peninsula regional gallery for three years and brought new life and passion to it. He recently left but he established a brilliant team of young curators; the gallery started a great zine called prisms. The brilliant head curator, Dunja Rmandić, recently curated a large survey show of my work and was just made director. It shows local artists but also has big-name tours like the Archibald and Know My Name. It also has one of the best collections of works on paper in Australia.
I’ve got two little kids so I get deep into playground ratings these days. Ballam Park on Cranbourne Road is a good one – two playgrounds, a fairy garden and slides. The George Pentland botanic gardens is worth a visit.
Neighbourhood
Rosebud is about 30 minutes south, where the peninsula starts to wrap up around Port Phillip. There’s a Vietnamese place, BunMee Bay, tucked away next to the old Dimmeys department store – the vegan banh mis are yum.
I don’t drink coffee but my bandmate Shaun Gionis roasts coffee and he recommends Little Rebel in Dromana, in between Frankston and Rosebud. It’s run by good people and it’s not pretentious.
Rye is about 10 minutes further south. The ocean beach (back beach) is incredible and wild with beautiful rock pools; the front beach is calm and still on the bay. Hunter is a great vegan cafe – try the pesto scrambled tofu.
Stay
People say The Keith, a motel near Capel Sound beach, is really good (rates start from $169 a night for a queen room). Campgrounds on the beach at Shoreham (open September to May), Rye or Rosebud (open late October to April) are more my scene though, especially during the off season when it’s not so packed.
Brendan Huntley is an artist, sculptor, painter and lyricist who grew up in Frankston
