Footscray

Welcome to the west. The vital community of Footscray is often reduced to lazy evaluations of cheap rent, cheap food and the impending doom of gentrification. Through a fairer and meaningful view, you will find an inclusive area where inner-city living is at its realest, as has been for a long time. In a short single block you can find a university, an Ethiopian restaurant, a new bar & gallery, an Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, an organic produce co-op and a DIY community space. A conflicting place, impossible to pin down in one paragraph. Footscray was built on the stolen traditional lands of the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung people of the Kulin nation.

All photography by: Gianna Rizzo

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Footscray Park

For the size of Footscray Park, it feels strangely overlooked and under-utilised. Good news for you, this means there’s swathes of empty space for rolling down the hill (good luck getting back up) or letting your dog freely run around in enormous circles. The long-established mix of natives, rare plants and palms will be a drawcard for plant nerds, while the Maribyrnong River path running the length of the park is perfect for a lazy weekend ride. It becomes all the more impressive when considering the land was petitioned for and saved by locals early in the 20th century, then landscaped by resident volunteers again. Thank you, ancestors! Photography by Gianna Rizzo.

Footscray Park
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Footscray Park
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Footscray Park
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Footscray Park
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Footscray Community Arts Centre

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