Events in the Yarra River Precinct can range from a surprisingly good busker on the Promenade through to major international acts at the Myer Music Bowl and Rod Laver Arena, but for most people the most memorable are usually those with a very personal flavour.
The combination of a riverside setting, city skyline views and high quality venues makes a personal occasion something out of the ordinary. Luckily there is a range of specialised venues in the precinct to suit all needs (and budgets). Here’s just a few as tempters.
The cathedral-like space of Metropolis Events on the top floor of Southgate not only accommodates hundreds of guests, but it also provides stunning views of Melbourne’s city skyline. The smaller event space in Metropolis features a spacious balcony, so guests can almost lean out to the river while enjoying their drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Your guests will never be short of a conversation topic when you hold an event on Eureka 89. The 360 degree views over Melbourne, down the bay and well into the Victorian countryside are the perfect accompaniment to its very high quality food and beverage.ZINC Fed Square has been a favourite event venue since Fed Square opened in 2002, but unlike the open, hard public areas of the square, ZINC is tucked away down by the riverside, with views through leafy elms to the water itself, passing rowers and the river boats. Outdoor decks put guests right among the trees and river activity. A number of different floor configurations means that it can accommodate from 150 to 1,000 people.
South Wharf is the precinct’s premium events hub, with a range of venues for a variety of functions, set within the heritage ambience of Melbourne’s former ship building and renovation wharves.
Aerial Events at 15 Dukes Walk, South Wharf is a very stylish, elevated venue capable of accommodating 60 to 900 guests, who enjoy 180 degree views from the Bolte Bridge and Docklands, to Southern Cross Station.
Cargo Hall is located in one of the renovated cargo sheds of South Wharf Promenade and while it offers all the trappings of a modern function centre, you feel that you are never too far from its atmospheric origins, right by the riverside. Its pillarless open space accommodates between 200 and 600 people.
It’s always showtime at South Wharf’s Showtime Events Centre - a space unparalleled for atmosphere. Step out of the venue with a drink and you’re looking right into the Melbourne skyline, over the sparkling waters of the Lower Yarra River. Beautiful wooden floorboards and wrought iron wall features pay tribute to its heritage. Catering from between 80- to 1,000 people, the outdoor venue space can even be incorporated to produce a precinct party for up to 5,500 guests.
That’s just a smattering of what this precinct has to offer people seeking a special event venue, but may we also suggest a very different way for the ‘special’ people to arrive at the venue of your choice. Cloud 09 is a magnificently recreated 1950s wooden speedboat available for hire and as a setting for photographs. Truly, you’ll feel like George and Amal Clooney turning up in this vessel.
