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Lonely Planet - Clayton
Large, leafy Clayton campus on Wellington Road, about 18km southeast of downtown Melbourne, is where the Monash University story began.
Destination overview
Eat & drink
Places to stay
Things to do
Work
It's hard to imagine that 150 years ago this was a small township and farming district, with the main industries being market gardens, fruit growing and an abattoir. One of the best things about this area of Melbourne is its ethnic diversity including Chinese, Italian, Greek, British, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Sri Lankan and Indian. This makes for a fascinating blend of cultures, not to mention great choice when it comes to dining out (see Places to Eat & Drink Off-Campus).
It's a brisk 2km walk to the nearest train station (Clayton; head west along Wellington Road, then turn left into Clayton Road), but there are plenty of buses that service the campus. From Clayton train station it's about 20 minutes into the city centre or you can head east to suburbs such as Springvale. Find out more about which trains connect to which buses at www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au
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Places to eat and drink (on-campus)
Campus Centre - Building 10 (opening hours shown are for during semester and are Monday to Friday unless otherwise noted) |
- Wellington's Bistro & Bar (tel 9905 5294; 10am-2pm)
- The Deli (tel 9905 3174; 10.30am-2.30pm)
- Pizzeria (tel 9905 8121; 11am-2.30pm)
- Chicken Bar (tel 9905 4173; 11am-2.30pm)
- CoffeeHQ (tel 9905 9030; 8am-7pm)
- Monash Meeting Point (tel 9905 5714; 8am-7pm)
- Juice Babe (tel 9543 6153; 8am-6pm)
- Noodle Box (tel 9905 8058; 9am-8pm)
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| Other spots around campus |
- Menzies Coffee Cart (tel 9905 8160; Menzies Building; 8.30am-3pm)
- HG (tel 9905 3166; under Hargraves Library; 8am-3pm)
- Cinque Lire (tel 9905 8728; Strip Building; 7am-10pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat)
- The Den (tel 9544 6611; under Sir John Monash Library; 7am-6pm)Fareplay Café (tel 9905 4108; Monash Sport Complex; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, to 5pm Sat-Sun)
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Places to eat and drink (off-campus)
With the mix of different, particularly Asian, nationalities in the area, you're spoilt for choice when it comes to dining out. |
- The Makan Place (tel 9548 8700; 1915 Dandenong Road, Clayton; mains around $7; 5pm-8.30pm Mon, noon-8.30pm Tue, Thu-Sat, noon-6pm Sun) is a no-frills restaurant dishing up authentic Singapore-Malay food (be sure to ask for your 5% student discount)
- Practically on the doorstep of Clayton train station, Halal Java Food (tel 9548 7022; 276 Clayton Road, Clayton; mains around $6; lunch & dinner Mon-Sat) is another great student option with a good selection of easy-on-the-pocket curries and vegetarian dishes. For $6 you can get a hearty Indonesian meal of two curries and rice
- Sit yourself down around one of the BBQ tables at Clayton Korean BBQ Restaurant (tel 9562 7580; Shop 3, 299 Clayton Road, Clayton; mains $13-14.50; noon-10pm Mon & Wed-Sat, 5.30pm-10pm Tues & Sun) if communal cooking appeals. On Saturdays between noon and 2pm there's a great-value BBQ buffet lunch for $9.50 per person
- The Vietnamese restaurant hub of Springvale, two train stations away, is definitely worth a visit. Try bustling Thanh Dat (tel 9540 3622; Shop 22, cnr Buckingham & Windsor Avenues, Springvale; mains $7-14; 9am-9pm Sun-Thu, to 9.30pm Fri-Sat) for great hot pots, sizzling dishes and a list of noodle and rice dishes as long as your arm
- Pizza, the staple diet of students, can be devoured at the ubiquitous La Porchetta (tel 9544 9970; 125 Carinish Road, Clayton; large pizzas from $7.20; lunch & dinner daily), and, handy to the Halls of Residence, Monash Pizza (tel 9560 9954; 404 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill; large pizzas from $7.50; lunch Thu-Fri, dinner daily)
- Downtown Oakleigh, about 4.5km west of campus, is worth checking out, if only for the coffee and truly delectable cakes at Nikos (tel 9569 9802; 25 Portman Street, Oakleigh; 8am-8pm Sun-Thu, to 9pm Fri-Sat), a Greek establishment that brings much life to Oakleigh's mall. Close by, Lecco Pizzeria (tel 9569 0661; 14 Atherton Road, Oakleigh; evening mains $7-12.50; breakfast, lunch & dinner Tue-Sun) is an atmospheric, excellent-value café with a lovely outlook onto Warrawee Park. Both of these cafés are handy to Oakleigh train station, two stops west of Clayton
- Notting Hill Hotel (tel 9544 3031; 260-262 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill; burgers from $4.40, mains $13-17; lunch & dinner daily), a Monash Clayton institution, is a popular spot for a pot and a generous parma (translation: a 285ml glass of beer and an artery-hardening chicken parmigiana). Most students opt for counter meals in the Uni Bar, outside of which there's a terrific beer garden where chooks and roosters roam amongst students letting their hair down
- Another popular drinking hole is Dooley's Irish Bar (at Monash Hotel; tel 9544 8109; 2077 Dandenong Road, Clayton; lunch & dinner daily), where you can also play pool, test your star trivia knowledge on Wednesday nights and catch live music performances
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Places to stay (on-campus)
Halls of Residence – There are five Halls of Residence: Deakin, Howitt, Farrer, Roberts and Richardson. These are located in the northeastern corner of the campus and cater for approximately 1000 students. Each room is furnished and bathrooms are shared between about six people. Bedding is provided and sheet and pillowcases are laundered weekly. Students provide their own towels. Each hall is co-ed and has its own facilities such as a common room, laundry, TV room, piano, billiard table, table-tennis table and computer facilities.
- Normanby House – Opposite the Halls of Residence and often referred to as the sixth Hall of Residence
- South-East Flats – 30 furnished flats available to Monash students. For more information on any of the above accommodation, go to: www.mrs.monash.edu.au
- Mannix College – This residential college is just across Wellington Road opposite the uni. It has room for 240 students. For more information see www.mannix.monash.edu or tel 9544 8895
Places to stay (off campus)
Short-term – Motels and B&Bs |
- Oakleigh Motel (tel 9544 3566; www.oakleighmotel.com.au; 1650 Dandenong Road, Oakleigh; singles/doubles $55/65)
- Monash Hotel Motel (tel 9544 8011; 2077 Dandenong Road, Clayton; room $69)
- Clayton Monash Motor Inn & Serviced Apartments (tel 9544 0911; www.claytonmonashmotorinn.com.au; 1790 Dandenong Road, Clayton; room from $108)
- Cameo House B&B (tel 9562 1212; 78 Westerfield Drive, Notting Hill; room per person $110, $110 incl breakfast)
- The Waverley International Hotel (tel 9560 3311; www.thewaverley.com; 301 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley; room from $123)
- Gateway on Monash (tel 9561 4455; www.gatewayonmonash.com.au; 630 Blackburn Road, Notting Hill; room from $198)
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| Long-term - Student boarding/renting |
- Contact the on-campus Housing Advisory Service (tel 9905 3156; 1st floor, Western Extension of Building 10; 9am-5pm Mon-Thu, to 4pm Fri) for off-campus housing information, including rental and shared housing opportunities. Also, take a look at Monash Residential Services' website (www.mrs.monash.edu/off-campus) for valuable off-campus accommodation information and tenancy advice
- Real estate agents in the area include: Clayton Real Estate (tel 9543 7088; 272 Clayton Road); Stockdale & Leggo (tel 9562 8000; 378 Clayton Road); and LJ Hooker (tel 9543 4100; 286 Clayton Road)
- For homestay options, contact Australia Asia Centre for Education Exchange (AACE) at Homestay Accommodation & Services (tel 8612 5560; http://aace.monashuni.com/has; email: has@aace.monashuni.com)
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In addition to great sporting options on-campus, there's an abundance of places to get physical and clear your study-addled head close by, including:
- Nottinghill Pinewood Tennis Club (tel 9560 1355; www.nhptc.com.au; 1-9 Baker Avenue, Glen Waverley)
- Clayton Swimming Pool & Fitness Centre (tel 9544 4055; Cooke Street, Clayton; 6am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8am-6pm Sat & Sun) incorporating gym, squash, yoga, karate and aerobics
- Oakleigh Public Golf Course (tel 9568 3307; Park Road, Oakleigh)
- Skate Park (Central Reserve, Springvale Road, Glen Waverley)
- Oakleigh Go-Kart Racing Club (tel 9762 0219; www.ogkrc.com.au; Deals Road, Clayton)
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Another sport of sorts, many would argue that shopping in Melbourne doesn't get better than at Chadstone Shopping Centre (tel 9563 3355; www.chadstoneshopping.com; 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone; 9am-5.30pm Mon-Wed, to 9pm Thu-Fri, to 5pm Sat, 10am-5pm Sun; bus Nos 802, 804 or 862). Affectionately known as 'Chaddy', this monolithic temple to fashion has literally hundreds of retail outlets, including some of the big guns like Myer and David Jones, as well as a cinema complex. Just be warned: it's a maze of a place and you really can get lost!
- The MGA (Monash Gallery of Art; tel 9562 1569; www.pgav.org.au/monash; 860 Ferntree Gully Road, Wheelers Hill; adult/concession $5/3; 10am-5pm Tue-Fri, noon-5pm Sat & Sun) is not only an exceptional photographic gallery and sculpture park, but also a great showcase of contemporary Australian architecture
- Just down the hill you'll find the south entrance to Jells Park (Parks Victoria tel 13 19 63; www.parkweb.vic.gov.au; bordered by Ferntree Gully, Jells & Waverley Roads, Wheelers Hill; admission free; open daily), a generous slice of bush in the middle of the city that's terrific for walking, cycling and communing with nature. Be sure to walk through to the nicer northern part of the park, where the smell of eucalyptus and BBQs really reminds you you're living in Australia
- Bordering Jells Park to the east is Chesterfield Farm (tel 9763 1588; Ferntree Gully Road, Scoresby; adult/concession $10/7.50; 10am-5pm daily), where you can get a feel for life on the land by joining in such activities as feeding kangaroos, hand-milking cows and watching sheep being shorn
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For further information and advice on finding part-time or casual work while you study (or full-time employment after you've graduated), take a look at Monash's Careers & Employment pages, which incorporates an online job-searching system: www.careers.monash.edu
| There are also a number of shopping centres close to Monash Clayton with many shops offering part-time or casual work for students, including: |
- Brandon Park Shopping Centre (www.brandonparksc.com.au; cnr Ferntree Gully & Springvale Roads, Wheelers Hill)
- Chadstone Shopping Centre (see Things to Do)
- The Glen Shopping Centre (Level 2, 235 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley)
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| You could also try asking at one of the many small factories in the area and at large stores such as: |
- Bunnings Warehouse (tel 9545 5822; www.bunnings.com.au; 232-255 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill)
- Officeworks (tel 9544 0766; www.officeworks.com.au; 359 Clayton Road, Clayton)
- Coles Supermarket (tel 9543 5393; www.coles.com.au; 2 Cooke Street, Clayton)
- David Jones (tel 9518 2999; The Glen Shopping Centre, Glen Waverley)
Also keep your eyes open for the 'Study, Work, Play' program, an initiative aimed at creating on-campus job opportunities for students.
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