While everything around them was being swallowed up by the expanding city, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd preserved their 6.8-hectare slice of countryside at Abbotsford Convent (abbotsfordconvent.com.au; free) right up until 1975. It's now an arts, cultural and educational precinct, while the farmland has become the Collingwood Children’s Farm (farm.org.au; adult/child $20/10), where city kids can get acquainted with pigs, sheep, cows, goats and geese.
Tucked in a bend in the Yarra River, this impressive collection of heritage buildings (mainly dating from the 1880s to 1910s) is considered the most significant Catholic complex to ever have been built in Victoria. It once housed up to 1000 underprivileged women and children, along with 120 nuns and novices. After the convent closed, it became a university campus. Horrified at a proposal in 1997 to resell the site to a property developer, residents waged a campaign to save it.
The buildings now house more than 120 studios and shops, along with a gallery, a bakery and restaurants. Everyone's welcome to explore the gardens and roam the corridors. Regular events are held in the grounds, including the Regional Farmers Market on the second Saturday of the month (entry $2).
