High Street Memories: Zan Rowe on Puckle Street in Melbourne’s Moonee Ponds

Australian TV and radio personality Zan Rowe takes a trip down memory lane on Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds, a suburban strip in Melbourne she remembers visiting as a child right through to her rite-of-passage teen years.  

From the white bread only bakeries of her youth, to the iconic sport store that locals still support, it stirs all the nostalgic moments for Rowe who recently moved back to Melbourne after a 10-year working stint in Sydney. 

Zan Rowe at the opening of Palace Cinemas Penny Lane last year with local MP Danny Pearson and Palace chief executive Benjamin Zeccola. Picture: Getty

Along with hosting her Double J hit podcast Bang On with colleague and friend Myf Warhurst (and selling out theatre venues around the country as they took the podcast to the stage for the first time), she’s about to unveil a third season of her TV show Take 5 with Zan Rowe, which features a great line-up of guests including Dannii Minogue, Neil Finn and Bernard Fanning to name a few. 

Rowe invites her guests to dig into their record collections so she can delve into the deeply personal stories behind their chosen tracks. 

She loves nothing more than strolling the ever-changing bustle of her local high street when she wants a hit of nostalgia.  

Earliest memories 

Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds was the High Street of our area growing up. It wasn’t super long, but had everything I needed as a kid in the inner suburbs.

A bookstore, Brashs, Sportsgirl, and a Fosseys. An arcade led through to the Moonee Ponds Market behind on one side, and the Safeway sat on the other. I remember popping 20 cent coins into the kiddy rides outside the Jewel Food Barn and having a go. SIMS Sports was an iconic shop in the middle of the street, I can still recall the smell of new leather while I dreamed of one day owning Reeboks.

Rowe can remember when Puckle Street had only a few shops, now it’s a bustling high street. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Every Friday night we’d go food shopping and, once I was old enough, Mum would let me go to Brashes and flick through the new releases that had just come in. I got fitted for my first bra by the old duck at Illusions Lingerie, and The Cactus nightclub sat on the corner and would be HQ in our final year of high school. That little strip of shops between Moonee Ponds train station and Mt Alexander Road raised me.  

What do you miss about it?

There was a great bakery in the middle of the street. It wasn’t fancy, most of the bread was white kind, but it was always fresh and delicious. I remember a Sunday treat after church would be a cream bun. A lightly sugared roll, whipped cream, and a blob of raspberry jam. I loved those fluffy things. It was like a country bakery, close to home. 

A high street staple 

You can’t go past SIMS Sports, which has been open since 1935. I don’t think they’ve updated the interior since I last shopped there in the 90’s either, and I love them for it. I love that they survive in the face of chain stores, malls, and developments. And locals wear SIMS SPORTS T-shirts with pride. A local icon. 

Sims sports store is a Puckle Street staple that has stood the test of time. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Favourite new-kid on the block 

I’ve just moved back to the inner northwest of Melbourne after many years in Sydney, and Puckle Street and its surrounding areas have completely changed, so there are heaps of new favourites in what is increasingly becoming a cool area (12 year old Zan would die).  

Luke’s Vietnamese turn out delicious Banh Mi’s all day, and the line down the street proves how good they are. We have a cinema now, and I love Palace Penny Lane so much. And Top Notch coffee on the corner near the tram stop makes the best coffee in the area – hands down – with delightful service to boot. 

Penny Lane Arcade has been transformed in recent years, and now includes more cafes and shops. Picture: realcommercial.com.au