The Precinct

The Abbotsford Convent site was established on part of the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people.

The former Convent of the Good Shepherd precinct is within a bend of the Yarra River just four kilometres from Melbourne's CBD. It covers over 5.6 hectares. There are ten buildings on the site scattered throughout mature gardens and grounds that were laid out last century.

The Convent and its surrounds are of national significance on account of their historic, landscape and architectural values. They are recorded on the Register of the National Estate, the Victorian Heritage Register and are classified by the National Trust Australia (Vic).

The precinct is unique as it is the last intact 19th Century rural landscape in Melbourne. It creates an 'island' surrounded by the Yarra River and indigenous bushland. It has an inseparable relationship with the pastures of the Collingwood Children's Farm, the Yarra River and the Capital City Bike Path (Main Yarra Trail) which are immediate to it. Across the river is Yarra Bend Park (also listed on the Register of the National Estate) and the Yarra Boulevard.

The rich historical associations of the convent precinct and its surroundings, the architectural importance of the buildings and the pioneering social role played by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd combine to make this an outstanding cultural resource.

The rare combination of heritage, history, culture and landscape is acknowledged by the combined listing of the Abbotsford Convent and the Collingwood Children's Farm as one site on the Registers of the National Estate and Heritage Victoria, and their classification by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria). The former convent precinct has an integral relationship with the Yarra River and the indigenous bushland of the adjacent Yarra Bend Park, also listed on the Register of the National Estate.