Welcome!

Newtown, Enmore and Erskineville each carry their own distinct identity - together, they form a precinct unlike anywhere else. A creative ecosystem with a high street’s density, a village’s scale, and a sense of heritage you can’t fake. It’s that combination that’s helped protect us from over development and allowed something rare to take root: identity that lasts.

But identity doesn’t come with a safety net. Rising rents, inflation, and a city-wide cost-of-living squeeze are making it harder for our local operators to hold their ground. The stories we like to tell - like the one about McDonald’s failing to take hold here - only stay true if we keep making deliberate choices to back our independents. Every day.

TOWNMAG is one of those choices. It’s a signal that what we do here matters. That local business is culture. That vibrancy isn’t just a buzzword,  it’s built, block by block, by people who show up and put everything they’ve got into their corner of
the street.

I know what it takes to hold a bold idea together. Co-founding Rising Sun Workshop - a communal DIY workshop and hatted restaurant held up by the community - was proof that impossible things can be made real, here. It’s that same belief
in place, people and potential that runs through this magazine.

Our committee and sub-committees have been extraordinary. No competition, just commitment  to each other’s wins and to the future of this district. The design and voice you see here, developed by Good Decisions in consultation with our members, has helped give form to what so many of us have felt for years: a brand that’s bold, local and unpretentious, just like the people who make this place work.

The Special Entertainment Precinct on Enmore Road, plans to expand the initiative across King Street and Erskineville Road,  along with our place in the 24-hour economy strategy, is long-overdue recognition. It puts weight behind what Newtown has always done best: creating space for culture and commerce to grow side by side.

TOWNMAG isn’t just a showcase. It’s a record of where we are now  and why it’s worth protecting. Inside, you’ll meet florists and brewers, dentists and designers, plant lovers and jewellers. All shaping this precinct with small, everyday acts of creativity.

Come visit, share your story and stay awhile.

Heleana Genaus
District Coordinator, Newtown Enmore Precinct
Co-founder, Rising Sun Workshop