Erinsborough

Blaze Outreach

Blaze Outreach (previously PirateNet and Off Air) is the home of a youth program run by Brad Willis (Kip Gamblin). The building was previously used as a radio station called PirateNet, which was first seen in April 2009, when Zeke Kinski (Matthew Werkmeister) was given a job by the station manager, Melissa Evans (Kaela Hilton). Zeke broadcast his show under the alias of "Lost Boy". The radio station is located in a warehouse by the local skate park. Zeke was later joined by Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher), but Karl was sacked when he breached the station's rules by playing his own record. Zeke's girlfriend, Sunny Lee (Hany Lee) also joined Zeke as "Found Girl". British singer Lily Allen made a guest appearance at the station and is interviewed by Zeke and Karl before performing her song, "22". In 2010, Zeke caused the station to receive unwanted attention when he was arrested. PirateNet shut down after its backers withdrew their support and their landlord wanted to start charging for use of the warehouse.

When Paul Robinson heard Zeke mention that the station had thousands of subscribers and would be a successful commercial station, he buys it and places his wife, Rebecca (Jane Hall), in charge. Paul later sold PirateNet to Erinsborough High, making it a community station. The local council shut the station down in 2011. A couple of years later, Robbo Slade (Aaron Jakubenko) squats in the station and uses it as a gambling den. It was then briefly resurrected with the help of Jack Lassiter (Alan Hopgood) and Paul Robinson. In 2014, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) was convinced to convert the former radio station into a bar by Dakota Davies (Sheree Murphy), who also appointed Paul's nephew Daniel (Tim Phillipps) manager. When Dakota left town, Paul allowed Daniel to stay on as manager and open the bar. Brad Willis takes over the lease for his Blaze Outreach youth program, and invites Father Jack Callahan (Andrew Morley) to help out.

Erinsborough High School

Erinsborough High School has been featured on screen since Neighbours began in 1985. It is a co-educational high school that was opened shortly after the Second World War. Many of the characters have attended or worked there over the years. The Blackburn English Language Centre in Burwood East, Victoria has previously been used for location and exterior shots. Kenneth Muir (Roger Boyce) was principal of the school when the series began and Erinsborough High was regularly seen until 1986, when Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan), Charlene Mitchell (Kylie Minogue), Mike Young (Guy Pearce) and Jane Harris (Annie Jones) graduated. The school was not seen again on screen until late 1988. The set features a corridor, a stairwell, an office and a classroom. Other areas of the school, including the playground and changing rooms, have been featured over the years. In 2010, the layout of the classroom was changed as was the school logo. Neighbours' oldest surviving prop is the school's emblem and motto, which is stuck on the doors leading from the car park to the studios. "Erinsborough High School: Sapienter Si Sincere" means wisdom and success.

Erinsborough High has faced the threat of closure three times, in 1991, 1997 and 2015, and the school has been merged with both West Waratah Tech and West Waratah High. Erinsborough High's uniform has also been through numerous changes, with the exception of the maroon jumper, which is currently still part of the uniform. Michael Williams (Sandy Winton) became principal in 2010, taking over from Daniel Fitzgerald. Michael stepped down from the position in 2012, allowing Priya Kapoor (Menik Gooneratne) to take over. Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne) returned to the position in 2013. Other teaching staff over the years has included Dorothy Burke (Maggie Dence), Libby Kennedy (Kym Valentine), Angus Henderson (Jonathan Wood), Pepper Steiger (Nicky Whelan) and Brad Willis (Kip Gamblin). In October 2015, a fire was started in the school trapping several characters, including Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou), Lauren Turner (Kate Kendall), Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) and Sheila Canning (Colette Mann), inside.

In May 2011, Erinsborough High came fourth out of four in a poll run by Inside Soap to find reader's favourite fictional school, which they would most like to attend. Erinsborough High received 16% of the vote. Of the school, the Daily Mail's Jaci Stephen commented "Erinsborough High has never exactly been the educational epicentre of Australia".

Erinsborough Hospital

Erinsborough Hospital is the local accident and emergency hospital. It has seen many of the Ramsay Street residents pass through its doors over the years. They have been treated for a variety of illnesses including smoke inhalation, burns, heart attacks and kidney disease. Many of the characters have been born or died at the hospital. Four Melbourne hospitals have been used for filming; Austin Hospital, Dandenong Hospital, Maroondah Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. The exterior of the hospital is the entrance to the Neighbours production office in Nunawading. It has also doubled as a law firm reception and a funeral home. Alan Fletcher, who plays Doctor Karl Kennedy, said it was confusing for visitors and couriers when the studio reception was used for filming hospital scenes. In 2010, the hospital underwent a revamp and a new look reception area was added.

A number of regular and recurring characters have worked at the hospital over the years, including Pam Willis (Sue Jones), Dee Bliss (Madeleine West), Darcy Tyler (Mark Raffety), Nicola West (Imogen Bailey), and Doug Harris (Mahesh Jadu). 2011 saw the introductions of several hospital personnel; Doctor Rhys Lawson (Ben Barber), surgeons Martin Chambers (John Wood) and Jessica Girdwood (Glenda Linscott), and nurse Aidan Foster (Bobby Morley). Graduate nurse Georgia Brooks (Saskia Hampele) began working at the hospital in 2012.

Fitzgerald Motors

Fitzgerald Motors (previously Carpenter's Mechanics) is the local garage, where many of the characters take their cars to be serviced. The garage was first owned by Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver), who bought it in 1997, after deciding to expand his business empire. Lou offers mechanic Ben Atkins (Brett Cousins) a chance to go into partnership with him, but Philip Martin (Ian Rawlings) decides to buy a two percent share of the garage to stop the arguments. After Ben leaves for Sydney, Lou hires mechanic Drew Kirk (Dan Paris). Drew later buys into the garage and is a partner until his death in 2002. Stephanie Scully (Carla Bonner) takes over the business on behalf of Drew's widow, Libby Kennedy (Kym Valentine). When she becomes pregnant, Steph gives Christine Rodd (Trudy Hellier) the manager's job. Janae (Eliza Taylor) and Janelle Timmins (Nell Feeney) then buy the garage from Lou and Libby.

After Janae leaves Erinsborough, the garage is taken over by Lucas Fitzgerald (Scott Major). Elle Robinson (Pippa Black) later buys the garage and Steph returns to work there in 2009. Following Steph's departure, Lucas takes on Chris Pappas (James Mason) as an apprentice. Lucas purchases the garage from Elle and renames it Fitzgerald Motors. He sells the business to Danni Ferguson's (Laura McIntosh) mother in 2013, and she employs Mark Brennan (Scott McGregor). His younger brother Tyler (Travis Burns) comes to Erinsborough in 2015 to work at the garage, and shortly after Mark quits to rejoin the police force. Local businessman Dennis Dimato (David Serafin) later purchases the garage. Lucas later purchases the garage back, promotes Tyler to manager and briefly employs Steph upon her return to Erinsborough.

Harold's Cafe

Harold's Cafe (previously Daphne's, The Hungry Bite, The Holy Roll, The Coffee Shop, The General Store and Harold's Store) is a cafe and shop. It previously offered dry cleaning and postal services. During 2004 the café was burned down in a fire that also destroyed other businesses in the Lassiter's Complex. When it was rebuilt, a Post Office was included. The production staff worked with the Australia Post to create the store, which is an official registered Post Office. Throughout its time the cafe has had many owners including Madge (Anne Charleston) and Harold Bishop (Ian Smith), Izzy Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte), Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver) and Marco Silvani (Jesse Rosenfeld). Following Marco's death and her decision to leave for Portugal, his wife, Carmella Cammeniti (Natalie Blair), renamed the cafe yet again to Harold's Store. Lyn Scully (Janet Andrewartha) purchases the store from Elle Robinson (Pippa Black) after learning that it is going to be sold to a corporate coffee chain. Lauren Turner (Kate Kendall) and her husband, Matt (Josef Brown) buy it from Lyn in 2013. In 2015, the store is renovated and renamed Harold's Cafe. Along with Lauren, Margie Chan (Kathy Vongsanga), Paige Smith (Olympia Valance) and Xanthe Canning (Lily Van der Meer) work at the store.

In 2009, a reporter for the Daily Mail commented "From Daphne's to Harold's Store, the coffee shop at Lassiter's complex has had many incarnations, but it's always been locally owned. Surely Elle wouldn't stoop so low as to sell it to a chain to help ease her finances? Cue an Erinsborough community protest."

Lassiter's complex

The Lassiter's complex is a short walk from Ramsay Street and encompasses many of the local amenities, including a hotel, bar, law firm, courtyard and the Lassiter's Lake. Following the cancellation of Holiday Island, the sets were redesigned and turned into the Lassiter's complex and the swimming pool was turned into a lake. The complex was not featured on-screen until 1986, when Daphne Clarke's grandfather, Harry Henderson (Johnny Lockwood), bought her the Coffee Shop. When characters began visiting the cafe, they also started to get to know the rest of the complex. Rosemary Daniels thought the complex would make a good base for the Daniels Corporation and she moved the company into an office there. A hotel, pub and the lake also began appearing. This meant that there was enough different locations for characters to come into contact with each other. There are also enough jobs within the complex to ensure that characters would make each other's acquaintance.

At the end of the 2004 season, Lassiter's was burnt down by Paul Robinson. Paul also murdered villain, Gus Cleary in the pub. When the stunt team set fire to the set, many of the trees surrounding the area also caught alight. The Herald Sun placed the Lassiter's fire at number five on their list of Neighbours top ten moments. Of the storyline, the paper said "Lassiters, the iconic hub of cafes, pubs and other businesses was for years where everyone met in Erinsborough, including the very famous pub run by Lou Carpenter. But at the end of 2004 producers wanted a massive cliff hanger, so they decided that the whole place would burn down. It was the part of the last major revamp for the soap." Sarah Megginson of SheKnows also added the fire to her list of most memorable Neighbours moments. David Walliams referenced the fire in his 2008 book, The Boy in the Dress. In early 2010, bulldozers moved into the Lassiter's complex lot to the begin work on revamping the sets ahead of the show's 25th anniversary in March 2011. The lake was drained and a new walkway was constructed. There were also some new additions, including a new Erinsborough News office.

Lassiter's Hotel

Lassiter's Hotel is a local hotel in Erinsborough. It is part of a worldwide chain of hotels in places like Darwin, London, Montana and New York. The hotel's grounds form a courtyard area, known as the Lassiter's Complex, where several independently managed businesses are located. Lassiter's used to have a shopping arcade, which had a bookstore, chemist, clothes shop and gift shop inside. Characters often stay at the hotel and are seen socialising and working there. Lassiter's was originally owned by Jack Lassiter (Alan Hopgood) when it first began appearing in Neighbours. On behalf of The Daniels Corporation, Rosemary Daniels (Joy Chambers) purchased the hotel in 1987. To this day, the Corporation holds a majority share interest in Lassiter's. Paul Robinson took over running the hotel from his aunt in 1989. The hotel and complex were sold in 1994 to Cheryl Stark (Caroline Gillmer). She placed Gaby Willis (Rachel Blakely) in charge of the hotel. Cheryl later sold the complex back to Rosemary. In 2002, the Lambert family took over Lassiter's. Chloe Lambert (Stephanie Daniel) became the manager of the hotel, with her son, Marc Lambert (David Karakai), as assistant manager.

Following the fire, which burnt down the complex, in 2004, Paul Robinson resumed ownership of the hotel. His daughter, Elle (Pippa Black), later cons him out of his shares in the hotel, but Paul manages to get them back. Paul asks The Daniels Corporation for money to make refurbishments to the hotel and the surrounding area and in early 2010, the hotel was one of the many sets, which underwent a makeover. A new black, orange and silver logo was introduced and the courtyard updated. A new mezzanine level, which contains a dining area, was added to the hotel. The mezzanine later became the focal point of Neighbours' 6000th episode and viewers saw Paul pushed from it by an unknown assailant. Real-life applications for jobs at Lassiter's have been sent in from members of the public, including one woman who sent in a full CV applying for a job on reception. In 2013, the top floors of Lassiter's are turned into The Eclipse Apartments and Paul moves in to the penthouse apartment. That same year, Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou) becomes the new manager of the hotel. In 2014, Paul's nephew Daniel Robinson (Tim Phillipps) moves into the penthouse to live with him. In early April 2016, an explosion rips through the hotel, destroying it. It causes the deaths of Josh and Doug Willis, and Paul is framed for it.

Ramsay Street

Ramsay Street is the residential cul-de-sac where many of the characters of Neighbours have lived over the years. The street was named after Jack Ramsay, the grandfather of original character Max Ramsay (Francis Bell). The street has only featured six houses on-screen, and the numbers of the houses go from 22 to 32. Ramsay Street is in fact the end of a long road and the rest of the street's numbers are on the other side of a main road that bisects it. Pin Oak Court, in Vermont South, is the real life cul-de-sac that doubles for Ramsay Street. Neighbours has been filmed in Pin Oak Court since the series began in 1985 and it has since become popular with tourists.

Rebecchi Law

Rebecchi Law (previously Daniels Corporation and Home James Office, Erinsborough Medical Centre, Tim Collins and Associates, Rebecchi Cammeniti, Rebecchi Legal and Rebecchi Kapoor Law) was originally a florist shop when the Lassiter's complex first opened. It is later turned into an office for the Daniels Corporation when they begin managing the hotel. Helen Daniels' (Anne Haddy) chauffeur business Home James also starts operating from there. The office is stopped being used by Lassiter's in 1994. Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) takes it over and turns it into his medical practice. Four years later physiotherapist Ruth Wilkinson (Ailsa Piper) takes over the over half of the office for her business. Karl leaves in 2006 and his office is taken over by Rosetta Cammeniti (Natalie Saleeba) and then by Charlotte Stone (Rachel Gordon). It then becomes part of the law practice, Tim Collins and Associates.

The company had taken over half of the office in 2004, with lawyer Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) moving in. Rosetta regains the office from Charlotte and she and Toadie remain there until they both quit the firm. They later set up their own company and buy the premises. Rebecca Napier (Jane Hall) and Samantha Fitzgerald (Simone Buchanan) are also employed there. The firm is renamed Rebecchi Legal in 2008 and Toadfish remains the only employee, until 2011 when he leaves to join the Simmons and Colbert law firm. Lawyer and local councillor, Ajay Kapoor (Sachin Joab), later enquirers about renting the office from Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis). In 2013, Ajay and Toadie set up a law firm together called Rebecchi Kapoor Law. When Ajay leaves Australia to start afresh in London, Toadie runs the offices on his own, eventually hiring Naomi Canning (Morgana O'Reilly) as his executive assistant.

The Waterhole

The Waterhole (previously Chez Chez, Lou's Place, Scarlet Bar and Charlie's) is a bar and restaurant that has always been a focal point of Neighbours. It has provided many characters with employment. From 1985 to 1994, The Waterhole was the official Lassiter's Hotel bar and was run by Madge Bishop (Anne Charleston). A gas leak in the basement caused an explosion, which destroyed the pub and injured Stephen Gottlieb (Lochie Daddo). The Waterhole was rebuilt and purchased by Cheryl Stark (Caroline Gillmer). Cheryl renamed the pub Chez Chez and it became an independent business. Lou Carpenter inherited the pub after Cheryl died and he called it Lou's Place. Max Hoyland (Stephen Lovatt) bought into the business in 2002. Two years later Lou's Place was set on fire and burnt to the ground by Paul Robinson. A new bar was then built on the site. Max purchased the pub with his sister Izzy (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) and they turned it into a "groovy wine bar" called Scarlet Bar. Of the new look TV Week said "the vibe is a good deal more hip here than the previous and very traditional watering hole, Lou's Place." An office was also built into the bar.

Izzy later sold her half of the bar to Max and he gave it to Stephanie Scully. Steph revamped the bar in 2007 and named it Charlie's after her son. In late 2008, the bar was brought by Elle Robinson (Pippa Black) and run by Rebecca Robinson (Jane Hall). Many singers and bands performed guest appearances in the bar, including Kate Ceberano and Ben Lee. In 2012, it was revealed on screen that Celeste McIntyre (Cassandra Magrath) was managing Charlie's. Celeste hires Kate Ramsay (Ashleigh Brewer) to replace her, while Natasha Williams (Valentina Novakovic) is employed as a barmaid and waitress. A few months later, Paul and Andrew Robinson (Jordan Smith) become the new co-owners of the bar. In 2013, Sheila Canning (Colette Mann) is hired as a barmaid and later becomes the new manager. In 2014, the set underwent a makeover and the bar reverted to its first name, The Waterhole. The bar has "an industrial ambiance using natural timber and patina'd steel". A garden courtyard provides extra light. The revamp was unveiled on-screen later that year. A statement from Neighbours said the name was "a nod to Neighbours' long and colourful history while ensuring the series maintains a contemporary feel."

A writer for Inside Soap thought Chez Chez was an inappropriate name for a pub, saying "If Cheryl Stark's Chez Chez had been a fabulous bar in Paris, then perhaps the dodgy French pun would have worked. But considering it was a run-down pub in Melbourne run by the most gaudily dressed woman in the Southern Hemisphere, it didn't really come off, did it?" On 10 June 2003, Joe Roberts of the Daily Mirror reported soap fans had voted Lou's Place one of the best television pubs of all time, while Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) was voted the best television pub goer. In 2008, the pub was named one of the top ten television pubs and bars by Anna Pickard of The Guardian. She said "Although the Coffee House in Neighbours was arguably more important to the residents of Ramsay Street, Lou's gets included by dint of having the most rubbish name for a TV pub ever. Although it's not called that any more. It's probably called something immeasurably better now like The Place That Serves Beer. In September 2014, a Soap World columnist praised the name change, saying "the rebranding of the pub with the iconic 'Waterhole' moniker has been a great move."

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Former locations

Surrounding suburbs