‘Melting pot’: Radio host Sharnelle Vella’s go-to shopping village

ABC Melbourne Breakfast radio host and journalist Sharnelle Vella grew up in Glen Waverley in Melbourne’s south east; with a weekly trip to Kingsway – a high street filled with shopping and dining spots a regular go-to with her dad. 

“Every Saturday morning I’d go with dad to the local delicatessen and start our weekends there buying smallgoods and take it back home to eat with fresh bread for lunch,” says Sharnelle Vella. 

 “I think it might be the reason I eat so much salami these days. It was a ritual for delicious treats and being from a European household on my dad’s Maltese side, we’d eat fresh sandwiches on weekends.”  

The deli might be no longer, but Vella recalls it being a popular spot to frequent.   

“Kingsway changed as I grew up; but it had a very local family feel to it,” she says.  

“Our family knew the chemist Sammy who would always look out for us whenever we got sick,” she says. “It’s what really made it feel special. Having that rapport with the store owners was common when we were growing up.” 

Kingsway, Glen Waverley. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Kingsway has evolved since it first opened in 1967; the strip that began at the northern end of High Street, Glen Waverley and ran parallel to Springvale Road.   

“The south-east has always been a multicultural melting pot,” says Vella.  

“My mother is Sri Lankan, and many of her side of the family live around here. It’s where you can find great Sri Lankan food, Malaysian, Japanese and now can eat a good steak too. All this is reflective of the change in those living here, it’s thriving now,” she says. 

As a student at Glen Waverley Secondary College, Vella would go to Mocha Joe’s for a daily coffee. “It was my first experience drinking coffee, and sometimes I will stop and grab a coffee now and it takes me right back to my high school days,” she says.  

Hanging at the arcade that got knocked down to make way for the new station was a regular pitstop for students in the ’90s, too.  

Kingsway, Glen Waverley. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

“There was a small tuckshop there and I’d get everything that I no longer eat – potato cakes and dim sims. We used to hang here and eat and stay until our parents screamed for us to go home,” she says. 

A former Channel 7 TV journalist, Vella has settled into the groove of Melbourne radio demands, presenting with her colleague Bob Murphy on weekdays.   

“As a kid I always listened to the radio to and from school and my dad and he would say the stories you’re hearing on air will be on the TV news tonight,” reflects Vella.   

“I grew up in a home where we couldn’t talk when the evening news was on, and it was those conversations with my dad that piqued my interest in journalism,” she says.  

Stepping into the radio hosting role after comedian Sammy J [in which she was a segment guest], Vella says advice given from others was to ‘just be yourself.  

“I know that sounds cliché but you can’t pretend to be who you’re not on live radio, you’ll get found out,” she says. 

Sharnelle Vella’s memories of Kingsway, Glen Waverley

Local character

Because ‘Neighbours’ was filmed near Glen Waverley in a Nunawading Studio and in Vermont South, we used to see a lot of the cast come down the strip. We used to see Harold Bishop [actor Ian Smith] and Toadie [Ryan Moloney] and everyone walking around getting their lunch. We used to scream out and they’d ignore us. Characters like that were down the street all the time. As a teenager it was quite the thrill.  

Sharnelle Vella and her school friends used to see some of the cast of Neighbours, including Ryan Moloney and Ian Smith in Glen Waverley. Picture: Getty

Other local characters we knew were the guy who sold us train tickets and lollies at the station. The odd teacher walked up and down Kingsway in the ’90s, to make sure we weren’t hanging out too much and sent us home.   

A favourite no longer there

The Glen Waverley Arcade – it was where we went for fish and chips, to buy something cheap as students from the bric-a-brac store and a great bakery for a sweet treat. It’s all no longer around.

Stood the test of time

The arrival of Century City Walk was a big deal when it came along in the ’90s. This was a huge complex built at the back of Kingsway. Getting cinemas was a huge deal and I went on many dates at those cinemas.  

Where to go now

Culturally the south-east has evolved a lot since I was growing up. There were lots of Australian families when I was at school, but you see a lot of Sri Lankan and Chinese communities now. 

Elephant Corridor is a go-to for Vella. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Elephant Corridor is a great Sri Lankan restaurant and where you go to impress someone, while the abundance of noodle and dumpling stores bring authentic Asian food to the area. Highly recommend Dumpling Empire. And there’s good burgers here too: Yo’ My Goodness is where we go as well.