🟠 Zen and the art of equine maintenance

Plus: Plans for a dedicated bus route along Canterbury Road remain stuck in limbo

Author

Matthew Sims
May 22, 2026

⏱️ The 138th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🚗 I have driven down Canterbury Road countless times. It is a very useful arterial connection to the Monash Freeway or Eastlink — or if you need to trek all the way into Camberwell or Hawthorn it’s an easy way that requires no pesky tolls.

🚌 However, while cars and trucks have received upgrades to the road over the years, bus users have been stuck with a fractured service, sometimes having to jump on a bus to a train, then back on a bus or walking in between bus routes.

⌚️ Let me know if you think a dedicated bus route along parts, or all, of Canterbury Road would be useful to your daily commute or your regular shopping trip by reaching out via [email protected]

Today we’re covering:

  • Calls to deliver a new route along Canterbury Road to connect key suburbs like Box Hill, Forest Hill and Ringwood; and

  • The Monbulk farmstay offering a chance to breathe in fresh air and escape the mental load.

"We don't produce anything, we just produce stillness for people."

Monbulk’s Bek Milikins is a breathwork instructor offering weekly sessions from her family’s farmstay.

WHAT’S COMING UP 🎟️

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

While Melbourne’s eastern suburbs are set to receive improved bus services in the latest State Budget, some say a dedicated Canterbury Road route should be prioritised.

The 2026/27 State Budget will fund some eastern bus improvements, including a Sunday service between The Pines and Nunawading Station and extra school-time services between Box Hill and Burwood via Surrey Hills.

But eastern Melbourne councils have been plotting a particular bus route – along Canterbury Road from Bayswater to Camberwell – for some time.

Federal infrastructure funding reviews and a focus on delivering large-scale infrastructure projects like the Suburban Rail Loop and the North East Link have halted any progress on the plans.

Whitehorse Council’s 2020 Box Hill strategy outlined aims to lobby with Boroondara and Maroondah councils for the route.

A 2010 State Government bus review also recommended a main route along Canterbury Road.

Canterbury Road is a 25.8-kilometre arterial strip linking Montrose to Camberwell, with more than 20 bus routes intersecting or running along it.

As Canterbury Road runs parallel to the Belgrave and Lilydale train lines, the bus network aims to connect commuters to nearby rail stations via key points along the road rather than having bus services which take the same journey as a train route.

However, outer eastern trips along Canterbury Road often require multiple changes and walks up to 45 minutes, including access to Ringwood or Box Hill.

For example, a Bayswater resident travelling to Brentford Square in Forest Hill may need three buses – 679, 742 and 765 – with walking between connections.

Former state transport planner and public transport advocate Peter Parker said parts of Canterbury Road were “a bit of a black hole in the network”, calling for a review into the potential for a connection between Ringwood and Box Hill.

"I think there’s a strong justification for it because a lot of the bus routes are very indirect,” Parker told the Eastern Melburnian. “When bus routes are upgraded, they tend to get more usage.”

Public Transport Users Association spokesperson Daniel Bowen said services should be improved before major redesigns.

“On weekends … many bus frequencies drop by half, blowing out wait times and making connections difficult,” Bowen told the Eastern Melburnian.

North-Eastern Metropolitan MP Nick McGowan said any dedicated route should focus on links between Box Hill, Mitcham and Ringwood.

“These centres are among Melbourne’s best patronage performers.” McGowan told the Eastern Melburnian.

A government review proposed a full bus route along Canterbury Road. The plan has been stuck for 16 years.

More than 20 bus routes stop along the major arterial road across the east, but there is still no way for someone to take a bus trip from Montrose to Camberwell.

🧘 EAST SIDE STORIES 🐴 

How a farmstay in Monbulk is helping people slow down

Monbulk’s Bek Milikins first discovered the calming power of nature 24 years ago while teaching scuba diving.

Now, she is helping others centre themselves with breathwork at her family’s farmstay: Nurture Creek.

Earlier this month, Milikins invited me along to try out a breathwork session.

I’ve tried a lot of breathing exercises and meditation in the past, but this was a lot more intensive – about an hour-and-a-half-long session.

Upon arriving at the farm, Milikins drove me and three other visitors to a newly-built yurt, where we were instructed to lie down on a yoga mat and get comfortable under a blanket.

Milikins then took us through a session, which weaved between quick and sharp breathing with slow and careful rhythms.

Breathwork refers to any breathing techniques which aim to alter one’s physical, mental or spiritual wellbeing.

References to breathwork can be found in texts from cultures thousands of years old, including “pranayama” in India or the Chinese art of Qijong.

Milikins and her husband Adam bought the property in 2019, and live there with their two daughters.

The family offer a range of experiences at the farm, including private equine sessions, breathwork and staying in a 1940s log cabin or a cottage.

"The air sort of feels like it actually energises you and invigorates you,” Milikins told the Eastern Melburnian. “You feel alive in the Hills."

Milikins said she discovered the true power of breathwork after falling off her horse in 2024, with her attributing the practice to the main driver behind her recovery.

“Lying in that hospital bed, wired up and frustrated, I had this massive realisation: I cannot function without my breath,” said Milikins. “I played my Spotify playlist of Australian birds on repeat, imagining myself outside breathing fresh air under the trees.”

From scuba diving to breathwork: How a farmstay in Monbulk is helping people slow down

"We don't produce anything, we just produce stillness for people."

🛞 The Eastern Melburnian is planning to go on the road! I’m planning an overnight trip somewhere in the east, with Warburton currently at the top of my list of potential places.

📍 If you’re a Warburton local with a story to tell or know of a character that deserves the spotlight, let me know. Otherwise, I’m keen to know the issues currently at the centre of local chinwags.

Cheers,

Matthew