Father’s Day at Fed Square: Our picks for gifts, dining and how to spend the day
Enjoy an exhibition and grab a bite to eat
Journey Among Men is a powerful new exhibition at The Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT), celebrating the enduring strength of First Peoples culture, creativity and connection across generations of First Peoples men.
The free exhibition is a great option for exploring as you share some quality time with dad or a father figure on Father’s Day.
Through carving, burning, incising and other cultural practices that bridge the old and the new, Journey Among Men celebrates the healing power of art, intergenerational knowledge sharing and the resilience of living culture.
- Installation view, Journey Among Men, 22 August until 22 November 2026 at the Koorie Heritage Trust, Birrarung Building, Fed Square, Narrm. Photo: Christian Capurro.
Once you’ve worked up an appetite walking around the exhibition, why not treat dad to a premium O’Connor’s Porterhouse steak at Taxi Kitchen? A small cut is $85, a large cut is $130 – perfect for sharing! A great choice for Father’s Day dining, with sweeping city views and a buzzing atmosphere for some quality time with family. Book your table here.
Alternatively, you could take dad to the Chocolate Buddha where he’ll be treated to a complimentary beverage when he orders a wafu steak! There’s a full Japanese menu on offer, priced on average $40-100 per person. Bookings are recommended.
- Father's Day lunch at Taxi Kitchen features their premium Connor's Porterhouse steak service with wasabi cream, carrot kosho and apple soy. $85–130.
Gifts ideas for dad
Socks and jocks were so last year. Here’s a round up of gifts for the papa, pops, dad, or father-figure in your life, grouped based on their interests.
For the music lover
- ACMI and RISING present, The Vinyl Factory Reverb: A Journey Into Sound. Photo: Michael Danischewski.
We reckon Tall Tales – the debut collaborative album a decade in the making by English record producer Mark Pritchard and songwriter Thom Yorke will be a hit with dad, especially this Tall Tales: Deluxe Edition – 2LP Vinyl, available at the ACMI Shop ($119).
But if your dad’s more a blues or 70s disco pop guy, never fear. The ACMI Shop has quite the range of vinyl on offer – from Bluey to Bjork, Rodney Graham Band to the Jaws soundtrack.
Got a bit more cash to splash? We reckon it’s hard to go past the Kreafunk – Aloomi Speaker & Lamp, $318, also available in the ACMI Shop. Stylish light and sound combo for dad by the Danish design duo Kreafunk, with 360-degree sound, dimmable light, candlelight function and 6 coloured light option… snazzy!
- Kreafunk – Aloomi Speaker & Lamp, $318, available in the ACMI Shop.
- Tall Tales: Deluxe Edition – 2LP Vinyl, $119, available at the ACMI Shop.
If you’re more into shared experiences, we’d recommend taking your music-loving dad or father figure along to Reverb: This is a journey into sound by The Vinyl Factory, on at ACMI until Sunday 4 October 2026. Reverb explores music’s influence on art, film and social movements, traversing hip hop and rap, house, techno, dancehall and Jamaican sound system culture.
- The Listening Room at Reverb: A Journey into Sound at ACMI is a great place to chill out and listen to records, with acoustically optimised sound. Photo: Eugene Hyland.
And the audiophile dad is bound to get a kick out of the Listening Room experience. Acoustically optimised for pristine sound, you and dad can chill out, select some vinyl to listen to, and while away some quality time together.
But we warned: it’s certain to have him planning an audio upgrade at home before long.
For the avid reader
- shopKHT is located in the Upper Square at Fed Square, stocking art, books, homewares and apparel, by First Peoples makers, artists and designers. Photo: Carmen Zammit.
shopKHT has some great First Nations classics, priced at $19.99, including Broken Dreams by Bill Dodd.
They also stock an extensive range of educational reads, like First Knowledges Innovation: Knowledge and Ingenuity, by Ian J McNiven and Lynette Russell, at $26.99.
- First Knowledges Innovation: Knowledge and Ingenuity, by Ian J McNiven and Lynette Russell, $26.99. Available at shopKHT.
This fascinating read explores some of the innovative practices of First Nations Australians, including original developments in trading, technology, land-management and sustainable philosophies that centre caring for Country, that enabled First Nations Australians to prosper as the oldest continuing living culture for more than 65,000 years.
For the dad who says he doesn’t need anything
- Large Pouch – Lena Nyadbi, Starry Night in Jimbirla Country, $34.95. Available from NGV design store at Fed Square.
- ‘Very much alive’ mug, $19.95, features detail from an artwork by artist Lyn Thorpe (Yorta Yorta, Wemba Wemba). Available from shopKHT.
Well, even someone who says they don’t need anything can find some joy in a thoughtful little gift.
We think he’ll love this Large Pouch – Lena Nyadbi, Starry Night in Jimbirla Country, $34.95 from NGV design store at Fed Square. This multipurpose beauty can help dad get organised, giving him a place to store all his cords and cables, bits and bobs – or make a very stylish new toiletries bag. Nice one, dad!
And no one can own too many mugs, it’s a scientific fact*. This ‘Very much alive’ mug, $19.95, from shopKHT is a surefire new dad-fave. It’s practical, useful, and featuring a beautiful design by Lyn Thorpe (Yorta Yorta, Wemba Wemba).
* We’re pretty sure.
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter
Sign up and never miss updates on articles, interviews and events.