Hamilton, Brisbane: Riverside Parks, Portside Wharf and Eat Street

Hamilton, Brisbane is a riverside suburb about 5.4 km north-east of the CBD, and its Northshore precinct is the easiest place in the city to combine a park, a playground, a good dinner and a CityCat ride. You can eat at Portside Wharf, graze through a night market of shipping-container kitchens and walk the river without needing a car.

Away from the water, Hamilton has some of Brisbane’s grandest old houses and a dining strip on Racecourse Road. This guide covers what to do, how to get there and where to park.

Northshore Hamilton: parks and the river

Northshore Hamilton is the riverfront at the eastern end of the suburb. The CityCat terminal here sits inside Northshore Riverside Park, which has a shaded pirate-themed playground, barbecue and picnic areas, an open lawn and walking and cycling paths along the river. It is a free outing, and one of the easiest ways to start a day.

Hercules Street Park, near Portside Wharf, is another playground stop for kids, according to Brisbane City Council.

Bluey’s World

Bluey’s World is a play experience at Northshore Pavilion that opened in November 2024. Brisbane City Council describes it as 4,000 square metres, about a 15-minute, mostly flat walk from Portside Wharf. Our Bluey’s World review covers what it is like inside.

Eating and drinking

Portside Wharf

Portside Wharf at 39 Hercules Street is the dining and shopping hub, with a Dendy cinema and an attached basement car park. Council names Sono, a modern Japanese restaurant with a teppanyaki bar overlooking the water, and Byblos, which does shareable banquet menus. Bubbleboy’s serves house smoothies. The Ballpark has baseball batting cages, pool tables, digital darts and sports screens.

The centre lists 10 am to 6 pm daily, but individual restaurants and the cinema keep their own hours, so check a venue before you go for dinner. On the second Saturday of each month the Love Me Again Market runs from 8 am to noon, with pre-loved and sustainable clothing, over 20 stalls and live music.

Eat Street Northshore

Eat Street Northshore is a night-time food and drink precinct at 221D MacArthur Avenue, open Friday and Saturday 4 pm to 10 pm and Sunday 4 pm to 9 pm. It has more than 1,400 free car parks on site. Council puts it about five minutes on foot from Bluey’s World. Its website does not list an entry price and says pricing varies, so check its Buy Tickets link before you go.

Racecourse Road

Racecourse Road runs between Kingsford Smith Drive and the Eagle Farm racecourse and is Hamilton’s dining, shopping and entertainment strip. Bretts Wharf CityCat stop is opposite it. Hamilton’s library and the heritage-listed Hamilton Town Hall are also on this road.

Old houses and history

The suburb is thought to be named after the Hamilton Hotel, the first hotel in the district. On Toorak Hill and Eldernell there are views to the CBD, and Hamilton has a run of heritage-listed houses: Toorak House on Annie Street, Lochiel and Marie Ville on Hillside Crescent, and El Nido and Greystaines on Kingsford Smith Drive. Public access to the houses is not listed, so treat them as a drive-by or a walk past.

Toorak House, at 28 Annie Street, is on the Queensland Heritage Register (listed 2 March 1994). It is a two-storey sandstone house built in 1864 for businessman James Dickson, with Gothic influences and a crenellated square tower. An Anglican girls’ school leased it from 1907 and moved out around 1910, as the house was considered too great a climb for day pupils.

The Northshore area was working port land until port operations moved downriver to Fisherman Islands in 1988, which is why the park has a Hamilton Port History Walk.

For more riverside history nearby, Newstead House is Brisbane’s oldest surviving home, and Eagle Farm has the racecourse, markets and a heritage park.

Planning your visit

• How long: half a day for the park, playground and lunch at Portside. Add an evening for Eat Street.
• Cost: parks and walks are free. Parking at Eat Street is free on site, and its entry price is on its ticket page. Portside has an attached basement car park run by Secure Parking.
• Best time: late afternoon for the park and a CityCat ride, then dinner on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night when Eat Street is open.
• What to bring: a hat and sunscreen for the park.
• Getting around: the Northshore parks, Portside and Eat Street are walkable from each other, but allow time for the walks between them.

Getting to Hamilton and parking

By car, Portside Wharf is about 7 km from the Brisbane CBD, about 15 minutes without traffic. Eat Street has free parking on site, and Portside Wharf has an attached basement car park run by Secure Parking, where rates are listed on its own page.

By ferry, council suggests a CityCat from the Eagle Street or Howard Smith Wharves terminals, and CityCats stop at both Bretts Wharf and Northshore Hamilton, the downstream end of the line, which is accessible and in Go card zone 1. Doomben railway station also serves the suburb. Plan the trip with the Translink Journey Planner. Details can change, so check before you go.

Nearby

• Northshore Riverside Park – playground, barbecue and the CityCat wharf.
• Portside Wharf – restaurants, cinema and parking by the river.
• Eat Street Northshore – the weekend night market.
• Eagle Farm – racecourse, Sunday markets and a heritage park.
• Newstead House – Brisbane’s oldest surviving home.

Browse more Brisbane days out, restaurants and playgrounds.

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