Jacinta Allan quietly returned to Melbourne. Now, we know why

A month after resigning as premier, Jacinta Allan lunched at Government House in a belated tete a tete with Governor Margaret Gardner.

We can only imagine the pair had a bit to discuss over the private lunch on August 28, given Gardner was overseas in July when Allan’s government imploded, forcing Allan to step down to make way for Ben Carroll to move into the top job.

In Gardner’s absence, Carroll was sworn in by Lieutenant-Governor James Angus.

The meeting with Allan, who was listed without fanfare as the member for Bendigo East, got a two-line mention in the governor’s program of engagements for August.

Gardner’s team provided further detail when contacted by CBD, saying it was customary to meet with an outgoing state premier to receive their resignation in person or as a farewell call.

“At the time of the premier’s resignation, the governor was on official travel in Northern America,” Gardner’s office said.

“On her return, the governor hosted the former premier on Friday, August 28, in this tradition. Only the governor and Ms Allan were present for this engagement.”

Star spotting in Seddon

He’s Hollywood hot property, but Oscar-nominated heartthrob Jacob Elordi seems to be hiding out in Melbourne’s west.

Drinkers at Seddon watering hole Mona Castle barely had their attention drawn away from the footy finals showdown between Sydney and Brisbane on Saturday night by the low-key star in the beer garden.

Elordi was under wraps in his trademark cap, sunnies and oversized jacket at a table near the pub’s distinctive exposed-brick wall.

The Australian actor is on a hot streak having starred alongside Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights and nabbed an Oscar nomination for his role in the recent Frankenstein film. He is rumoured to be in the running to take on the role of James Bond.

Pop culture platform Deuxmoi first reported Elordi’s westies pub night, with several people popping into the comments claiming to have seen him at the neighbourhood watering hole.

“He was sitting 10m from us while watching the Swans match,” wrote one.

“He walked past me when he left about 9.30pm,” posted another.

“Yep, confirmed we saw him at Mona Castle,” added a third.

A call to the pub appeared to confirm the unlikely sighting.

“Yes, he was here,” CBD was told.

Why Elordi – we are taking it on face value that it was him and not a great doppelganger – was at the Seddon pub, or in Melbourne, we have no idea. If you can shed any light, please let us know.

Elordi’s girlfriend, Kendall Jenner, one of the omnipresent Kardashian-Jenner clan, is currently on the other side of the world sending celebrity news sites into a tizz at the Venice Film Festival.

But Brisbane-born Elordi does know a bit about Melbourne.

He lived here for four years as a teenager, attended St Kevin’s College and won the young male racegoer division of Fashions on the Field during Melbourne Cup week back in 2012. The photo, complete with cheesy red sash, probably still haunts him.

Everybody needs good ravers

While the 200-odd ticket holders loved it loud, it turns out some of the residents in the area around the old Neighbours studio on the Nunawading-Forest Hill border weren’t that down with the dance party held at the site on Saturday night.

Ryan Moloney, who played Toadfish for almost 30 years on the now-defunct soap, was a guest DJ at the “Ramsay St Rave” masterminded by Melbourne entrepreneur Danny Grant. Moloney spun tracks in front of the iconic Erinsborough sign, which had been fished out of a skip bin.

Grant was in the headlines earlier this year when the 80 Proof booze brand, of which he is a partner, lost $1 million in stock when its warehouse was firebombed in Melbourne’s arson crime wave.

The thumping, after-dark doof doof at Saturday’s fever-dream event, which ticket holders got to by following a glow-stick trail through the back-lot trees, wasn’t to the liking of some locals. This would explain police dropping by to see what was going on.

“Police received several noise complaints regarding a party at a Hawthorn Road address in Forest Hill shortly before 7pm,” Victoria Police said. “Officers attended and determined the noise wasn’t excessive. The organiser advised the event was concluding at 9pm, which it did without any issue.”

Grant told CBD on Sunday that the police had been “super awesome” and the rave was now part of Neighbours history.

He came up with the idea for the event – more like a mini-rave as it went from only 6.30pm to 9pm – on the soon-to-be bulldozed backlot at the studio.

The party took place around the dilapidated facades of show landmarks such as Lassiters Hotel, Harold’s cafe, the Erinsborough cop shop and The Waterhole, which are still standing … just not for much longer.

The backlot is pegged for a housing development, but the red brick studio building at the site has a heritage overlay and will survive.

As the line from the show’s theme song goes, “Everybody needs good neighbours.”

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Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.AdvertisementAdvertisement