The suburb of Hawthorn is located 6 km away from Melbourne’s CBD and is under the local government of the City of Boroondara. The neighboring suburbs are Hawthorn East, Kooyong, Richmond, and Kew East.

The first settlers arrived in the area in the late 1830s, and the first municipal authority was established later in the 1850s. This suburb was originally part of the Boroondara which was an aboriginal word meaning a place of shade. The name Hawthorn was first used in 1840 as Hawthorne, and it is believed that the name came from the native shrubs, which looked like flowering Hawthorn, as commented by Charles La Trobe.

The suburb has good public facilities, presently having quite a number of offices in the Hawthorn Town Hall. There are also many organizations which have maintained their facilities within this suburb. Such facilities are the sports ground where residents play soccer, youth clubs, public barbecues, infant welfare centers, and churches for different denominations. The area is served by three main railway stations: Hawthorn, Auburn, and Glenferrie. It also has quite a number of trams with six routes.

Hawthorn has preserved its heritage with buildings constructed in the early 1850s. Such buildings include Invergowrie constructed in 1850, Governor Hotham Hotel constructed in 1855, Grace Park House constructed in 1858, and many more buildings followed.