FATHERS and families are invited to gather at Port Macquarie’s Town Green at 9am on Saturday, 5 September to mark 10 years since a simple suburban walk grew into a national movement.
Man With A Pram began in 2016, when new father Tom Docking was pushing a pram and wondered whether a simple walk could help fathers feel less alone.
At the time, Tom and his wife Kate had a two-year-old daughter and another baby on the way. Six weeks after the idea emerged, they launched the first grassroots walk involving others.
“It felt like throwing a birthday party and wondering if anyone would come,” Tom said. “I knew my dad and brothers would be there, but then families we had never met started appearing.
“That was when we understood the walk could be a doorway to something deeper – connection, honest conversation and support for dads and their families.”
For Kate, watching unfamiliar families arrive was the moment she realised how many others were experiencing the same isolation, anxiety and uncertainty they had encountered during early parenthood.
“Seeing those families turn up showed us that people genuinely wanted more connection and support,” Kate said. “Ten years later, the heart of Man With A Pram is still simple: create a welcoming place where fathers and families can show up, walk together and know they are not alone.”
Tom describes the transition into fatherhood as moving from ‘dude to dad’ — not through one dramatic transformation, but through small decisions to show up, seek connection and become more present with your family.
That first walk has grown into a national Father’s Day event series and community campaign, bringing families together through local walks and encouraging a more father-inclusive approach to pregnancy, birth and early parenting.
The Port Macquarie event will begin with a 9am group photo at Town Green before families walk along the breakwall towards Salty Crew and the Town Beach playground.
Families can find the latest information and register via the 2026 Man With A Pram walks page.
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