Victorian Quaker Centre

A very brief history of our Meeting houses in Melbourne.

The first Friends Meeting House in Melbourne, in Russell Street, was built using money largely contributed by British and Irish Friends. The Orrong Road Meeting House was funded from the sale of 20 Russell Street. The current Victorian Friends’ Centre was purchased using proceeds of the sale of the Orrong Road property.

When Friends bought the Victorian Friends Centre, it was essentially two separate office premises, and it needed to be reconfigured in order to suit our needs. We removed partitions to give us larger spaces and we put in disabled access bathroom facilities, a lift, a kitchen, and staircases. Stage 2 of the renovations transformed the Meeting Space into an area which is bright, open and welcoming.

Our Journey

• 23 July 1843: First Meeting for Worship at Edward and Deborah Sayce’s house in Little Bourke Street.
• March 1860: The Friends Meeting House at 20 Russell Street opened.
• 1953: Melbourne Friends moved to Friends House, 631 Orrong Road Toorak.
• 1960s: Addition of four flats at the rear of the Orrong Road property.
• 2013: Sale of Friends House.
• June 2014: Remembrance and Thanksgiving weekend.
• 2014/2015: Temporary Accommodation in Toorak Road South Yarra.
• August 2015: Purchase of The Victorian Friends Centre, 484 William Street, West Melbourne.
• October 2015: The Building Committee begins work with the architects.
• July 2016: Stage 1 commenced (completed in March 2017).
• April 2019: Stage 2 commenced (completed in April 2020).

The Victorian Quaker Centre is at 484 Williams Street, West Melbourne, 3003.

The Meeting room and adjoining kitchen and social area at the Centre is available for Friends and other organisations/groups who appreciate our Testimonies.

The Centre booking calendar is available at this link and we suggest you check availability on this site: https://teamup.com/ks65c8308fb18457c4/

Please read the ‘Quaker Centre Hire.pdf’ document and contact Friends on rmvicbookings@quakersaustralia.info if you wish to discuss hiring the Quaker Centre.

Quakers Victoria Building Fund Appeal

A Building Fund has been launched to cover the costs of the renovations needed in the Victorian Quakers Centre (VQC).  To find out more about the renovations and how Friends can support the fund, please downland and read the BuildingFundFlyer.pdf.  it includes details of how to support the Fund.