Australian Club (Melbourne)

The Australian Club in Melbourne, Australia is a gentleman's club founded in 1878 by English settlers to provide accommodation, food and refreshments, and congenial surroundings for Melbourne and Victorian businessmen.

Australian club building (right) on the corner of William and Little Collins Street Melbourne

The Club is still active and its building at 110 William Street retains its original 19th-century architecture and furniture.

Architecture

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The building was designed by Lloyd Tayler in 1879 and erected in two stages in 1879 and 1886 in the Renaissance Revival style of a four storey Italianate palazzo.[1] Tayler himself was expelled from the club shortly afterward. The facade was doubled in width in 1886 by J Charlesworth in a matching symmetrical style.[1] The majority of the building's internal and external fabric is preserved and intact.[1] The portico, loggia, copper mansard roof and cupola were added in 1893 at the end of the land boom.[1]

Notable members

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The following notable persons are known to have been members:

References

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  1. ^ a b c d The Australian Club - Victorian Heritage Register
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p See Australian Dictionary of Biography under that head name
  3. ^ John Kennett (1981). Australian Dictionary of Biography: Fraser, Sir Colin (1875–1944). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
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