Stop C1: Princess Mary Club
Click on the above to listen to audio of the Princess Mary Club
A stepping stone to independence
The Wesley Central Mission opened the Princess Mary Club in 1926. Designed by architect Alec Eggleston, it provided a safe haven for girls studying or working in the city. The Mission’s concerns for young women reflected significant social change
in the interwar period. While its role changed over time, the Princess Mary Club operated until 1988. It was a home and a stepping stone for an estimated 15,000 young women over its 62-year history.
Sanctuary and opportunity
In addition to its rescue work, the Wesley Mission developed initiatives to provide protection and support for women who came to the city for work or education. In 1923, the Wesley Central Mission purchased land adjacent to the church
and in 1926 opened a four-storey hostel. Construction was made possible by donations from the Wesley community, including the Nicholas family. The official opening was on 17 November 1926. It was named the Princess Mary Club
and accommodated around 120 women at a time.
A stepping stone from the family home
The hostel was provided out of fears young women from country Victoria might fall prey to harmful and undesirable influences of the city. Prior to the Club’s opening, young girls and women had boarded at the Manse. It became a safe and dependable base, a stepping stone from the family home to adult life.
Supporting new-found independence
With accommodation and meals provided at the Princess Mary Club, numerous young women were able to gain a level of independence through education and work. Its closure in the late twentieth century reflected the gains in opportunities for women that had
been made over the course of the century. This also mirrored changes in Victorian society more broadly; women no longer needed institutional protection when arriving in the city and the city was no longer as distant from the country. The Princess
Mary Club officially closed on 27 January 1990 and remained vacant until it was demolished in 2017.
Personal recollections
In 2017, Lovell Chen historian Libby Blamey interviewed women who lived at the Princess Mary Club and recalled their experiences living in the city.
Image References
- Princess Mary Club, main entry. Source: The Challenge of the City, 1993
- The dining room, Princess Mary Club, 1949. Source: Central Mission Annual Report, 1949
- The site prior to the construction of the PMC, 1922. Source: Central Mission Annual Report, 1922
- Group gathered around the piano for a singalong, 1947. Source: Central Mission Annual Report, 1947
- The original lounge at the front of the building, first floor, 1926. Source: Central Mission Annual Report, 1926-27
- A simply furnished bedroom in the Princess Mary Club, 1929. Source: Report of the Central Mission, 1929-30
