Manchester Unity IOOF
As its name suggests, Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF) had its origins in Manchester, England. It was established in Melbourne in 1840 when Augustus Greeves, a member of the MUIOOF in England, migrated to Australia. On his arrival in Melbourne, Greeves teamed up with journalist Thomas Strode, to form the first lodge—The Australia Felix Lodge. The lodge received its Constitution on 7 December 1840 and this is recognised as the birth date of Manchester Unity in Victoria.
By the late nineteenth century, MU had an extensive network of lodges in metropolitan and country Victoria. A key feature of the governance of MU was the Annual Moveable Conference which met each year in a different centre and elected the organisation’s Directors for the coming year. Women were admitted to lodge membership in 1925. The Manchester Unity building at the corner of Collins and Swanston Streets in Melbourne was built between 1929 and 1932. It was the tallest building in Australia at the time and the first to have escalators. MU continued to provide sickness benefits and dispensary services to its members and extended its activities into other areas as the twentieth century progressed. In 1964 the Manchester Unity (Victoria) Permanent Building Society was established. In 1993 Manchester Unity (Victoria) merged with the Australian Natives Association to form Australian Unity.
Celebrating 170 years
In December 2010 Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF) celebrated 170 years since its formation on 7th December 1840. A commemorative meeting of the Australia Felix Lodge was held in the Federation Room at the Australian Unity head office in Melbourne where past and present members of the Fellowship enjoyed revisiting their history.
Past Grand Secretary Murray Campbell spoke at the lodge meeting and entertained his audience with friendly society anecdotes from the past 170 years - from the strict rules the Fellowship imposed on its members, to re-living various important meetings, Murray brought alive the memories of an important part of Australia’s history. Each participant at the celebration received a commemorative bookmark to mark the occasion.
During the 170 years the Fellowship has been in existence, MUIOOF has played an important part in Australian life with its focus on business, fraternal and charitable activities. MUIOOF built up the business by providing Australians with health and general insurance, investment products and aged care complexes. In 1993 it merged with The Australian Natives’ Association to create Australian Unity and the MUIOOF social and fraternal activities have continued to this day.
