Social reform in Melbourne

About the event

Melbourne has been a crucible of social reform since the gold rush era of the 1850s, from the eight-hour movement and land reform struggles to later movements around unemployment, urban life and housing, working conditions and wages, planning and the environment, anti-poverty and community development, women's and First Nations rights, and multiculturalism and migrant justice. This one-day symposium explores social reform in Melbourne across its many dimensions, reflecting on how social and political change has been achieved in the past and what lessons this offers reformers today.

Registration: from 8:30am

Session 1 | 9:00am – 9:30am — Opening and Welcome

Session 2 | 9:30am – 11:00am — Colonial Foundations (1850–1900)

Explores early social reform movements and their continuing legacy in struggles for labour rights, fair wages, and gender justice.

Session 3 | 11:30am – 12:45pm — Then and Now (The Salvation Army and Social Reform)

Compares the Salvation Army's activities across two eras of social reform: the Federation era, when it began work at 69 Bourke Street, and the present, where it continues to serve 500 people a day from the same building.

Session 4 | 1:30pm – 3:15pm — Industrial Society and the Quality of Life

Examines how social reform movements responded to Melbourne's emergence as a mature industrial and commercial society in the twentieth century, focusing on movements addressing urban poverty and unemployment, and how this recast the city's image.