Queensland Figaro and Punch, cover 16 March 1889

The Hibernian Australian Catholic Benefit Society (HACBS) was a church-based support network. It was founded in 1868 by a group of Irish immigrants, including Mark Young. In 1857 Young arrived in the colony of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

from Ireland. He moved to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, where he worked in a variety of occupations, including keeping a store with his brother. In 1861 he joined a gold rush to

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, New Zealand, returning to Ballarat in 1862. Young ran the White Hart Hotel in Sturt Street and became very active in local affairs. He assisted other Irishmen in the foundation of the Ballarat Hibernian Benefit Society and later worked to achieve the amalgamation of that society with the Australian Catholic Benefit Society to form the Hibernian Australian Catholic Benefit Society. He was elected as its first president. The Society supported St Patrick's Day parades. In 1953 sixty of its branches marched in the Melbourne parade. The

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establish ...

holds extensive records of the H.A.C.B.S.

Significant buildings

A number of halls & offices constructed by the society remain and some are now heritage listed. The halls include: * Hibernian House, Surry Hills, New South Wales, built in 1924 * Hibernian Hall,

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, built in 1932 *

Storey Hall Storey Hall, located at 342–344 Swanston Street in Melbourne, Australia, is part of the RMIT City campus of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University). It consists of a grand meeting hall constructed in 1887, extended and r ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

* building built in 1917 with H.A.C.B.S, 87 Hill Street,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

References

Attribution

This Wikipedia article was originally based o
''"Hibernian Australian Catholic Benefit Society"''
by Deborah Tout-Smith and published by

Museum Victoria Museums Victoria is an organisation which operates three major state-owned museums in Melbourne, Victoria: the Melbourne Museum, the Immigration Museum and Scienceworks Museum. It also manages the Royal Exhibition Building and a storage facil ...

unde
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{Dead link, date=January 2020 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes license (accessed on 17 August 2016

on 17 August 2016). Friendly societies Christian organisations based in Australia 1868 establishments in Australia