The Wallaby Club is a private walking club in

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 ...

Victoria (Australia) Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

, which was established in 1894. The club is based on ''good fellowship, talking and an appreciation of both the natural and built environments''. Membership is by invitation only and strictly limited. The Club motto is ''À Votre Santé'' o your health

Origin

The Wallaby Club was the idea of a Melbourne physician, Dr Louis Henry, who intended it to embody the Johnsonian definition of ''an assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions''. The club members include, professionals, artists, teachers, musicians, writers. The focus on walking was not for athleticism, which was anathema to the founder, ''...but as a means to outdoor enjoyment, conducive to health, conversation and good companionship.'' The Wallaby Club is considered among the first true walking clubs in Australia. The club keeps a ceremonial walking stick known as the ''

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comma ...

stick'' and believed to have been brought back from

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

. It is used as the Presidential mace, with bands for each of the presidents (now completely covering the stick).'The Wallaby Club’s treasured ANZAC Stick' Gallipoli 2015, Posted by Anne Macindoe on November 7th, 2012
/ref>

Notable members

Ian Clunies Ross Sir William Ian Clunies Ross Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (22 February 189920 June 1959) was an Australian veterinary scientist. He has been described as the 'architect' of Australia's scientific boom, for his stewardship of the Commo ...

Owen Dixon Sir Owen Dixon (28 April 1886 – 7 July 1972) was an Australian judge and diplomat who served as the sixth Chief Justice of Australia. A judge of the High Court for thirty-five years, Dixon was one of the leading jurists in the English-s ...

Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...

* Edmund Gill *

Brian Harper Brian David Harper (born October 16, 1959) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for teams in both the American and National Leagues during his 16-year career (-). He most recently served as the hitting coach of the D ...

Herbert Reah Harper Herbert Reah Harper (23 June 1871 – 27 July 1956) was a British born, Australian electrical engineer who played an important role in the development of first the Melbourne electric supply and then the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. ...

William Charles Kernot William Charles Kernot (16 June 1845 – 14 March 1909), was an Australian engineer, first professor of engineering at the University of Melbourne and president of the Royal Society of Victoria. Early life and family William Charles Kernot, elde ...

John Monash General Sir John Monash, (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the war and then, shortly after its outbreak, became co ...

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.wallabyclub.org.au/ 1894 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1894 Organisations based in Melbourne Gentlemen's clubs in Australia Clubs and societies in Victoria (Australia)