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.[1]
In 1857 Young arrived in the colony of Victoria from Ireland. He moved to Ballarat, where he worked in a variety of occupations, including keeping a store with his brother. In 1861 he joined a gold rush to Otago, 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 holds extensive records of the H.A.C.B.S.[2]
A number of halls & offices constructed by the society remain and some are now heritage listed. The halls include:
This Wikipedia article was originally based on "Hibernian Australian Catholic Benefit Society" by Deborah Tout-Smith and published by Museum Victoria under CC-BY 4.0 license (accessed on 17 August 2016, https://web.archive.org/web/20160817023526/http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/articles/2036 on 17 August 2016).