OUR HISTORY

The Old Colonists’ Association of Victoria's first village was established in Rushall Park, North Fitzroy, after the Government gifted an acreage of land to the association.

ESTABLISHING A VIBRANT RETIREMENT COMMUNITY

The Old Colonists’ Association of Victoria was formed in 1869 by a group of prominent Melbourne leaders including George Selth Coppin to care for Victorian-based retired and poor actors before it became the place for ‘aged persons and deserving poor’.

The first Association Council included some well known identities of the time: Robert William Pohlman, David C. McArthur, Eleizer Motefiore, Thomas Moubray, Dr William Edward Barker, John Penney Bear, Richard Turnbull, John Cosgrave, John King, Peter Davis, William Lynch, Henry Hull, David Ogilvy, D. Sutherland, W. Campbell MLC, Price Williams, Alfred Wooley, John Thomas, as well as George Selth Coppin.

Coppin was the main instigator of the Association. His extraordinary talent at encouraging ‘established’ Colonists’ to fund the building of cottages for those in need laid the foundations of the village it is today, continuing to benefit people in need. Today, this concept of ‘need’ is broader, encompassing a variety of needs, including physical, financial, and social.