The Workers History
Our Story
A Journey Through Time
The history of the City of Mildura and the Mildura Working Man’s Club spans over 125 years and we can reflect on one of Australia’s amazing colonisation stories. The history of our Club is one of the few in the world which runs parallel with its own town’s history.
Founding of the Club
The Mildura Working Man’s Club (MWMC) was established in August 1894 by 59 members. MWMC was created to serve the district’s labourers, particularly those working on irrigation channels and land clearing, who were often excluded from other local venues. The founding motto: “As long as you worked, you could join to be a member.”
Founding Members
The founding members purchased a residential property on the corner of Madden Avenue and Eighth Street and converted it into the Club’s first premises. Some of those keen to see the club established were Messrs. J.H.A Muller, H.J Hansen, T.R Benham, J. Cox, H.C. Howard, J.A Hogg, C.W.K Kemp, J.J. Keil, G. Leonard, F. Leonard, T.A. Allen, J. Pullar, T. Player, E.C. Reed, H.J. Smith, J.S. Smith, W. Valentine, R. Wallace, G. Wittman, J. Lowrie, J.W. Green, W. Patterson, W, Perriton, Mr. Lambert and H.J Nash
Liquor License Granted
The Club was granted its liquor license in on Monday, 20th January, 1895. However, a regional shortage of beer, due to low water levels in the Murray River, delayed the supply. Relief came in June, when the Paddle Steamer Nile captianed by “Jock” Innes arrived from Echuca towing the barge Naomi, delivered 40 tons of liquor to Mildura and supplies for the fruit growers, replenishing the town’s stock.
The story of Ted Topham
Born in 1863 on Low Mowthorpe Farm in Yorkshire, Richard Edward “Ted” Topham came from a family with deep roots recorded as far back as the Domesday Book. With relatives already in Australia and New Zealand, he built a life in northern Victoria as a boundary rider—restless, patriotic, and drawn to something beyond hard work and routine.
In 1901 he understated his age to enlist with the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles and sailed from Port Melbourne to fight in the Boer War. Months later, a surprise night attack at Wilmansrust in the Transvaal killed Ted and seventeen comrades and sparked a bitter controversy over leadership, discipline, and blame—an episode that shadowed reputations even as it revealed the costs borne by colonial soldiers. Back home, Ted was remembered not only as a fallen trooper, but as a working man who sought learning, honoured by the Mildura Working Man’s Club with a memorial tablet in its reading room.
