Club History

Formed in 1894, the Melbourne Savage Club took its name from the Savage Club of London.  Like its British counterpart, the Melbourne Savage Club’s founding membership shared a passion for music, art, drama, literature and science, all of which were unified by a bohemian spirit.

In 1923 the club purchased its present premises in Bank Place. Classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), it was built between 1884 and 1885. Once the home of Sir Rupert Clarke, it is a magnificent three storey-plus basement boom-era Victorian residence that has remained almost entirely unchanged throughout the club’s history.

The club’s bohemian spirit lives on in the Melbourne Savage Club’s active calendar of artistic events, such as concerts, art prizes, and poetry and literature special interest groups.