{{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Brunswick Progress Association is a community organisation active in the

City of Merri-bek The City of Merri-bek () is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner northern suburbs between 4 and 11 kilometres from the Melbourne central business district, Melb ...

Council area, and in particular the suburbs of Brunswick and

Coburg Coburg ( , ) is a Town#Germany, town located on the Itz (river), Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Ernestine duchies, Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only ...

, inner northern suburbs of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. It was first established in 1905 and celebrated its centenary of community activism in 2005.

History

The movement to form a Town Association (Progress) began early in 1905 in reaction to the non-responsiveness of the Brunswick Council to the concerns of residents. It was the first such body established in the Melbourne metropolitan area. It is likely the Brunswick Progress Association was the second one established in Australia, as a progress association was established at

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) () is a city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Ballarat had a population of 111,973, making it the third-largest urban inland city in Australia and the third-largest city in Victoria. Within mo ...

in 1904.

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State Member of Parliament, and later Federal member for the seat of Bourke,

Frank Anstey Francis George Anstey (18 August 186531 October 1940) was an Australian politician and writer. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives from 1910 to 1934, representing the Australian Labor Party ...

(1865-1940), was elected on the first Executive Committee of the Brunswick Town Association (Progress). Anstey had a long association with the organisation until his death in 1940.

Maurice Blackburn Maurice McCrae Blackburn (19 November 1880 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian politician and socialist lawyer, noted for his protection of the interests of workers and the establishment of the legal firm known as Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. ...

succeeded Frank Anstey as Federal representative for the seat of Bourke and also maintained an active interest in the affairs of the Brunswick Progress Association. In the cold war atmosphere of 1953 the Brunswick Council passed a resolution not to enter into any correspondence with any person who is a communist or communist sympathiser. In council elections in 1954 the Mayor and several councillors were defeated and in a meeting of Council the 'Anti-red law' was rescinded 18 votes to 4. In 1965 the Progress Association was at a low ebb of activity. Two new members, Vic Little and Vida Little, enlivened the organisation, which steadily grew in members as campaigns were launched on local issues and concerns of residents. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Association was very active in opposition to the proposed F2 Freeway along the

Merri Creek Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria, Australia, which flows through the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It begins near Wallan and flows south for 70 km until joining the Yarra River at Dights Falls. The area where th ...

, ran a successful campaign for clean air, as Brunswick was then said to be the second most polluted city in Victoria. The clean air campaign in the 1960s was instrumental in establishing the Victorian Environment Protection Authority in 1972. In 1971 the Brunswick Progress Association combined with the West Brunswick Progress Association to object significantly to council plans to demolish the

Mechanics' Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult edu ...

, which was built in 1868. The National Trust also objected and the Mechanics' Institute was saved from the wreckers. In 1973, the Association was active in opposing council plans to demolish the Brunswick Town Hall on

Sydney Road Sydney Road (in its northernmost part also known as the Hume Highway) is a major urban arterial in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Geography Sydney Road starts at the northern end of Royal Parade at the boundary of Par ...

and replace it with a five story Civic Centre, costing in excess of $2 million. The Council plans were stopped with a poll of residents resulting in a no vote won by seven to one. In 1975 the Brunswick Progress Association instituted a campaign to get a Community Health Centre complex, the Brunswick City Council opposed it, the Centre was won with wide support from the community. The Merri-bek Community Health Service is now a multimillion-dollar community organisation servicing the health needs of the residents of the

, with major centres on Glenlyon Road in Brunswick, and Bell street in Coburg. Other campaigns included: * the condition of

* Nicholson Street tram route extension * the fight for half rates for pensioners throughout Victoria * the fight to put the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

-Brunswick Power line underground * the struggle to keep the

Upfield railway line The Upfield line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's fifth-shortest metropolitan railway line at . The line runs from Flinders Street station in centra ...

open * campaigns against many factories working at night affecting residents sleep * support for

Friends of the ABC The Friends of the ABC (), or simply the ABC, is a fictional association of revolutionary French republican students featured in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. In French, the name of the society is a pun, in which '' abaissé ...

* opposition to uranium mining in

Jabiluka Jabiluka is a pair of uranium deposits and mine development in the Northern Territory of Australia that was to have been built on land belonging to the Mirarr clan of Aboriginal people. The mine site is surrounded by, but not part of, the World ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

* support for

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

* support for Aboriginal

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

* opposition to

privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...

of public utilities * support for tax reform and opposition to the Goods and Services Tax The Association met at the now-demolished Clarrie Wohlers Citizens' Centre, Fleming Park, on the corner of Albert and Cross Streets, East Brunswick.

References

* ''The Heart and Conscience of the Community. The History of the Brunswick Progress Association 1905 - 2000'' (2001) by Vic Little. No ISBN Organisations based in Melbourne