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Club Information

History and Heritage

The Queen’s Club takes its name from its first home in The Towers, which stood on the corner of Macquarie and King Streets, enjoying views across Queen’s Square to Hyde Park and St Mary’s Cathedral. The lease was purchased from St James Church in 1911 for £850 with an additional yearly rental of £412.

The Club was formally inaugurated on 1 February 1912.

Aerial view of Queens Square with The Towers on the right, 1930, City of Sydney Archives

Club Founders

Two years earlier, in December 1910, 17 women had met at the Double Bay home of Mrs Isabella Salusbury to discuss the possibility of establishing a private women’s social club. The wives and daughters of Sydney’s élite, they were women of consequence who had the capacity, and courage, to embark on this adventure. At the time, private clubs for women were relatively new, with the first founded in Australia being the Karrakatta Club in 1894. In contrast, private gentlemen’s clubs had a long history, with Sydney’s Australia Club being founded in 1838 and the Union Club 19 years later.

Enthusiasm for a Sydney Club quickly took hold and Lady Barton, wife of Australia’s first Prime Minister, Sir Edmund Barton, became the founding President. Other Members of the Committee included Mrs Edith (later Lady) Knox, Mrs Mary Dangar, Mrs Elizabeth Rich and Mrs Isabella Salusbury. Within two years, membership had grown to over 350 women, and the Club expanded from The Towers to take in two adjoining houses on Macquarie Street. There it would stay for over 40 years.

Mrs Jane Barton photographed in June 1902, when she attended the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
By permission National Library of Australia.

Relocation

In the 1950’s, the Club was advised that the State Government planned to resume The Towers for a new Supreme Court. Fortunately, the then President, Mrs Bethia Foot and the Secretary, Miss Sylvia Grabham, discovered that the St James Hotel was for sale. Purchased in June 1959, at the then record price of £325,000, it has proved the ideal location, close to everything yet with tranquil views across Hyde Park, a haven in the midst of the bustling city and the home away from home that our founders envisaged.

The Macquarie Club