Meeting House Dedication
The Mount Royal Hospital underwent a number of changes of mission since it was founded as an Immigrants Aid Society home in 1853. By the time this chapel was dedicated in 1955 (if you enlarge the shot by two clicks you should be able to read these tarnished plaques), the primary mission of the hospital was Acute Geriatric Care. As I said yesterday, this was a place where people came to die.
Somehow that makes this Chapel or Meeting House all the more significant. As a Quaker myself, I am intrigued by the designation, "a Meeting House for Meditation and Worship". Meeting House has been used by Quakers since the 17th century as a place for silent worship and meditation. Traditional Quakers, following George Fox (1624-1691), do not believe in clergy or consecrated buildings or churches. I realise this is different in parts of the USA.
But there's even more intrigue to be found here on these dedication plaques. Ambrose Pratt was a controversial writer in the early part of the 20th century. A journalist who began writing for "The Australian Worker", he became increasingly more conservative as he grew older. This was especially so after the major split in the Labor Party in 1916 (over the issue of conscription). Pratt became a member of "The Group" in 1931, and he wrote the resignation speech of Joseph Lyons from the Labor Party. Lyons from Tasmania went on to become the only Tasmanian Australian Prime Minister (1932-1939) who died in office. His wife Enid Lyons was the first woman elected to the Australian Parliament and the first female member of Federal Cabinet.
After his retirement, Ambrose Pratt became heavily involved in the Melbourne Zoo at Royal Park (and in fact was responsible for setting up the Healesville Research Station which is now the Australian native fauna section of the zoo). And it would seem he was also on the board of the Mount Royal Hospital. Now here's the final piece of the puzzle: I have no evidence that Pratt was a Quaker, but later in life he took a very close interest in Buddhism and particularly the philosophies of India and Tibet. So I imagine the term "Meeting House", was to express this ecumenical interest.
adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pratt-ambrose-goddard-hesketh-8096
Sir Edward Hallstrom (1886-1970) did the honours of opening the chapel. Like Pratt he was a major participant in the zoos of Sydney and Melbourne, and his links to Mount Royal would seem to be his strong philanthropic interest in medical services. Hallstrom is one of those rare figures with two portraits in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.
Meeting House Dedication
The Mount Royal Hospital underwent a number of changes of mission since it was founded as an Immigrants Aid Society home in 1853. By the time this chapel was dedicated in 1955 (if you enlarge the shot by two clicks you should be able to read these tarnished plaques), the primary mission of the hospital was Acute Geriatric Care. As I said yesterday, this was a place where people came to die.
Somehow that makes this Chapel or Meeting House all the more significant. As a Quaker myself, I am intrigued by the designation, "a Meeting House for Meditation and Worship". Meeting House has been used by Quakers since the 17th century as a place for silent worship and meditation. Traditional Quakers, following George Fox (1624-1691), do not believe in clergy or consecrated buildings or churches. I realise this is different in parts of the USA.
But there's even more intrigue to be found here on these dedication plaques. Ambrose Pratt was a controversial writer in the early part of the 20th century. A journalist who began writing for "The Australian Worker", he became increasingly more conservative as he grew older. This was especially so after the major split in the Labor Party in 1916 (over the issue of conscription). Pratt became a member of "The Group" in 1931, and he wrote the resignation speech of Joseph Lyons from the Labor Party. Lyons from Tasmania went on to become the only Tasmanian Australian Prime Minister (1932-1939) who died in office. His wife Enid Lyons was the first woman elected to the Australian Parliament and the first female member of Federal Cabinet.
After his retirement, Ambrose Pratt became heavily involved in the Melbourne Zoo at Royal Park (and in fact was responsible for setting up the Healesville Research Station which is now the Australian native fauna section of the zoo). And it would seem he was also on the board of the Mount Royal Hospital. Now here's the final piece of the puzzle: I have no evidence that Pratt was a Quaker, but later in life he took a very close interest in Buddhism and particularly the philosophies of India and Tibet. So I imagine the term "Meeting House", was to express this ecumenical interest.
adb.anu.edu.au/biography/pratt-ambrose-goddard-hesketh-8096
Sir Edward Hallstrom (1886-1970) did the honours of opening the chapel. Like Pratt he was a major participant in the zoos of Sydney and Melbourne, and his links to Mount Royal would seem to be his strong philanthropic interest in medical services. Hallstrom is one of those rare figures with two portraits in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.