OBJECT TITLE / NAME

Conference, 1912

DATE1912

MEDIAImage

PHOTOGRAPHERJohnson & Co, Ararat & Hamilton

COLLECTIONHastings-Western Port Historical Society

REG NO.P279

HISTORY

This large group of people are at an I.O.R. Conference in Hamilton in 1912. They are the International Order of Rechabites. They were a men’s service club which began in Salford, England in 1835. It was named after Rechab, a leader in the Old Testament, who instructed his tribe to refrain from drinking alcohol. In Australia the IOR was first established in Tasmania in the mid 1800s. In 1847 a branch was created in Victoria and then it spread to other States. Members of the IOR were provided with assistance during times of sickness, death and hardship. In 1991, IOR Victoria combined with the IOR in other states to form a National Health Fund. Members wishing to join were no longer required to sign a pledge of abstinence from alcohol. In 2002 the IOR Health Fund was sold to HCF Health Insurance.

DESCRIPTION

This image shows a very large group of well-dressed men and women posing for a photograph in front of a very imposing building. There are over two hundred people standing and sitting in approximately eight rows. Many of the group are wearing insignia around their necks. An ornate iron fence is in front of them, a footpath, gutter and road is in the foreground. Printed in white across the bottom of the image is “I.O.R. CONFERENCE 1912. HAMILTON”. The photographers details are embossed on the bottom right-hand corner of the mounting board. The mounting board has been glued onto a larger piece of white cardboard.

SUBJECTS

Clubs and associations, Conferences, Groups (people), Health insurance, Men

KEYWORDS

HCF Health Insurance, IOR Health Fund, International Order of Rechabites, International Order of Rechabites Conference, Hamilton