about us




Our History

The organisation

May Murray Neighbourhood Centre is located in the old Marrickville Police Station, 4 - 8 Gladstone Street, one of the most distinctive and historical landmarks in the Marrickville area. Opened in 1897 as the ‘Marrickville lock-up’, the building has a distinctive façade made of giant rusticated blocks of local sandstone topped with carved stone crowns. Inside the walls are adorned with huge slide bolts, metal bars on the windows and high ceilings. The Centre’s staff work from the old police cells one of which still has a Victorian-era prisoner’s meal hatch.

History of ‘May Murray Neighbourhood Centre Inc’

The Centre has its origin in the early 1970’s when a group of young mothers living in the Marrickville area started a mother’s support group with a varied program of activities and a child minding roster. In 1976 the Marrickville Young Mothers Group received a grant to purchase a house in the local community. The group wanted the house to have child care facilities, referral services and a welcoming neighbourhood home environment which would offer and foster friendship and acceptance. A house at 35 Premier Street, Marrickville was purchased and renovations carried out by Marrickville Council to accommodate child care activities. A voluntary Management Committee was founded and the child care centre was formally opened in 1978. The Centre was known as the South Marrickville Neighbourhood Centre but soon changed to become the Neighbourhood House and was distinguished by its bright yellow door. The Centre opened as a joint child care and neighbourhood centre and from its very first week all child care places were filled.

The Neighbourhood House was the first children’s neighbourhood centre in Marrickville and one of the first of its kind in NSW. It soon became a model as a multipurpose neighbourhood and children’s centre.

In 1979 the management committee became a constituted body and the name May Murray Memorial Neighbourhood Centre was formally adopted. (May Murray was the late wife of Mr William Murray who had been the Mayor of Marrickville in 1945-46 and 1954 and who had a great interest in child care issues). As the Centre’s activities grew, space was obviously getting a little tight in the one house. Also the neighbourhood centre needed its own place to run its activities such as a food cooperative and Arabic Seniors Project and to accommodate its growing number of staff.

During the 1980’s, the Centre moved into two different locations on Illawarra Road, Marrickville.  Initially, it was located in 387 Illawarra Road, however as this space was small, the Centre quickly moved to larger premises located at 315 Illawarra Road. A separate Management Committee was established and May Murray Neighbourhood Centre was officially opened on 4 November 1983. The May Murray Child Care Centre remained in its Premier Street premises and is now operated and managed independently by Marrickville Council. Over the next decade the Neighbourhood Centre continued to grow and by 1992 was providing twenty-two different programs to the local community. As space was again becoming limited at the Illawarra Rd premises, the Centre made another move to 314 - 316 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville.

In 1999 the Neighbourhood Centre finally moved to its current and permanent home, the ‘Old Lock-up’ and former Police Station in Gladstone Street. The organisation was able to purchase the building from the Police Department with the help and support of the NSW Government, The Hon. Dr Andrew Refshauge, Local Member and Deputy Premier, as well as Mr Michael Refshauge, Director of Community Services, Marrickville Council.

Today May Murray Neighbourhood Centre accommodates twelve community workers who work actively with the community, government and non-government agencies to identify and address issues of local concern for the residents of Marrickville and surrounding local government areas. With services provided from Marrickville, Petersham, Surry Hills and Ultimo, the Centre is one of the largest community based organisations in the Inner West.

Amongst its diverse programs, the Centre provides social welfare and community services including Home and Community Care programs for elderly Vietnamese and Arabic communities, welfare services for the Greek and Vietnamese communities, and settlement services for newly arrived migrants and refugees. We also undertake various community development and capacity building activities. The Centre also houses various other organisations, who provide sessional services to the residents of the Marrickville and surrounding local government areas.  These organisations include, the African Communities Council, Australian Egyptian Forum Council and Indonesian Welfare Association.