Street Smarts

Marking out the Southern boarder of Southbank, Dorcas St is named after The Dorcas Society of Melbourne.

A Dorcas society was a group of people usually based in a church – and Melbourne’s was based out of St James Cathedral.

Melbourne’s branch was instrumental in assisting in the management of epidemics and was also associated with the founding of the Melbourne Protestant Orphan Asylum.

This orphanage was positioned between Clarendon, Park, Cecil and Dorcas streets.

The original Dorcas group was located on the Isle of Man in 1834 as part of the community’s thanksgiving for being spared from an outbreak of cholera.