Summary

Contemporary incarnation of the original Melbourne Anarchist Club. Its aims and principles were ratified at its annual general meeting in 2007.

Details

According to the website of the Melbourne Anarchist Club (in a statement dated 23 December, 2023):

"The MAC was established in 1988 as an anarchist printing press collective known as '@Press' becoming the single biggest producer of anarchist texts, magazines, pamphlets, posters and stickers in the history of anarchism in Australia. By 1999, '@Press' had ceased operation as a printing press having been overtaken by new printing technologies. The original premises in Brunswick housed 'SCAM Publications' collective, the office and archives of ASF Melbourne North and Barricade Books after they were forced out of their premises by rising rents. In 2001, the name was changed to the 'Melbourne Anarchist Club' as a tribute to the original Melbourne Anarchist Club of 1886-89.

"By 2005, the prohibitive cost of required repairs necessitated the sale of the premises. Anarchists in Melbourne decided on a new membership structure at a meeting initiated by the MAC at Coburg Library in December 2006 . The original premises in Brunswick were sold in 2007 and after 18 months, new premises were opened in Northcote in September 2008. In 2012, the MAC merged with Anarres Books and under the new agreement became an Infoshop with a library and bookstore and commenced publishing the journals 'Black Light' and 'Sedition' and initiated the Fantin Reading Group."