Join a Working Group to mark this 2026 event!
In 1956, the Initiatives of Change community (then known as Moral Re-Armament, or MRA) received the gift of a family home in the Melbourne suburb of Toorak. Generously given by the industrialist Cecil MacKay, the gift of Armagh enabled Initiatives of Change to freely offer hospitality and a meeting place of peace to many travellers and new arrivals. While much has changed over the years, Armagh still serves as a venue for public events, administrative offices and a residence for a live-in community.
Some key events in the history of the IofC community at Armagh are:
- Opening of the new wing in January 1977, which provided residential accommodation, a commercial kitchen and a new dining room
- Hosting of a 9-month experiential learning course, ‘Studies in Effective Living’ in the 1980s, when young people from many countries came to be part of Armagh’s residential community while participating in workshops, dialogues, musical performances and community service
- Organising of conferences with new migrant communities including Vietnamese and Cambodian young people in the 1990s, and South Sudanese communities in the 2000s
- First Nations-led events for healing and reconciliation in the 2020s
In a municipality with many grand mansions, the gift of Armagh may still be the single largest act of philanthropy in the City of Stonnington, Melbourne.
The year 2026 will be the 70th anniversary of the Initiatives of Change community at Armagh—a special time for coming together and sharing the gift of Armagh with as many others as possible.
If you are interested in helping put together an exhibition, a public event, and an archive of historic documents and significant items, contact Delia Paul to volunteer with a working group.
The following is a presentation on the history of IofCA
