Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was organized in 1890 for the purpose of perpetuating the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American Independence. (1776-1781)

This Society encourages historical research in relation to the American Revolution and the publication of its results; by the preservation of documents and relics, and the records of the individual soldiers and patriots.

The Society is admonished to carry out the injunction of George Washington, in his farewell address to the American people, "To promote, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge."

Captain Matthew Flinders Chapter

The Captain James Cook was the first NSDAR Chapter organized in Australia in 1983, with members from all over Australia.

The Chapter in Melbourne evolved from the Sydney Chapter, and in 1987, the Captain Matthew Flinders Chapter was formally recognized as the second Chapter in Australia.

The Captain Matthew Flinders Chapter holds quarterly meetings on the 4th Sunday in February, May, August, and November. The November meeting is a Thanksgiving meeting, with all the family invited to share a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Membership consists of a mixture of native-born Americans and native-born Australian daughters.

The first aim of the Chapter is to support the principles of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, whose headquarters  is located in Washington, D.C. In order to accomplish this in Australia, the Chapter supports projects both in the United States and in Australia. We have selected an Australian organization which best typified the principles of the NSDAR. This was the Royal Flying Doctor Service. We hold an annual fund raising campaign to raise money for this organization.

In the past, we have raised money for the purchase of portable baby scales for the Ballarat Base Hospital.

We held an essay contest to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Christopher Columbus Expedition. The Captain Matthew Flinders Chapter supports the Library of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution by sending books and journals on Australian genealogy. There is a special emphasis placed on material which might be pertinent to American migrants to Australia. Over our ten years of existence, we have sent about 100 books, and several genealogical journals to Washington, including those of the Genealogical Society of Victoria, and the Australian Institute of Genealogical Studies.

The Chapter donates genealogical journals and books to the Genealogical Society of Victoria to help build the base of genealogical materials pertaining to the United States of America. One of the tenets of Associate Membership in our Chapter is the donation of books or microforms to the Chapter, which are in turn given to the Genealogical Society of Victoria. It is hoped that this will make American research in Australia easier.

Where possible, the Chapter tries to support some of the National DAR projects. We send small parcels to the Bacone College in Oklahoma. We collect Campbell soup labels for the Tamassee DAR School in South Carolina. .

In Australia, we do our best to help with Conservation, by encouraging good conservation habits among our members. We recycle our greeting cards by giving them to help handicapped children or those with learning difficulties. We save corks for Muscular Dystrophy. Used postage stamps go to Legacy which helps war widows and their children in Australia. We have recently voted to help support a Guide Dog Puppy.

Membership Requirements
Captain Matthew Flinders Chapter Officers

For further information please contact, bdavis@melbpc.org.au

NSDAR Objectives

Historic Preservation

Promotion of Education

Patriotic Endeavor

The DAR Insignia is the property of, and is copyrighted by, the

National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Web hyperlinks to non-DAR sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations or individual

DAR chapters.

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Created: 10 Oct 97

Updated 20 January 2009

Webmaster Beth Davis

bdavis@melbpc.org.au