When The Australian Club voted against allowing women to join three years ago, many remarked that it was hardly representative of modern Australia. This is entirely the case. And, of course, the point.

Private members clubs evolved in Britain in the 18th century, and reached their peak in the 19th, when storied and aristocratic institutions such as Whites, the Athenaeum and the Garrick were formed. In the colonies, particularly in Australia, settlers formed their own independent clubs, many taking their names from the august London organisations they hoped to replicate.