The rapid increase was due to the discovery of gold in the colony of Victoria, and camps and wooden shacks sprung up across Melbourne.
[3] Philanthropists John Singleton (1808–1891[4][5]), a medical doctor, and Hester Hornbrook,[2] founder of the city's ragged schools movement,[3] lobbied the protestant churches and organised a public meeting on 11 August 1854, which was attended by 650 people who voted in favour of the proposal to set up a mission in the city.
[6] Their vision was "a mission embracing all denominations and unsectarian in its character" to ameliorate the hardship caused in the wake of the gold rushes.
[3] By the end of the 1800s, the aims of the mission encompassed charitable or welfare work as well as administering residential care in institutions for those in poverty or distress.
[2] Happy Days was a seaside respite home for children "in delicate health", in Black Rock, run by MCM for about five years after its opening on 4 March 1933.
[2] In 1949, the mission described itself as "an interdenominational institution registered with the Charities Board of Victoria operating amongst the poor, outside the Churches, supported by voluntary contributions".
[9] MCM introduced the Step Ahead Program for people aged 16–25, whereby they could receive stable housing in fully furnished homes for up to three years, with ongoing support after they left the accommodation.
[10] It also ran a program for people with an acquired brain injury called Compass, which provided a place to learn or re-learn skills and readjust to life, make friends and prepare for a return to work.
[12] It aims to provide a holistic model of care, known as the Healing Oriented Framework, designed to "promote the physical, emotional, social, psychological and spiritual health and wellbeing; cultural inclusion and ongoing safety" of clients.
[13] Its website includes an apology to the Forgotten Australians,[2] children who were put into the care of MCM during the first half of the 20th century.