The roots of the organisation lie in an act of bravery that inspired the citizens of Melbourne, Victoria.
In July 1873, the pilot schooner Rip was badly damaged in a storm off Point Nepean.
In the wave of public commendation that followed his act of heroic sacrifice, a suggestion was made by newspaper correspondent John Wilks to form a society to recognise and reward brave acts, along the lines of the British Royal Humane Society.
At a public meeting at the Melbourne Town Hall on 28 September 1874, the Victorian Humane Society was formed, with George Coppin elected its first President.
The recipient was Midshipman Thomas Pearce, who rescued passenger Eva Carmichael in the Loch Ard disaster on the Shipwreck Coast.