The Melbourne Church of Scientology was first established in 1955, growing out of several smaller Scientology and Dianetics groups that had sprung up around Melbourne.

Owing to its size and popularity the Church, then called the Hubbard Association of Scientologists International (HASI), was headquartered in Spring Street, Melbourne, directly across the road from the Victorian Parliament building.

The first gathering of Australian Scientologists was held later in 1955 to a crowd of over 70 people. This was a milestone as the first large scale organized meeting of Scientologists from all over Australia. And it was only the beginning of one of the largest Scientology Churches across the planet at that time.

From these beginnings The executives in Melbourne worked to open up Scientology offices in other cities around Australia called "City Offices", notably in Sydney and Perth.

With the formation of the official Melbourne Church Publication, Communication Magazine, the Melbourne Scientology parishioners were united, sparking a huge interest in Scientology all over Victoria and Australia. The fresh, emerging culture of 1950s Australia was wide open for change, and Scientology was at the cutting edge of that change.

A letter from one of the Melbourne Church executives to L. Rion Hubbard on the 14 April 1959 stated, “Perhaps the difference in Aussie is there is a lot of hope and many possibilities of succeeding in the game down here than elsewhere – perhaps – and also no hidebound old culture bogging them down – tradition, etc., (not to pooh-pooh tradition where they are useful and go ahead) but sitting on past glories (and failures) is no good. They don’t do that in Aussie.”

And so it was that The Church of Scientology of Melbourne was formed, and along with it, hundreds of people discovering for themselves what Scientology and Dianetics had to offer them. Groups were formed up - so many in fact that the Church Headquarters of the time had difficulty in keeping up with them all. Scientology was flourishing.

The Melbourne Congress.

Advanced Clinical Course.

Early Growth.

The Enquiry.

Religious Recognition.