In 2026, Janet Clarke Hall celebrates 140 years of courage, community, leadership, and learning. Throughout the year, we’ll bring our community together through a vibrant program of events, shared stories, and opportunities to reconnect with the College that helped shape so many lives.
The anniversary theme will touch many of our annual traditions and activities — a year long celebration that invites every member of our community to take part.
The 140th Anniversary will be acknowledged across a range of existing College events, including:
New Student Welcome Day
The annual Literature Dinner with Artist in Residence Alice Pung, marking 20 years of Unpolished Gem
Gifts in Wills Lunch
Spring Concert, featuring a specially commissioned Anniversary composition by Klearhos Murphy
Luce 2026, released as a special anniversary edition supported by a dedicated alumni committee
These moments allow our whole community — near and far — to share in this extraordinary milestone.
In 2026 the College will host four special anniversary events, designed to welcome our alumni and friends back to JCH, celebrate our history, and look towards our future with our whole community.
140th Gala Dinner
A black-tie gala event at Janet Clarke Hall, inviting benefactors, alumni and friends of the College to celebrate our 140th in style. The evening will feature showcase entertainment and a special celebratory program.
Alumni Formal Hall Reunion
Join us as we celebrate the College’s 140th Anniversary with a special Formal Hall, bringing together generations of JCH alumni for an evening of connection and celebration in our newly restored Dining Hall.
140th Community Day and Open House
On Sunday 28 June, Janet Clarke Hall welcomed alumni and the broader community into the College for a fun and family-friendly day of activities and entertainment. This marked the first celebration event for the Colleges’ 140th Anniversary.
JCH Presidents & Vice-Presidents Gathering
To mark the 140th Anniversary, we’re embarking on a Lost Alumni Project — an initiative to reconnect with alumni we’ve lost touch with over the decades.
We’d love your help.
If you can reach out to your cohort, point classmates our way, or simply update your own details, you’ll play an important part in strengthening the JCH network for the next generation.
A milestone like this invites us not only to reflect on 140 remarkable years, but also to imagine what the next 140 could look like.
In 2026 we are reflecting on what has defined the College, the young people who have called it home, the spaces in which they have lived and learned, and the transformational opportunities that have unlocked their potential. Our 140th appeal will take place throughout the year and centres on three areas of College life:
The campaign will take place throughout this year and funding priorities include:
People, Supporting deserving young students through the Principal’s Discretionary Fund and our sector-leading Widening Participation initiatives.
Place, Renewing and enhancing our Rooftop Terrace as a multi-purpose space for wellbeing, connection, and modern student life.
Possibility, Supporting intellectual curiosity, innovation and community impact through our new Student Changemakers and Trailblazers Grant Program.
“Wealth is but a trust, and it is for us to use it worthily” – Janet, Lady Clarke (1893)
This anniversary is a chance for the JCH community to come together and help build the next chapter: more opportunity, more access, more contemporary spaces to learn and lead. Your support, in any form and at any level, makes a real difference.
Whether you join us at an event, reconnect through the Lost Alumni Project, share your own JCH story, or support the anniversary campaign, we’d be delighted to celebrate this milestone with you.
Contact Bronwyn Neeson, Director of Advancement at advancement@jch.unimelb.edu.au to learn more and/or offer your support.
“Together, we honour our past — and shape a remarkable future.”
