Armagh, a turn-of-the-20th-century mansion was once owned by the Mackays, a prominent business family in Melbourne. H.V. MacKay was a ‘bush smithy’ who parlayed his skills to grow an international company that became known for its Sunshine combine harvester – sharing its name with the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, where the company’s factory was based. In 1956, his son Cecil MacKay and family gifted their Toorak home to Initiatives of Change (then known as Moral Rearmament), for use in its peace-building work. For many years, the home became a base for a community of people from around Australia and abroad, who sought to model honesty, unselfishness and integrity as principles in daily living, and as a foundation for outreach and action. Many of those involved also ran programs, training and community-based initiatives for peace and reconciliation.

Katrina noted that stallholders had enjoyed Armagh as a space. Some had also stated in their feedback that IofC’s principles and not-for-profit nature had been an encouragement for them to take part in the market. Some stallholders themselves were contributing to wider causes, for example, a jewelry stall offered products from a women’s empowerment project in Uganda, while the Devonshire tea sales contributed to enabling a Creators of Peace circle to take place in Bougainville.

“Absolutely loved this market, did well sales-wise, enjoyed the coffee, lovely stallholders and organizers,” wrote one participant. “Fantastic singing performances and magic show. Well done!” wrote another.