Crossways Community Centre

Crossways was a community House that catered to a wide range of groups from children to the elderly, men’s groups, meditation, tai chi, Hebrew language lessons, the Socialist workers organization, Christian youth groups, flamenco, support groups, adult education and crèches.  

The building was built most likely in the 1880s as there is no permit for the building after records began in 1892 and it can be seen on the Thomas Ward Map drawn in 1890. The house was built presumably by the then landowner Thomas Whyte Young, who bought the town acre in the mid-1860s. After Young, the building was sold to the Provident Land and Investment Company, then the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, William Aitken & Co, as commercial offices, and then the Kent Terrace Presbyterian Church as a place of worship and community hub.  

Crossways Community House was owned by the Presbyterian Church for over 30 years but was sold in 2007, when it was purchased by the newly formed Crossways Community Trust to keep the building in community use. One of the major uses was Crossways Community Crèche, who became the major tenant after the sale. The House ran as a community centre from 1978 to 2012, when the site's use changed after another sale from community hall to mixed-use residential. 

The Mount Victoria community hall, though no longer at Crossways House, has now become Mt. Vic Hub at 24 Elizabeth Street.