In the late nineteenth century, the English and Scots had erected churches for worship in Brunswick. Catholics, however, were forced to attend services in Coburg or Elizabeth Street's St Franics, a trying and long excursion, especially on the deplorable Sydney Road. The depression of the 1890s inflamed simmering sectarian sentiments between the Protestants and Catholics as many members of the Methodist and Presbyterian churches believed that the Catholics were getting all the jobs and pushing the Protestants out. The Local Orange Lodge decided it was time to stop this.

Brunswick was created in the late 1830s, with its boundries extending from the Moonee Ponds Creek to the Merri Creek. With the discovery of clay and bluestone deposits, Brunswick developed into a thriving business centre, with clay pits and quarries dotting the municipality.