heritage house
The Merrylands Baby Health Centre, also known as the Heritage House, is a Heritage-listed building located at Merrylands RSL Club.
Since the restoration and refurbishment for the building was completed in 2017, the space has been made available for the community as a space to feature and showcase artworks of local artists and groups.

historical significance
Following WW2, the population of many suburbs in Australia grew rapidly, a phenomenon known as the “Baby Boom”. Several suburbs in particular grew quickly with the development of the Commonwealth and State Housing Commission works under the Curtain Government, which was tasked with rehousing and rehabilitating the increased Post-War population. In response to the Baby Boom, many councils initiated Baby Health Care centres as a community support to the booming population. These Baby Health Care centres were run by and employed council employees. This particular Baby Health Care centre was completed in 1947 and opened by W. H. Lam. Its Functionalist and Art Deco architectural design is attributed to Eric Nicholls, a prominent architect that worked closely with Walter Burley Griffin and who was well known for his residential and public building designs.
The Merrylands Baby Health Care Centre is of local historic and social significance for the evidence it provides of the nature of Post-War development in Holroyd. It reflects not only the rapid growth of residential population in the area in this period, (particularly government sponsored schemes such as by the Housing Commission) but also the recognition by government agencies of the day of the need to provide health and education facilities in line with contemporary ideas on child raising. It is also directly associated with the “Baby Boomers” phenomenon which saw child births increase dramatically in the immediate Post-War years. Aesthetically, the building is significant as an interesting and relatively intact representative example of the “domestic” style suburban Baby Health Centres erected throughout the state in the Post-War period. The Merrylands Baby Health Care Centre demonstrates representative qualities as an intact Post-War brick veneer health care buildings, constructed c.1947.

In 2019, Merrylands RSL received two awards during the Cumberland’s Council’s Heritage Awards for restoration work on the former Baby Health Care Centre in Miller Street.
If you are a local artist or group, please contact the Club for enquiries on having your work featured at the Heritage House.
now viewing: Merrylands RSL Camera Club


We are proud to present the Merrylands RSL Camera Club’s Annual Exhibition running from 8 August to 22 September 2023 in the Heritage House. Merrylands RSL Club has proudly supported the Camera Club for the past eight years and we are delighted to once again exhibit the team’s photography work produced over the period.
The exhibit includes images captured by the Camera Club members throughout the years, ranging from portraits to landscapes and sceneries. The collection also includes macros and wildlife photography as well as a few Photoshop Art pieces.
The Camera Club currently has around 60 active members, and holds monthly meetings and internal competitions as well as having guest speakers such as Stephen Lam who shared his expertise in astrophotography. Members from the Club often take photographs of MRSL events such as the Anzac Day Services, as well as sporting events such as matches by the Western Sydney Two Blues, a sporting organisation sponsored by Merrylands RSL Club.
Anyone interested in joining the Club can call Camera Club’s President Cecil Cheung on 0418 166 138.
The exhibit is FREE to view and currently on display for a limited time. So next time you’re in the Club, don’t forget to drop in and get ready to be amazed with the magnificent photos in the Heritage House.
