Timeline
Did you know that Australian Red Cross was presented with the United Nations Peace Messenger Award in 1987? Find out more about key dates in the history of Australian Red Cross and the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement by visiting the Timeline.
  
 
 
   International
The Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement began almost 140 years ago when on a hot June day in 1859 Henry Dunant, a Swiss banker travelling on business in northern Italy, witnessed the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino a horrifying and bloody conflict between 300,000 soldiers from Imperial Austria and the Franco-Sardinian Alliance.
  
 
 
   Australia
Australian Red Cross was formed as a branch of the British Red Cross at Government House, Melbourne on 13th August 1914 by Lady Helen Munro-Ferguson, wife of the Governor-General, exactly nine days after the outbreak of World War I.
  
 
Our Vision
To improve the lives of vulnerable people in Australia and internationally by mobilising the power of humanity.

Our Mission
To be a leading humanitarian organisation in Australia, improving the lives of vulnerable people through services delivered and promotion of humanitarian laws and values.