Australia's New Theatres also started in the 30s as part of the same movement. Sydney's New Theatre had an enormous hit when the founders of the Bush Music Club provided the music to the new Australian play "Reedy River" about the 1891 Shearers strike! Club members were associated with the New for years, & folkies still are. Oops, one of the folkies is also a BMC member.

Now getting back to business, Freddy you are amazing ferreting out old clubs, thankyou once again.

Do you have digitised newspapers that might have noted the earliest productions & earliest meetings of the folk club? Here we have the Communist Party's Tribune -1939-1991

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9th DECEMBER, 2025

Unity Folk Club, (UK) - late 30s/early 40s
San Francisco Folk Music Club (US) - founded 1948
Bush Music Club (Aus) - founded 1954
Topic in Bradford (UK) - founded 1956
Cornell Folk Song Society (US) - spring of 1957
Bridge Folk Club Newcastle (UK) - 1958
Edinburgh University Folk Society (UK) - April 1958
Vancouver Folk Song Society (Can) - July 1959
The Folksong Society of Greater Boston (US) - 1959
Cellar Upstairs (UK) - December 1960
Victorian Folk Music Club (Aus) - est. 1959 as Bush Music Club of Victoria, name changed 1963
Glasgow Folk Club - 1959
Swindon Folk Club (UK) - Jan 1960
Dunfermline Folk Club (UK) - 1961
Stockton Folk Club (UK) - 1962
Aberdeen Folk Club (UK) - 1962
Birtley Folk Club (UK) - 1962 & closed December 2014
Denver Folklore Centre (US) -1962
Herga (UK) - 1963
The Fo'c's'le (formerly Balladeer) Southampton (UK) - 1963
Marsden Folk Club (UK) - 1963
The Pick'n & Sing'n Gather'n (US) - 1960s
Rhyl Folk Club (Wales) 1964
Darlington Folk Workshop (UK) - 1964
Grimsby Folk Club (UK) - 1964
Folklore Society Of Greater Washington (US) - 1964
Black Diamond Folk Club, Birmingham (UK) - 1964
Cambridge Folk Club (UK) - 1964
Potteries Folk Club (UK) - before 1965
The Shrewsbury Folk Club will be celebrating its 60th year on Wednesday 19th February[2025] - 1965
Southport's Bothy Folksong Club (UK) - 1965
Orpington Folk Club (UK) - 1965
Whitby (UK) - similar age to Orpington
Cutty Wren Folk Club, Redcar (UK) - 1965
Yellow Door, Montreal (Can) - 1966
Croydon Folk Club (UK) - 1967
BACCApipes Folk Club (UK) - 1967
Frodsham Folk Club (Cheshire UK) - Jan 1968
Christchurch Folk Club (formerly Bank Peninsula Folk Club) (NZ) - est. Nov 1968
Central Australian Folk Society in Alice Springs (Aus) - est. 1968
Newcastle & Hunter Valley Folk Club (Aus) - 1968/69
Dragon Folk Club (Bristol, UK) - 1969
Durham City Folk Club (UK) - 1969
Fleetwood (UK) - 1969 (40 slightly interrupted years)
Hoy at Anchor (UK) - 1970
Folk federation of New South Wales (Aus) - 1970
Devonport Folk Club (NZ) aka The Bunker - 1970
Chichester Folk Song Club (UK) - over 50 years (as of 2023)
Maidenhead Folk Club (UK) - early 70s
Monaro Folk Music Society (Aus) - 1971
Top End Folk Club (Aus) - 1971
Cross Keys Folk Club, Saddleworth (UK) - 1972
Calgary Folk Club (Can) - 1972
Islington Folk Club (UK) - 1972
Dartford Folk Club (UK) - 1973
Woods Hole Folk Music Society (US) - 1973 final concert May 2019, Society is still in existence
Irvine Folk Club (Scotland) - 1974
Bluegrass & Traditional Country Music Society (Aus) - June 1975
Macquarie Towns Music Club (Aus) - Oct 1975
Dorking Folk Club (UK) - 1976
Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Folk Club (Aus) - 1978
The Star, Glasgow (Scotland) - late 70s
Llantrisant Folk Club (UK) - 1980
Illawarra Folk Club (Aus) 1980