Large creative event space
Self-contained bathroom facilities
Box truss
Green room
Main hall: 24m x 12.9m (307.8m²)
Boiler Room: 13.4m x 9.4m (127.1m²)
Total space: 434.9m²
FAMILI presented by Midsumma & Abbotsford Convent at the Magdalen Laundry, 2020. Photo by Suzanne Balding">
Temporal Proximities , 2019. Curated by Kelli Alred. Magdalen Laundry, Abbotsford Convent. Photo by Clare Rae">
Scar Trees at Magdalen Laundry, Abbotsford Convent. Photo by Anne Moffat">
Large creative event space
Self-contained bathroom facilities
Box truss
Green room
Main hall: 24m x 12.9m (307.8m²)
Boiler Room: 13.4m x 9.4m (127.1m²)
Total space: 434.9m²
Abbotsford Convent’s Magdalen Laundry is a large, self-contained venue featuring a vaulted ceiling and clerestory windows. This versatile space can be configured to suit a wide range of large events, including exhibitions, conferences, and performances. The adjoining Boiler Room can be used as a backstage area or opened to create a larger working space. The Mezzanine offers an additional green room, meeting room or creative space.
Magdalen Laundry connects to the Industrial School and Mercator Lawn. Close by is the Packing Room and Sacred Heart Courtyard, making this venue an ideal central point for a large event footprint.
During the 1920s, the Convent’s Magdalen Laundry was the largest commercial laundry in Melbourne. For close to a century, many residents of the Convent worked here, unpaid. In 2017, The Convent was inscribed on the National Heritage List, recognised as an important physical record for the Australians and their families known as the Forgotten Australians.
Today, the Magdalen Laundry is among the few surviving, relatively intact, examples of its kind anywhere in the world. Like the rest of the Convent, the Magdalen Laundry is a sensitive, heritage-listed venue. There are some inherent heritage requirements and limitations of use, which are incorporated into our Conditions of Hire to protect the space for future generations.
Magdalen Laundry is a blank canvas venue with self-contained bathroom amenities attached. The main hall contains a central box truss and numerous power outlets with 3-phase power available. The venue is equipped with RGB house lights for general room and stage wash.
Basic freestanding AV can be added to your booking upon request.
Our preferred AV provider, Melbourne AV, is available to assist with further AV requirements.
Additional facilities including tables, chairs, whiteboards, heaters and fans are available for hire.
The Magdalen Laundry is wheelchair accessible.
Baby change facilities are available in the nearby Sacred Heart Courtyard.
By hiring a space at the Convent you are supporting the long-term sustainability of our not-for-profit arts, cultural and learning precinct for everyone to enjoy.
To hire this space, enquire here.
![Magdalen Laundry [video tour], 2021. Abbotsford Convent. Click image to watch.](https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/assets.abbotsfordconvent.com.au/app/uploads/2020/02/28154548/Venue_NthLaundry_cAnneMoffat_slide-2-1-1280x853.jpg)