AustLit

The Melbourne Bread and Cheese Club, an all-male-society, was founded in 1938 to 'foster a knowledge and love of Australian literature, art and music and to cultivate an Australian sentiment.' To support this goal the monthly magazine Bohemia was founded in 1939.

Sixteen issues of Bohemia were published before wartime paper restrictions and a lack of support from advertisers and subscribers forced its closure in 1940. These issues included reviews, articles on publishing, poetry, short stories and club news. Although interest in earlier Australian writers reflected the club's traditional and patriotic stance, younger writers were also published in Bohemia, most notably Max Harris, Rex Ingamells, Harry Hooton and Gavin Casey.

Bohemia was revived in 1945 as a four-page club magazine. It remained in this form for many years, ceasing production in 1967.