WHAT IS A MECHANICS INSTITUTE?
A MECHANICS INSTITUTE IS A PRIMARY COMMUNITY-OWNED CULTURAL ORGANISATION THAT PROVIDES A VENUE AND FACILITIES TO HOLD COMMUNITY CLASSES AND EVENTS, INCLUDING LECTURES AND DEBATES. MECHANICS INSTITUTES’ ARE THE PREDECESSORS OF ADULT EDUCATION AND LIBRARIES IN VICTORIA. MOST MECHANICS INSTITUTES IN AUSTRALIA CONTAIN A RANGE OF BOOKS AND PERIODICAL MATERIAL FOR LOAN BY SUBSCRIPTION. MECHANICS INSTITUTES ARE ALSO KNOWN AS ‘MECHANICS INSTITUTES & FREE LIBRARIES’.
A MECHANICS INSTITUTE IS A PRIMARY COMMUNITY-OWNED CULTURAL ORGANISATION THAT PROVIDES A VENUE AND FACILITIES TO HOLD COMMUNITY CLASSES AND EVENTS, INCLUDING LECTURES AND DEBATES. MECHANICS INSTITUTES’ ARE THE PREDECESSORS OF ADULT EDUCATION AND LIBRARIES IN VICTORIA. MOST MECHANICS INSTITUTES IN AUSTRALIA CONTAIN A RANGE OF BOOKS AND PERIODICAL MATERIAL FOR LOAN BY SUBSCRIPTION. MECHANICS INSTITUTES ARE ALSO KNOWN AS ‘MECHANICS INSTITUTES & FREE LIBRARIES’.
Mechanics' Institute - Ballarat (Ballaarat)
THE HISTORY OF MECHANICS INSTITUTE:
The term “mechanic” in the 19th century meant artisan (skilled at a craft) or working man. The mechanics’ institute movement began in 1800 when Dr George Birkbeck of the Andersonian Institute in Glasgow, Scotland gave a series of lectures to local mechanics. The lectures were free and proved to be very popular; launching the ‘Mechanics’ Institute movement. They led to the formation of the Edinburgh School of Arts (1821) and the London Mechanics’ Institute (1823). The movement spread quickly throughout the British Empire.
More than 600 Mechanics’ Institutes had been established in England by 1850 and in colonial Australia, the first Mechanics’ Institute was established in Hobart in 1826. In 1833 Sydney established its first Mechanics’ Institute and Victoria soon followed establishing its first Mechanics’ Institute in 1839.
The Melbourne Mechanics' Institute was the first Victorian Mechanics' Institute established in 1839, which was renamed The Melbourne Athenaeum in 1873. The Athenaeum has a library, theatres and shops that continue to operate in the original building, at 188 Collins Street, Melbourne.
Wherever a school, a library, or a hall was needed a Mechanics’ Institute was established. That is, in Australia nearly every sizable town established a Mechanics’ Institute or School of Arts from around the 1850s. Almost one thousand Mechanics Institutes were built in Victoria. The history of Mechanics Institutes of Victoria is described in, "If the Walls Could Speak: A Social History of the Mechanics' Institutes in Victoria" written by Pam Baragwanath, published by The Mechanics' Institutes of Victoria with the aid of a Centenary of Federation grant in November 2000.
Before Government funded libraries and adult education institutes, the Mechanics’ Institute provided people with access to books, newspapers, periodicals, lectures and scientific demonstrations. They were also a place for social, cultural and recreational gatherings for the local community.
