Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts, were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men in Victorian-era Britain and its colonies. They were often funded by local industrialists on the grounds that they would ultimately benefit from having more knowledgeable and skilled employees. The mechanics' institutes often included libraries for the adult working class, and were said to provide them with an alternative pastime to gambling and drinking in pubs.
State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world. It is also Australia's busiest public library and, as of 2023, the third busiest library globally.
Greensborough is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km (11 mi) north-east from Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Banyule and Shire of Nillumbik local government areas. Greensborough recorded a population of 21,070 at the 2021 census.
Prahran, is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a population of 12,203 at the 2021 census.
Chapel Street is a street in Melbourne, Victoria, running along the inner suburbs of South Yarra, Prahran, Windsor, St Kilda and St Kilda East.
The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research library in the state, with a collection focus on South Australian information, being the repository of all printed and audiovisual material published in the state, as required by legal deposit legislation. It holds the "South Australiana" collection, which documents South Australia from pre-European settlement to the present day, as well as general reference material in a wide range of formats, including digital, film, sound and video recordings, photographs, and microfiche. Home access to many journals, newspapers and other resources online is available.
The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in Victoria, Australia.
The Athenaeum or Melbourne Athenaeum at 188 Collins Street is an art and cultural hub in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1839, it is the city's oldest cultural institution.
From 1827, Mechanics' Institutes, Literary Institutes, Athenaeums and Schools of Arts played an important role in the life of early Australian communities. Among their roles was the provision of libraries and reading rooms, but as community institutions they also provided lectures and adult education.
Australian non-residential architectural styles are a set of Australian architectural styles that apply to buildings used for purposes other than residence and have been around only since the first colonial government buildings of early European settlement of Australia in 1788.
Dr Judith Buckrich is a Melbourne author and past chair of the International PEN Women Writers' Committee. She is President of the PMI Victorian History Library.
Thomas Lenton Parr AM was an Australian sculptor and teacher.
Albert Purchas was a prominent 19th century architect and surveyor in Melbourne, Australia.
The Geelong Library and Heritage Centre is a regional library, archive and resource facility in the city of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. Geelong Free Library was begun in 1858. The Geelong Historical Records Centre was established in 1979 as a depository for significant historical records and archives from the district. The centre is a Place of Deposit, as part of the Public Record Office Victoria network of community archives designated for the preservation of Victoria's history. It is described as ...the largest regional archive in Victoria.
Pran Central is a heritage-listed seven storey Edwardian baroque architectural style former department store, built in 1915 as Read’s Store, comprising a shopping centre with apartments above. The building is located on the corner of Chapel Street and Commercial Road in the well-known retail precinct of Prahran, a suburb in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Gladys Maeva Cumpston (1887–1975), was an Australia community worker, horticulturist, a braille transcriber and also a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment, born on 31 May 1887 at Rosedale Victoria, Australia.
The Prahran College of Advanced Education, formerly Prahran College of Technology, was a late-secondary and tertiary institution with a business school, a trade school, and a multi-disciplinary art school that dated back to the 1860s, populated by instructors and students who were among Australia’s significant artists, designers and performers.
Mechanics' institutes were a Victorian-era institution set up primarily to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working-class men, which spread to the corners of the English-speaking world, including the Australian colonies, where they were set up in virtually every colony. In some places, notably throughout the colonies of Queensland and New South Wales, they were often known as schools of arts.
Eltham District Historical Society is a community organisation devoted to the collection, preservation and sharing of stories about the local history of the Eltham district in the north east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its geographic area of interest extends from Lower Plenty and Montmorency to Kangaroo Ground. It also maintains an interest in the former Shire of Eltham and holds memorabilia from the former Eltham Shire Council. It is located in the Shire of Nillumbik local government area. It also encourages conservation of significant places, spaces and documents for future generations. It is an affiliated member of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and the Association of Eastern Historical Societies. It is an historical society managed by volunteers.
Sydney Wigham Smith was an architect in Melbourne, Australia, principal of the firm of Sydney Smith, Ogg and Serpell.
