A Mechanics Institute in Bacchus Marsh dates from sometime in the 1850s. The first Mechanics Institute Hall was erected in 1858 in Young Street.(Victorian Collections no.659.) In 1883 a new and larger Mechanics Institute Hall was built in Main Street. The new hall cost 2,000 pounds to construct. It was opened by Sir William Clarke on 21 November 1883. The Mechanics Institute Library and rooms at the front of the hall were removed when the building was renovated in 1971. The building still stands and is used as a public hall.Small black and white 'carte de viste' style unframed photograph on card with gold border framing photograph. Housed in the Jeremeas Family Album which contains photographs of Bacchus Marsh and District in 1883 by the photographers Stevenson and McNicoll. The photo is of a substantial brick building under construction. Scaffolding support poles line the front and also can be seen on the top and back of the building. On the rooftop stand three workmen, with a further seven men standing at the front. Three men lean or stand casually at the front in casual poses. Four men stand in a line in another group on the roadway, perhaps indicating that they are master craftsmen. One of these men holds a tool of his trade, resembling a bricklayer’s mortar board. Six boys can be seen, four in a rather jaunty pose. In an indication of its public significance, the four front windows and door are arched and have decorative stone work in the side panels. A picket fence marks the boundary of the adjacent block.Printed On the front: Stevenson & McNicoll. Photo. 108 Elizabeth St. Melbourne. COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME. On the back: LIGHT & TRUTH inscribed on a banner surmounted by a representation of the rising sun. Copies of this Portrait can be had at any time by sending the Name and Post Office Money Order or Stamps for the amount of order to STEVENSON & McNICOLL LATE BENSON & STEVENSON, Photographers. 108 Elizabeth Street, MELBOURNE. stevenson and mcnicoll 1883 photographs of bacchus marsh and district, mechanics institutes, halls, bacchus marsh mechanics institute

The family of William Symington arrived in Melbourne in 1855. By 1858 they had come to Bacchus Marsh and built a house at Hopetoun a few kilometres east of the town. A brewery next to the house was also built around this time. It was a licensed brewery between 1862 and 1886. The elder William Symington died in March 1867 and the brewery was then operated by his son the younger William Symington for a number of years. It ceased operations sometime before 1900. Small sepia unframed photograph on card with gold border framing photograph. Housed in the album, 'Photographs of Bacchus Marsh and District in 1883 by Stevenson and McNicoll'. The image shows the brewery and house which belonged to the Symington family of Hopetoun, near Bacchus Marsh. The house is a timber structure with two chimneys and a front verandah. The front yard of the house is enclosed by a timber fence. At the front of the fence can be seen a dog kennel. Other tools, such as a wheelbarrow, lie in the yard. The brewery building is of timber and brick. On the hillside behind the buildings are paddocks fenced with post-and -rail fencing.On the front: Stevenson & McNicoll. Photo. 108 Elizabeth St. Melbourne. COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME. On the back: LIGHT & TRUTH inscribed on a banner surmounted by a representation of the rising sun. Copies of this Portrait can be had at any time by sending the Name and Post Office Money Order or Stamps for the amount of order to STEVENSON & McNICOLL LATE BENSON & STEVENSON, Photographers. 108 Elizabeth Street, MELBOURNE. stevenson and mcnicoll 1883 photographs of bacchus marsh and district, breweries, symington family bacchus marsh, william symington 1840-1929, william symington 1802-1867

This image is one of a series of photographs taken by Melbourne based photographers Stevenson and McNicoll who visited Bacchus Marsh and its nearby districts between September and November 1883. The house in the image is located at 82 Main Street Bacchus Marsh and as of 2024 is still occupied as a residence. The house was built in 1860 by William Watson for William Grant who leased the property to various tenants. From 1867 it was mainly leased to local doctors. The property stayed in possession of the Grant family for many years after this and was leased to many residents of Bacchus Marsh. The identity of the people in this 1883 photograph has not been established.Small sepia 'carte de viste' style unframed photograph on card with gold border framing photograph. Housed in the album, 'Photographs of Bacchus Marsh and District in 1883 by Stevenson and McNicoll'. The photo shows a single-storey brick cottage with a shingled hip roof with two chimneys visible. The cottage has a verandah with an ornamental barge board and pillars and a picket fence. Standing on the footpath are two women and two young girls. On the verandah of the house stands another woman holding a baby. Printed On the front: Stevenson & McNicoll. Photo. 108 Elizabeth St. Melbourne. COPIES CAN BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME. On the back: LIGHT & TRUTH inscribed on a banner surmounted by a representation of the rising sun. Copies of this Portrait can be had at any time by sending the Name and Post Office Money Order or Stamps for the amount of order to STEVENSON & McNICOLL LATE BENSON & STEVENSON, Photographers. 108 Elizabeth Street, MELBOURNE. stevenson and mcnicoll 1883 photographs of bacchus marsh and district, houses bacchus marsh, william watson builder bacchus marsh