The Institute movement came to Melbourne in 1839 with the establishment of the Melbourne Mechanics’ Institute later known as the Melbourne Athenaeum. Adopting the principles of self help, social improvement and the recognition of the importance of useful knowledge, it maintained a library, a reading room and an art gallery, while also establishing classes and lectures in a variety of fields. Various dates have been suggested for the founding of the Cheltenham Mechanics’ Institute with the range being somewhere between 1853 and 1856. The first Institute building erected on the tip of the land where Charman Road joined Point Nepean Road was of weatherboard construction. It consisted of a small hall, a reading room and a library. Later it was realized that the building was inadequate for community functions that attracted a large number of participants; consequently additions and modifications were needed. The Shire Council in 1888 voted £10 to the building fund but stipulated that the money would only be paid when the new building was commenced. Major contributors to the fund were the temperance societies who were regular users of the Institute’s facilities. As a result of their contributions the building was named Mechanics’ Institute Free Library and Temperance Hall with this title being proudly painted on its façade in ‘gold letters shaded with blue’.Black and white image of a group of six men dressed in suits and wearing hats, standing at the front entrance of the Mechanics Institute, Free Library and Temperance Hall, Cheltenham

A small book of 125 pages containing information, photographic images and sketches. The book is printed on buff coloured paper with a green trim around the front cover. It also includes a comprehensive bibliography. The cover features a sketch of a Cobb & Co. Coach.This booklet was produced for Victoria's sesquicentenary celebrations. It tells the story of Victorian postal services starting with the appointment of Melbourne's first official Postmaster Mr E J Foster on 13th April 1837. This position changed hands frequently and by 1851 Victoria's 8th Postmaster Alexander McCrae held the position. The construction of one of Melbourne's oldest landmarks began in three stages beginning in 1859 and was completed in 1867. The book includes developments in the mail service including by sea and overland by horseback and Cobb and Co. coaches. The mail coach contractors on the Melbourne to Albury route in 1854 was George Foster followed in 1856 by Patrick Mulcare. Other chapters in this publication include transporting the mail by rail and air as well as details about a small number of post offices and people who dedicated themselves to ensuring the mail reached its destination safely.victorian postal service, australia post history