Showing 35 items matching "ready reckoners"
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National Wool MuseumBooklet, Shearing Ready Reckoners
... Shearing Ready Reckoners...Booklet of ready reckoners with tables for calculations, produced by the Graziers' Association of Victoria....Booklet of ready reckoners with tables for calculations, produced by the Graziers' Association of Victoria....Shearing Ready Reckoners Booklet ...Booklet of ready reckoners with tables for calculations, produced by the Graziers' Association of Victoria.Booklet of ready reckoners with tables for calculations, produced by the Graziers' Association of Victoria.shearing, graziers' association of victoria, woods, mr george -
Mont De LanceyBook, D Matheson, Matheson's Australian Saw-Millers' Complete Log and Timber Ready Reckoner
... Matheson's Australian Saw-Millers' Complete Log and Timber Ready Reckoner......Ready reckoners...Log Books and Ready Reckoners were a necessary useful object of business life....A damaged small brown cardboard Saw Millers' Complete Log and Timber Ready Reckoner book. It has a Preface, Tables No. 1, 2 and 3. which give full details of round timber, circumference of logs, contents of timber in general building sizes and full details of circumference of circles and more. ...Books Documents Notebooks Log books Ready reckoners Log Books and Ready Reckoners were used and still are these days to record information for many different work needs. ...Log Books and Ready Reckoners were used and still are these days to record information for many different work needs. This small one would have been very practical for ease of use kept on-hand in a pocket. It was invaluable to carriers and all persons engaged in the timber trade.A damaged small brown cardboard Saw Millers' Complete Log and Timber Ready Reckoner book. It has a Preface, Tables No. 1, 2 and 3. which give full details of round timber, circumference of logs, contents of timber in general building sizes and full details of circumference of circles and more. There are handwritten notes inside the back cover. Opposite the title page is an advertisement for high grade circular saws and knives. Pp.120non-fictionLog Books and Ready Reckoners were used and still are these days to record information for many different work needs. This small one would have been very practical for ease of use kept on-hand in a pocket. It was invaluable to carriers and all persons engaged in the timber trade.books, documents, notebooks, log books, ready reckoners -
Linton and District Historical Society IncArithmetic Handbook, Collins Ready Reckoner
... Collins Ready Reckoner...Ready Reckoner used by J and F O'Beirne, Wool and Skin Merchants of Linton...Burgundy coloured 'Ready Reckoner'....Collins Ready Reckoner Arithmetic Handbook ...Ready Reckoner used by J and F O'Beirne, Wool and Skin Merchants of LintonBurgundy coloured 'Ready Reckoner'.J and F O'Beirne Linton Oct 20, (19)17wool and skin buyers, o'beirne, office equipment -
National Wool MuseumReady Reckoner, Wages Ready Reckoners
... Ready Reckoner...Wages Ready Reckoners...Shearing Grazcos Co-operative Limited 8 22 June 1964 26 July 1965 Wages Ready Reckoners Ready Reckoner ...Folder of tables produced by Grazcos Co-operative Limited for calculating shearers' wages.8 22 June 1964 26 July 1965shearing, grazcos co-operative limited -
National Wool MuseumReady Reckoner
... Ready Reckoner...Ready reckoner, (bareme), giving yield and valuations. ...Ready reckoner, (bareme), giving yield and valuations....Ready Reckoner ...Ready reckoner, (bareme), giving yield and valuations. Produced by the Commonwealth of Australia, Central Wool CommitteeReady reckoner, (bareme), giving yield and valuations.wool brokering wool sales, c. of a. - central wool committee, wool brokering, wool sales -
National Wool MuseumBooklet, Federal Award Rates and Ready Reckoner Tables and Woolclassers and shearing staff employees award rates
... Federal Award Rates and Ready Reckoner Tables and Woolclassers and shearing staff employees award rates...Federal Award Rates and Ready Reckoner Tables and Woolclassers and shearing staff employees award rates....Federal Award Rates and Ready Reckoner Tables and Woolclassers and shearing staff employees award rates....Federal Award Rates and Ready Reckoner Tables and Woolclassers and shearing staff employees award rates Booklet ...Federal Award Rates and Ready Reckoner Tables and Woolclassers and shearing staff employees award rates.Federal Award Rates and Ready Reckoner Tables and Woolclassers and shearing staff employees award rates.shearing farming, graziers' associations of victoria and riverina, shearing, farming -
Kerang Historical Society & MuseumMemorabilia - Ready Reckoner, The "Express" Ready Reckoner
... Ready Reckoner...The "Express" Ready Reckoner...The "Express" Ready Reckoner...Kerang Historical Society & Museum 17 Museum Drive Kerang the-murray The "Express" Ready Reckoner The "Express" Ready Reckoner Memorabilia Ready Reckoner ...The "Express" Ready Reckoner -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillageBook, The Victoria Gold Ready Reckoner
... The Victoria Gold Ready Reckoner.......ready reckoner...The Victoria Gold Ready Reckoner...Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and Village 89 Merri Street Warrnambool great-ocean-road flagstaff hill warrnambool shipwrecked-coast flagstaff-hill flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum maritime-museum shipwreck-coast flagstaff-hill-maritime-village book the victoria gold ready reckoner ready reckoner The Victoria Gold Ready Reckoner The Victoria Gold Ready Reckoner. ...The Victoria Gold Ready Reckonerflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village, book, the victoria gold ready reckoner, ready reckoner -
Clunes MuseumBook, THE LITERARY PRESS LTD, READY RECKONER
... READY RECKONER ...SPEEDY READY RECKONER WAGES CALCULATOR...Clunes Museum 36 Fraser Street enter building through Collins Place Clunes goldfields local history books reference books reference READY RECKONER WAGES CALCULATOR SPEEDY READY RECKONER WAGES CALCULATOR READY RECKONER Book BOOK THE LITERARY PRESS LTD WILLIAM COLLIINS, SONS & CO. ...READY RECKONER WAGES CALCULATORSPEEDY READY RECKONER WAGES CALCULATORnon-fictionREADY RECKONER WAGES CALCULATORlocal history, books, reference, books reference -
Anglesea and District Historical SocietyBook, Cassell's Concise Ready Reckoner, Estimated date: 1926-37
... Cassell's Concise Ready Reckoner...CASSELL'S / CONCISE / READY RECKONER 1/6 / CASSELL ...Cassell's Concise Ready Reckoner Book ...Small red cloth soft covered book containing a collection of tables for "business and other purposes" by F. W. Dunn B.A.B.Sc. (Royal College of Science for Ireland) Australian Libraries I.D, - 42728500. Inside cover is written in pencil "Williams c/- Bill Moodie 68 Clarence St. EZ 202". 247 pages.CASSELL'S / CONCISE / READY RECKONER 1/6 / CASSELL pocket reference library, money, finance, currency -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.Functional object - Disc Calculator
... New Style Ready Reckoner --- Made in Great Britian....Whitehorse Historical Society Inc. 2-10 Deep Creek Road Mitcham melbourne instruments measuring New Style Ready Reckoner --- Made in Great Britian. Flat round disc enclosed in cardboard container with round thumbhole at top which allows manipulation of disc. ...Flat round disc enclosed in cardboard container with round thumbhole at top which allows manipulation of disc.New Style Ready Reckoner --- Made in Great Britian.instruments, measuring -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.Book, Coles Handy Ready Reckoner, 1900?
... Coles Handy Ready Reckoner...Ready reckoners...Reckoner, including currency (pounds shillings and pence); interest tables. Coles Handy Ready Reckoner Book Book ...Reckoner, including currency (pounds shillings and pence); interest tables.Reckoner, including currency (pounds shillings and pence); interest tables.Reckoner, including currency (pounds shillings and pence); interest tables.ready reckoners, moffatt, william james -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural CollectionFunctional object - Scales - gold weighing, c. 1854
... Brass scales for gold, in wooden box, with brass weights and gold ready-reckoner booklet...Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection History House Cliff Street Portland great-ocean-road Betty Vivian's maternal grandfather was a gold miner at Majorca, near Maryborough Vic and the scales belonged to him gold mining scales gold rush Brass scales for gold, in wooden box, with brass weights and gold ready-reckoner booklet Functional object Scales - gold weighing Slater, Williams, Hodgson & Co Melbourne ...Betty Vivian's maternal grandfather was a gold miner at Majorca, near Maryborough Vic and the scales belonged to himBrass scales for gold, in wooden box, with brass weights and gold ready-reckoner bookletgold mining, scales, gold rush -
Orbost & District Historical Societybook, Warne Dollar & Cent Ready Reckoner, 1967
... Warne Dollar & Cent Ready Reckoner...accounting orbost-rifle-club ready-reckoner-warne decimal-currency...A small cream coloured book with brown print on front cover - "Warne Dollar & Cent Ready Reckoner"....Warne Dollar & Cent Ready Reckoner book Frederick Warne & Co Ltd ...This book was used after the introduction of decimal currency in 1966. it was used by the Orbost Rifle Club. The Orbost Rifle Club existed in the early 20th century. (There are records from 1900). It folded in the late 1970's.Target shooting is one of the oldest organised sports in Australia. Records date back to the British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. The Victorian Rifle Association (VRA) was formed in 1860. One of the most important adjuncts to the militia system from 1903 to the re-organisation of 1912 was the role played by the Rifle Club movement in Australia. At the time, these clubs were seen as the reservoir of manpower for a potential guerrilla force should any invasion occur. For Australia, the invasion fear was uppermost in the minds of the population. So important were the rifle clubs for the defence of Australia that the Commonwealth provided the training staff, rifles and ammunition so the clubs could function. Members were drilled, wore uniforms and practised all the basic skills of soldiering as well as target shooting. The Orbost Rifle Club was active during this period. This item is an example of accounting practices during the transition to Decimal currency.A small cream coloured book with brown print on front cover - "Warne Dollar & Cent Ready Reckoner".inside cover - Ted Curtis 5 Lind Lane Orbostaccounting orbost-rifle-club ready-reckoner-warne decimal-currency -
Stawell Historical Society IncBook, Collins Clear Type Press, Collins Handy Ready Reckoner 1920's
... Collins Handy Ready Reckoner 1920's...Small Reddish/Orange covered Ready Reckoner Calculations with tables of interest income and wage calculations. ...Danes Located in Main Street Stawell Collins Handy Ready Reckoner 1920's Book Collins Clear Type Press ...Small Reddish/Orange covered Ready Reckoner Calculations with tables of interest income and wage calculations. Danes Located in Main Street StawellDane Bro's Merchants Stawellshops, businesses -
National Wool MuseumFolder, Ready Reckoner
... Ready Reckoner...Ready reckoner giving yields and values....National Wool Museum 26 Moorabool Street Geelong geelong-and-the-bellarine-peninsula Ready reckoner giving yields and values. Wool Brokering Wool Sales Wool Brokering Wool Sales Ready Reckoner Folder ...Ready reckoner giving yields and values.wool brokering wool sales, wool brokering, wool sales -
Clunes MuseumBook - READY RECKONER AND WAGES BOOK
... READY RECKONER AND WAGES BOOK......ready reckoner...WAGES BOOK - COMPRISING TABLES FOR CALCULATING WAGES 2.READY RECKONER. A HANDY BOOK FOR MARKET,DESK & COUNTER BEFORE DECIMAL CURRENCY....Book READY RECKONER AND WAGES BOOK ...CALCUTION METHODS FOR WAGES AND OTHER ACTIVITIES1. WAGES BOOK - COMPRISING TABLES FOR CALCULATING WAGES 2.READY RECKONER. A HANDY BOOK FOR MARKET,DESK & COUNTER BEFORE DECIMAL CURRENCY.non-fictionCALCUTION METHODS FOR WAGES AND OTHER ACTIVITIESlocal history, document, ready reader, ready reckoner -
Yarrawonga and Mulwala Pioneer MuseumTractor calculator, Unknown
... A ready reckoner useful to the farmer during the 1950's...Yarrawonga and Mulwala Pioneer Museum 151 Melbourne St, Mulwala A ready reckoner useful to the farmer during the 1950's Allis Chambers tracotr calculator. ...A ready reckoner useful to the farmer during the 1950'sSquare orange card with rotating wheel attached by a centrre metal stud. By aligning appropriate measures on the wheel and card it tells the farmer the approx number of acres that can be worked in a ten hour day with any tool or implement.Allis Chambers tracotr calculator. Tractor speed miles per hour. Width of cut in feet of ploughs, harrows, cultivators, combines, harvesters etc (see photo) -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural CollectionBooklet, Compiled by John Flanagan, Adelaide, Calculo Every-man's Ready Reference, n.d
... Booklet-ready reckoner. Spirax wire binding covers yellow ochre heavy card with red and black print. ...Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection History House Cliff Street Portland great-ocean-road Booklet-ready reckoner. Spirax wire binding covers yellow ochre heavy card with red and black print. ...Booklet-ready reckoner. Spirax wire binding covers yellow ochre heavy card with red and black print. Inside pages lighter card, white, black print. -
Kiewa Valley Historical SocietyBook - Ready Reckoner, The Express Ready Reckoner, circa 1920s
... Book - Ready Reckoner...The Express Ready Reckoner......ready reckoner...Top of front cover "Inglis Reckoners" underneath "The 'Express' Ready Reckoner", underneath "with All the Pence up to 1(pound symbol), Interest, Wages, Discount, Tables Etc." ...The numbers refer to calculations of per unit price of goods and percentages. The Express Ready Reckoner Book - Ready Reckoner J. Gall and Inglis ...This item was produced for commercial shops and other traders in a period, 1800 to the 1950s. They were used because they were extremely cost effective, speedy, easy to learn and simple to use. It was also at a time before pocket calculators and electric cash tills were produced. The reckoners were a fast and accurate accounting book for a ever increasing bulk purchasing industry. These reckoners were at the start of a business principle "time is money" The reckoner was also looked upon as a way of reducing staff errors in the calculation field. This reckoner was highly valued to a rural industry in the Kiewa Valley because of the bulk produce being bought and sold here. Produce such as milk, tobacco, cattle, timber and fruits relied on weights and quantities calculation for cost pricing. Electrical machines were not of use in "the field or paddock" where important price negotiations took place. For a successful business to keep going accuracy was upper most to producers. It was still a time where honest transactions built reputations and tardiness ruined them. It was a time when a producer's word was his bond and a gentleman's handshake was as good as a contract. This attitude lasted a lot longer in rural regions than in the city. A producer's reputation was based on face to face negotiations and honesty.This hard cover book (blue in colour) contains 210 pages of black numbers and headings on light yellow pages (aged). The numbers refer to calculations of per unit price of goods and percentages.Top of front cover "Inglis Reckoners" underneath "The 'Express' Ready Reckoner", underneath "with All the Pence up to 1(pound symbol), Interest, Wages, Discount, Tables Etc." The spine: The Express Ready Reckoner with all the pence up to 1 (pound symbol) Interest Wages Discount Tables &c." underneath " The Express Series Vol 1" at the bottom of spine "Gall & Inglis"inlis, ready reckoner, imperial calculations -
Kiewa Valley Historical SocietyBook - Trade, Matheson's Australian Saw - Millers' Log and Timber Ready Reckoner by D. Matheson
... Matheson's Australian Saw - Millers' Log and Timber Ready Reckoner by D. Matheson...Ready Reckoners were published to assist tradesmen to calculate the size, capacity etc. of timber as required in their everyday work....Matheson's Australian Saw - Millers' Log and Timber Ready Reckoner by D. Matheson Book - Trade Commonwealth of Australia ...Ready Reckoners were published to assist tradesmen to calculate the size, capacity etc. of timber as required in their everyday work.Ewen Wallace used this book on his property at Kergunyah.Brown linen cover with black print written on 4 lines with black line underneath each. On left side a double thin black line vertical. At bottom black writing. Title, in black, on spine. 120 pages.'Ewen D. Wallace' written in pen. '7/6' written in pencilsaw millers, ewen wallace, logs, timber, farms -
Whitehorse Historical Society Inc.Book, 1963-1964
... Conversion tables and ready reckoner for decimal currency. Front cover features sterling and decimal prices....Conversion tables and ready reckoner for decimal currency. Front cover features sterling and decimal prices. ...Small pocket size booklet - red cover with black title and price. Twenty two pages. Conversion tables and ready reckoner for decimal currency. Front cover features sterling and decimal prices.books, reference -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.Book - BOOK - THE VICTORIA GOLD VALUER'S READY RECKONER
... BOOK - THE VICTORIA GOLD VALUER'S READY RECKONER...A fairly well aged copy of the Victoria Gold Valuer's Ready Reckoner which details gold prices, chemistry, and fossils of extinct animals. ...Book BOOK - THE VICTORIA GOLD VALUER'S READY RECKONER ...A fairly well aged copy of the Victoria Gold Valuer's Ready Reckoner which details gold prices, chemistry, and fossils of extinct animals. Has detailed writing of its previous owner on the first few pages.book, bendigo, mining -
Glenelg Shire Council Cultural CollectionBook, Standard Ready Reckoner, 1920
... Standard Ready Reckoner...... ready reckoner...Standard Ready Reckoner. Hard cover book red with black printing. ...Glenelg Shire Council Cultural Collection History House Cliff Street Portland great-ocean-road accounting ready reckoner standard units and measure measurement Standard Ready Reckoner. ...Standard Ready Reckoner. Hard cover book red with black printing. Spine missing, sticky tape in place of. Inscription on fly leaf 'K.B. Campbell 1929'. Letters and numbers written on back fly leaf.accounting, ready reckoner, standard units and measure, measurement -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.Book - Molassine Blotter, 1910
... Red covered, it contains information Calendar for three years and information on domestic animals - how to keep them when ill, also an English Dictionary, Atlas, ready reckoner, address book, at home days diary etc....Red covered, it contains information Calendar for three years and information on domestic animals - how to keep them when ill, also an English Dictionary, Atlas, ready reckoner, address book, at home days diary etc. ...Molassine was created in 1900 to exploit a secret formula for animal fed. The formula had been brought to Britain by Arthur Stein ‘a mid European probably hailing from one of the Balkan States’. At first the feed was made up by Henry Tate but in 1908 they began work in Greenwich. The molasses was bought locally from Silvertown and Plaistow refineries and the company built the first steel tanks for molasses bought from Danks, Steam Boiler Manufacturers, between 1910-1914. Their main product was a molasses based feed for horses - this consisted of sphagnum moss mixed with both beet and cane molasses and a ‘soupcon of maganesium calcum carbonate’. In the First World War this feed was considered antiseptic and soldiers used it as a plaster for wounds.Molassine Blotter Book published by the Molassine Company Limited, Tunnel Avenue, East greenwich, London, S.E. Red covered, it contains information Calendar for three years and information on domestic animals - how to keep them when ill, also an English Dictionary, Atlas, ready reckoner, address book, at home days diary etc.history, james lerk collection, molassine blotter -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.Book - MCCOLL, RANKIN AND STANISTREET COLLECTION: THE VICTORIA GOLD VALUERS READY RECKONER, 1853
... MCCOLL, RANKIN AND STANISTREET COLLECTION: THE VICTORIA GOLD VALUERS READY RECKONER...Book; Cloth bound hard cover book - 'The Victoria Gold Valuer's Ready Reckoner and Assayers chemical guide'. Being a manual descriptive of the ordinary as well as the scientific modes of conducting assays; with tables for ascertaining the carat value of gold audits sterling value (Scoffern & Higgins) Spine missing. ...Book MCCOLL, RANKIN AND STANISTREET COLLECTION: THE VICTORIA GOLD VALUERS READY RECKONER ...Book; Cloth bound hard cover book - 'The Victoria Gold Valuer's Ready Reckoner and Assayers chemical guide'. Being a manual descriptive of the ordinary as well as the scientific modes of conducting assays; with tables for ascertaining the carat value of gold audits sterling value (Scoffern & Higgins) Spine missing. Inside front cover stamped Big Hill Mining Company.MCCOLL RANKIN & STANISTREETgold mining, miners' safety cage, gold valuers ready rreckoner, mccoll rankin & stanistreet -
Mont De LanceyBook, Lily Sebire, Recipe book, c. late 1800's
... The back cover has a Henderson's Merchants' Ready Reckoner table....The back cover has a Henderson's Merchants' Ready Reckoner table. Recipe book Book Lily Sebire ...A handwritten recipe book belonging to Lily Sebire. There are only a few recipes as this is a thin notebook..Black fragile small thin notebook of handwritten recipes belonging to Lucy Sebire in the late 1800's. The covers are very worn and the pages are torn, faded stained and heavily tanned. It is tied together with string at the top left hand corner. Inside the front cover is a calendar printed for 1889 and 1890. The back cover has a Henderson's Merchants' Ready Reckoner table.non-fictionA handwritten recipe book belonging to Lily Sebire. There are only a few recipes as this is a thin notebook..recipe book, cooking -
Bendigo Historical Society Inc.Book - BENDIGO SALEYARDS COLLECTION: WARNE'S LARGE TYPE READY RECKONER
... BENDIGO SALEYARDS COLLECTION: WARNE'S LARGE TYPE READY RECKONER...Bendigo Saleyards Collection - Warne's Large Type Ready Reckoner...Red cloth covered titled Warne's Large Type Ready Reckoner Revised Edition 1943. Contents include: Decimal Conversion Tables, General Information, Simple Fractions, Rates Exceeding £1, Trade Discount & Duty Tables, Commissioon & Discount Tables, Table of Dates, Hourly Wages Tables, Conversion Tables, Money Weights and Measures (Imperial), The Metric System, Electrical Measures and Simple Rules in Mental Arithmetic....Book BENDIGO SALEYARDS COLLECTION: WARNE'S LARGE TYPE READY RECKONER ...Red cloth covered titled Warne's Large Type Ready Reckoner Revised Edition 1943. Contents include: Decimal Conversion Tables, General Information, Simple Fractions, Rates Exceeding £1, Trade Discount & Duty Tables, Commissioon & Discount Tables, Table of Dates, Hourly Wages Tables, Conversion Tables, Money Weights and Measures (Imperial), The Metric System, Electrical Measures and Simple Rules in Mental Arithmetic.bendigo, council, cattle markets, bendigo saleyards collection - warne's large type ready reckoner, frederick warne & co., ltd -
National Wool MuseumHandbook, 1966
... Back cover had a ready reckoner printed....Back cover had a ready reckoner printed. Handbook ...Donated by Mrs Robyn Adams, daughter of Victor Clyde- a wool grower from North-Eastern Victoria who used this itemWhite paper booklet with four staples on left spine. Front cover has heading -ELDER SMITH / GOLDSBROUGH MORT / LIMITED-. at top centre. Text also reads -WOOL HAND-BOOK / AND WAYBILLS-. Text is black and there are four red horizontal bars on the cover. Inside front cover has list of points to remember. First pages have instructions. Booklet contains several lined yellow pages which can be copied with carbon paper, or removed. Inside back cover has a foldable map. Back cover had a ready reckoner printed.wool sales, wool auction, wool transport, mrs robyn adams, elder smith goldsbrough mort limited, dalgety and company limited elder smith goldsbrough mort limited -
Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum and VillageRecord Book, before 1897
... There is also a section titled "Miscellaneous Information" that includes Weights and Measures, Postal Tarriffs, Holidays, Population of various towns and states, education and a Ready Reckoner for Hourly Wages. In UK in early 1800's the word 'mechanic' was applied to a broader range of skills such as working man, tradesman or artisan. ...There is also a section titled "Miscellaneous Information" that includes Weights and Measures, Postal Tarriffs, Holidays, Population of various towns and states, education and a Ready Reckoner for Hourly Wages. In UK in early 1800's the word 'mechanic' was applied to a broader range of skills such as working man, tradesman or artisan. ...This Record Book was printed and published in Melbourne by Sands & McDougall Limited and distributed to be sold by stationers for 1s. 6d (1 shilling and 6 pence) or with Blottings (blotting paper to soak up excess wet ink) for 2s. 6d..The back cover has advertising from the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society Limited, an insurance company based in Collins Street Melbourne.Inside the front cover is a Calendar for the year 1897 and a table with dates for Eclipses of the Sun and Phases of the Moon for that year. Contained within the diary is a loose page listing products and an order form for Sands & McDougall. There is also a section titled "Miscellaneous Information" that includes Weights and Measures, Postal Tarriffs, Holidays, Population of various towns and states, education and a Ready Reckoner for Hourly Wages. In UK in early 1800's the word 'mechanic' was applied to a broader range of skills such as working man, tradesman or artisan. Mechanics' Institutes were formed originally for voluntary, self-funded organisations, to improve the education of working men and to instruct them on their various trades. The germ of the idea came from a class formed in 1799 by Professor George Birbeck in Glasgow, Scotland, for journeymen mechanics (apprentice trade workers), with the first Institutes being organised in London and Manchester in the 1820's. By then the original aim had broadened and the Mechanics' Institutes were established as popular agencies of adult education. The Mechanics' Institutes were run by committees that provided facilities for a meeting room, hall suitable for lectures, and a library. Funding was raised locally and often supplemented by grants from government agencies for the purchase of books and other resources. Activities were community based. In Australia, Mechanics' Institutes were set up in New South Wales and in Tasmania in the late 1820's. Mechanics' Institutes began in Victoria, with the first one in Melbourne dating from 1839, providing similar services but in time offered services tailored to their specific area. Warrnambool's Mechanics' Institute (or Institution as it was sometimes called) was one of the earliest in Victoria. On 17th October 1853 a meeting was held where it was resolved to request the Lieutenant Governor of the Colony to grant land for the erection of a Mechanics' Institutes building. A committee was formed at the meeting and Richard Osburne chaired the first meeting of this committee. The land on the North West corner of Banyan and Merri Streets was granted but there were no funds to erect the building. The Formal Rights of the Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute's encompassed its aims and these were officially adopted in1859; "This Institution has for its object the diffusion of literary, scientific, and other useful knowledge amongst its members, excluding all controversial subjects, religious or political. "These objects are sought to be obtained by means of a circulating library, a reading room, the establishment of classes, debates, and the occasional delivery of lectures on natural and experimental philosophy, mechanics, astronomy, chemistry, natural history, literature, and the useful and ornamental arts, particularly those which have a more immediate reference to the colony." The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute opened its first reading room in November1884 in the National School building at the corner of Banyan and Timor Streets. The Institute was funded by member subscription, payable on a quarterly, half yearly or yearly basis. Samuel Hannaford, the Manager of the Warrnambool Bank of Australasia, was the first Honorary Secretary of the Mechanics' Institutes, and an early President and Vice-President. He also gave several of the early lectures in the Reading Room. Another early Secretary, Librarian and lecturer was Marmaduke Fisher, the teacher at the National School. Lecture topics included The Poets and Poetry of Ireland', 'The Birth and Development of the Earth', 'The Vertebrae - with Remarks on the pleasures resulting from the study of Natural History' and 'Architecture'. In q856 the Reading Room was moved to James Hider's shop in Timor Street, and by 1864 it was located in the bookshop of Davies and Read. In the 1860's the Mechanics' Institute struggled as membership waned but in 1866, after a series of fund raising efforts, the committee was able to purchase land in Liebig Street, on a site then called Market Square, between the weighbridge and the fire station. A Mechanics' Institute building was opened at this site in August 1871. The following year four more rooms were added to the main Reading Room and in 1873 the Artisan School of Design was incorporated into the Institute. The same year Joseph Archibald established a Museum; however it deteriorated when he was transferred to Bendigo in 1877. In 1880, with Archibald's return to Warrnambool, the Museum was re-established, and in 1885 a new building was built at the back of the Institute to accommodate the re-created School of Design, the Art Gallery and the Museum. In 1887 the Museum section was moved to the former court house in Timor Street (for some time the walls of the building formed part of the TAFE cafeteria but all is now demolished)). In 1911 the Museum was transferred back to the original building and the management of the Mechanics' Institute was handed over to the Warrnambool City Council. The Museum and Art Gallery became one and housed many fine works of art., and the Library continued to grow. The building was well patronised, with records showing that at the beginning of the 20th century there were between 500 and 800 visitors. During World War One the monthly figures were in the thousands, with 3,400 people visiting in January 1915. The Museum was a much loved Institution in Warrnambool until the contents of the Museum and Art Gallery were removed to make room for the Warrnambool City Council Engineers' Department. The contents were stored but many of the items were scattered or lost. In 1975 the original building was demolished and the site became occupied by the Civic Centre, which included the new City Library. (The library was temporarily located in the old Palais building in Koroit Street.) In the process of reorganisation the Collection was distributed amongst the community groups: - The new City Library took some of the historic books and some important documents, historic photographs and newspapers. - The Art Gallery kept the 19th Century art collection and some of the artefacts from the museum. - The Historic Society has some items - The State Museum has some items - Some items were destroyed - Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village has old newspapers, Government Gazettes, most of the Mechanics' Institute Library, ledgers and documents connected to the Mechanics' Institute Library, some framed and unframed art works and some photographs. The Warrnambool Mechanics' Institute Library book collection is deemed to be of great importance because it is one of the few collections in an almost intact state, and many of the books are now very rare and of great value. NOTE: Pages of this book have been digitally recorded and archived.The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute book collection has historical and social significance for its strong association with the Mechanics Institute movement and the important role it played in the intellectual, cultural and social development of people throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The collection of books is a rare example of an early lending library and its significance is enhanced by the survival of an original collection of many volumes. Record book, Warrnambool Mechanics Institute Curator's Diary, 1897,June to Dec (Donations). Printed and published by Sands & McDougall, Melbourne. Australian Rough Diary 1897 No 4, Card covers printed with advertising, 7 days to an opening, lined with cash columns.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, warrnambool mechanics' institute, mechanics' institute records warrnambool, record book c. 1897
