Historical information

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.

Significance

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.

Physical description

The Warrnambool Mechanics Institute Accessions Book, 1913-1922. Hard cover, olive green cover with brown protective cloth on corners. Page edges have coloured marble pattern.

Inscriptions & markings

Hand written inside cover "RA 02749457 MEC,000451"