The Heathcote Mechanics’ Institute: enrichment and entertainment

MECHANICS’ institutes sprang up across Australia during the nineteenth century, and many of the buildings remain in use today.

Their primary purpose was to provide adult education for working men as well as a local library, but they were also seen as an important place for social interaction.

They originated in Britain and quickly spread to the colonies.

The Mechanics’ Institute building in Heathcote dates from 1900, however it replaced a smaller, poorly-constructed wooden hall from the late 1860s.

A meeting to establish an inaugural committee took place at the Heathcote Hotel in August 1859, however progress lagged after that.

The Institute began life in rented premises, but, according to one disgruntled correspondent to the McIvor Times in May 1863, it was rarely open.

They also claimed “there is so much apparent apathy exhibited by the respectable portion of the residents of this township generally for the welfare of the above Institute.”

By August 1864 the paper’s editor had joined the band of critics.

“We need not seek comparisons to prove that our Mechanics’ Institute is a disgrace to the Borough,” he wrote.

“There is positively not one redeeming feature about the whole institution-the room is cold, cheerless, and not over clean; the library, by no means extensive, is in a dilapidated condition, and at the mercy of anyone mean enough to take the books away without the intention of returning them.”

By the following December he had adopted a more encouraging tone.

“The room is kept in a clean and orderly state,” he wrote, “the papers are regularly filed, and in winter the reading room is rendered comfortable and cheerful by the assistance of a good fire; and all this at the disposal of anyone who pays 4 and 3/4d. (not the price of a glass of ginger beer) per week.”

In 1884 the Mechanics’ Institute combined with the Heathcote Mutual Improvement and Debating Society to hold a number of classes and by 1889 it incorporated a free, as versus subscription, library.

The 1890s saw a fundraising push as the Institute’s committee worked towards building new premises.

In 1899 they applied for a government grant and were calling for tenders in March 1900.

The McIvor Times reported that “the plans provide for a handsome building of brick and freestone on bluestone foundations.”

Unfortunately the grant was not forthcoming, and the design was subsequently modified to keep costs down.

A new tender for £639 10s was finally accepted in September 1900.

Works were almost complete by Christmas and the building was in regular use by January 1901.

A billiard room was added in 1909 and the Institute was thriving.

But as with many local groups, it began to founder after the First World War.

In 1919 there were only 59 subscribers, and this had dwindled to one by 1951.

However the building remained in constant use.

The RSL were appointed caretakers in 1951 and used it as a club room until the current hall was opened in 1955, while the billiard room was still open to the public.

After the Shire Hall was gutted by fire, also in 1951, council sat in the Mechanics Institute and it became a temporary shire office.

At one point it housed an infant welfare centre.

Today the old Mechanics’ Institute building is used by a number of community groups including the Heathcote Senior Citizens, U3A, Girl Guides, the Australian Plant Society, and the day branch of the CWA.