MECHANICS’ institutes sprang up across Australia during the nineteenth century, and many of the buildings remain in use today.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
They originated in Britain and quickly spread to the colonies.<\/p>\n
The Mechanics’ Institute building in Heathcote dates from 1900, however it replaced a smaller, poorly-constructed wooden hall from the late 1860s.<\/p>\n
A meeting to establish an inaugural committee took place at the Heathcote Hotel in August 1859, however progress lagged after that.<\/p>\n
The Institute began life in rented premises, but, according to one disgruntled correspondent to the McIvor Times<\/em> in May 1863, it was rarely open.<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n By August 1864 the paper’s editor had joined the band of critics.<\/p>\n “We need not seek comparisons to prove that our Mechanics’ Institute is a disgrace to the Borough,” he wrote.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n By the following December he had adopted a more encouraging tone.<\/p>\n “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.”<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The 1890s saw a fundraising push as the Institute’s committee worked towards building new premises.<\/p>\n In 1899 they applied for a government grant and were calling for tenders in March 1900.<\/p>\n