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between 1873-75. The present library was built in 1880. Heritage Registered
Two years later the timber building was removed and a
hall erected. The library continued into the 1970s. The Three of the above mechanics' institutes are listed on
hall was the town's earliest theatre. It is now used as an Victoria's three heritage conservation registers:
art & craft workshop and theatre and is maintained by
the Arts Council. I. Register of the National Estate (Australian Heritage
Commission) Lilydale Mechanics' Institute and Mel b.
Surrey Hills Athenaeum.
2. Vic. Heritage Register (Heritage Victoria)-
Ballarat Mechanics Institute & Melboume Athenaeum
3. National Trust Register (National Trust of Australia,
Victoria) -Lilydale Mechanics' rnstitute.

Conclusion

Mechanics' Institutes provided many functions to meet
diverse needs. An institute could be a lodge room, a school.
a library and a cinema all rolled in one. Our communi-
ties were short on public halls but they needed them to
prosper and grow. Many places did not have a library or
cinema until the 1920s or 1940s but mechanics' insti-
tutes have been around in Victoria since the mid nine-
teenth century. We owe a lot to the "mechanics' for ena-
bling us to borrow books, celebrate a local event, join a
club, and watch our favorite films. Our Mechanics' In-
stitlttes played an important role in the development of
local communities, libraries, education, and cinema and
therefore hold an imp01tant place in the history of Aus-
In 1840, a public meeting was held with a view to estab- tralia to be remembered and cherished.
lishing a mechanks' institute and School of Arts but an
approach Lo the Nunawading Shire Council proved un- References
successfu I.
M. Avellng, Lilydale. The Billanook Country 1837-1972.1972.
In 1891, the Surrey Hills Hall was built for a Mrs Elleker
P.C. Candy and J. Laurent.
of St Kilda mostly for community purposes. The build-
Pioneering Culture: Mechanics· Institutes and Schools Arts in Australia.
ing was designed by W.M. Pitt. It had two shops in front
and two lodge rooms with several ante rooms upstairs. CATHS Archives.
·cinema Historians Visited Our Theatres· North Central News 11/9136.
At the rear was a large hall. In 1892, a Literary Institute
used one of the rooms upstairs as a library+ and reading
D.Catrice.
room. The Lodge Room was used by five lodges on vari- Cinemas in Melboume: 1896-1942. Monash University thesis. 1991.
ous nights for many decades.
Deparunent of Natural Resources & the Environment, Inventory of Me-
chanics' Institutes In Victoria.
The hall was the centre of entertainment for fifty years
with concerts often featuring overseas artists. Bazaars, History Nook. Surrey Hills.
electoral meetings, patriotic demonstrations, rallies, and In Celebration of the Centennial 1883-1983, 1983.
gymnastics were also held there. Silent films were
K. Dowdy. The Making of Our Town Camperdown, 1983.
screened during the 1920s - children sal on hard forms
in the front rows. The pricier seats were the horse-hair J.E. Loney and E.W. Morris.
padded ones of the back row raised some six inches on a Twelve Decades. a Short History of Apollo Bay, 1970.
small platform. Lolly-boys from the confectionery shop
C. Milward-Bason.
at the entrance brought their wares to patrons during the Mechanics' lnstitutes and ,Schools of Arts in Austrnlia: an Annotated Bib-
interval. liography of Secondary Sources 1996.

The status of the hall lifted when it became the Rex Thea- Y. Palmer.
Tracks of the Years: the Story of St Arnaud. 1985. St Arnaud
tre and sound pictures took over. Eventually it was super- Mechanics· Institute And Libary, 1973.
seded by the Independent Theatre just north of the rail-
way line which opened in 1939. For FurUter Reading
Contact the Prahran Mechanics· Instirure
140 High Street. Prahran tel./fax 9510 3393
(open Mon-Fri 9.30-4pm Sar9.30-lpm)
or visit our Website at htt p:\www. vicnet.net.au\-pmil nc

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