March 6, 2024

Day 15: Ballarat Mechanics Institute

It was a slow start to the day, which was welcomed at this part of the trip. Ballarat offered up blue skies and warm temperatures. The temperatures eventually climbed to 32 C. I did get to enjoy a walk with my new "friend" Louie, we ate lunch and then made our way to the Mechanics Institute of Ballarat. 

My interest in Mechanics Institutes goes back to my Masters thesis which looked at the Kingston Mechanics Institute and the attempt to provide adult educational opportunities. In short, mechanics institutes were born out of an early 19th century movement in the UK  to offer education opportunities to "mechanics" or tradespeople and artisans. Many times, the main thrust of the these institutes was the establishment of subscription libraries. Typically, mechanics institutes offered courses and lectures to its members. The movement spread throughout the UK and many of her colonial possessions, ( Canada and Australia) . Many of these institutes evolved into public libraries that one can find today, in the cities and towns where these institutes existed. It is "rare" to find Mechanics Institutes that still operate , and offer a subscription library service. One such one exists here in Ballarat. 

The Mechanics Institute here dates back to 1859. The establishment of a mechanics institute occured a year after the discovery of gold here in Ballarat and the rush to exploit this find. Ballarat was a gold rush town, and the establishment of a mechanics institute fit the familiar pattern of offering educational opportunities to the numerous men who came to Ballarat during this time. The current location sits on Sturt St, in a beautiful Victorian building. Today, it continues as a subscription library and offers access to over 16,000 volumes of fiction and non-fiction as well as extensive archives of publications, newspapers and periodicals. It still offers lectures to its members and the public on a variety of topics. The building is open to the public although lending privileges are available only to members. It was fascinating to pursue the old archived collection. Although a tour was unavailable, I hope to do one next week. 

After visiting the Mechanics Institute, we did a short walk through the centre of the town. As you look at its architecture and statuary, its Victorian roots are clearly evident. The city has a stretch of statues that line the main thoroughfare of the city. Two of my favourite statues were the one to Queen Victoria, which recounted in panels the main events of her reign , and her signing of the constitution for the establishment of the Australian Federation. Another is a statue to that great Scottish poet, Robbie Burns. Another wonderful memorial is to the gold rush , that has a representation of the "welcome nugget" which depicts the original gold nugget that precipitated the gold rush, which gave rise to this community.  The architecture is beautiful and if you let your eyes gaze upward on some buildings you will see not only a statue to  Minerva ( the goddess of wisdom)  but also examples of art deco. 

It was a great way to spend the afternoon. Tomorrow, I hope to do more exploring and discover more about this town's local history.