Mechanics' institutes of Australia

Mechanics' institutes were a Victorian-era institution set up primarily to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working-class men, which spread to the corners of the English-speaking world, including the Australian colonies, where they were set up in virtually every colony.

The call for popular education in turn can be contextualised within the broader liberal, laissez-faire, non-interventionist philosophy which dominated British social, economic and political ideologies in the 19th century.

The provision of reading rooms, museums, lectures and classes were still important, but the Australian institutions were also more likely to include a social programme in their calendar of events.

Over 1200 mechanics' institutes were built in Victoria but just over 500 remain today, and only six still operated their lending library services as of 2010.

The first was based on the traditional working-men's educational model (founded 1838; merged with Adelaide Literary and Scientific Association and Mechanics' Institute in 1839, folded 1844).

[46] Later mechanics' institutes in South Australia included:[48] Others included: There were other similar institutions, although not called mechanics' institutes, but with similar aims, at Bellerive, Campbell Town, Devon, Glenora, Green Ponds, Hamilton-on-Forth, Lefroy, Oatlands, Sorell, Stanley and Wynyard; and the Tasmanian Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Launceston, 1831), the Tasmanian Society for the Acquisition of Useful Knowledge (Hobart Town, 1845), and the Mechanics' School of Arts (Hobart Town, 1850) were also focused on providing similar educational functions.

Over time, musical performances and various entertainments, such as penny readings took precedence over lectures, and their original educational aims were forgotten.