INTRODUCTIONThe regionThe region covered in this survey is the New England and North-west of New South Wales. It is shown in relation to New South and Australia on the accompanying map. This inland region extends approximately 350 kilometres (north to south) and 300 kilometres (east to west) and has an overall area of almost 98,600 square kilometres. It is dominated in the east by the tablelands of the Great Dividing Range and becomes slopes and plains as it moves to the west. The western parts are dominated by the Namoi and Gwydir Rivers. Though mining has been important in some areas of the region in the past - and is currently undergoing a revival as coal is being removed from areas around Gunnedah and Narrabri - the tablelands have developed as grazing areas for sheep and cattle and the slopes and plains have been used for cropping. Historically, the main crop of the region has been wheat but in recent years, its supremacy has been challenged by cotton. A key factor in the development of the region was the extension of rail services in the late nineteenth century. The population of the region in 2004 is approximately 175,000. In the period in which the Mechanics' Institutes were being set up in the second half of the nineteenth century, the region's population would have been only about 20,000. The Mechanics' InstitutesMechanics' Institutes are the focus of this publication. They were founded in Scotland by George Birkbeck in the early 1800s to educate the workforce (or mechanics) of the new industrial and scientific revolution. The movement spread from Scotland to England and then throughout the British Empire and beyond. It was not a "popular" movement from the workers but rather for the workers (See, for example, Fieldhouse).
Those who came to the Australian Colonies from the "old country" sought to bring with them customs and artifacts that helped to remind them of home. While this led to some "harmful" imports, such as foxes and rabbits, it also saw the introduction of representative and responsible government and the concept of the Mechanics' Institute. Unfortunately, the Mechanics' Institutes were not really successful in their goal of educating the workers of rural Australia. There were, after all, very few workers of the Industrial Revolution in the small towns and villages of Australia in the 1800s. But the people of these towns and villages soon adapted this imported idea to their own needs. The Institutes generally survived and the local institutions made a positive contribution to their communities. These institutions were very localised. They never federated or set up strong links with other similar institutions even within their own localities. Each of their stories is different but there are common themes. One impact of the lack of success in achieving their initial goals was that the term "Mechanics' Institute" fell from favour. Other terms such as "School of Arts" or "Literary Institute" proved more acceptable and were soon widely adopted. This explains why some of the younger institutions in the region were known as Schools of Arts from their inception and why the institution at Baan Baa for instance, established in 1922, has always been known as a Literary Institute. In Werris Creek - a railway town - the Mechanics' Institute, perhaps naturally, became a Railway Institute. The research processThe research reported here has been supported by the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. There is no comprehensive data-base in New South Wales on the State's Mechanics' Institutes. As a consequence, a state-wide publication on such institutes (as has been prepared in Victoria in Baragwanath's If the walls could speak) is not possible at this time. A regional approach has been adopted instead. The current project is a pilot for further studies of the remaining rural regions of the state and the areas of metropolitan Sydney.
The research in this volume is essentially local research. Local persons (listed elsewhere as Local Researchers) produced reports on their local institutions. The reports were guided by a 'template' that had been developed to cover the major features that 'may be expected' to be relevant to Mechanics' Institutes. Because of the localized nature of their development, it was not expected that all the parts of the template would be relevant to all the region's institutions. The reports, however, were structured in terms of the four parts of the template and the entries for each regional institution follow these four parts. The Project Researchers, Brennan and Newman, were responsible for the development of the template and adapting the individual reports into the entries for the publication. In the case of Armidale and Hillgrove, the reports were provided by independent researchers. The structure of the volumeThe original plan was to organise the various institutions in terms of the Local Government areas in which they were located. The landscape of Local Government in this and other regions of the State has changed dramatically and, with ongoing amalgamations and restructuring, is likely to be subject to further adjustments. A different approach was therefore adopted and the content has been organised in the form of a "tour of the region", somewhat akin to an historical and heritage tour. The various institutions are listed as they occur on an itinerary of the region that commences in the south at Quirindi and concludes, having completed a circle of the region, in Tamworth. The buildingsNo satisfactory means has been identified for classifying the buildings that are the symbols of the movement. Some thirty years ago, Wesson (1972) developed a classification of three types while in Candy and Laurent's 1994 publication, Kellermeier offered another classification of three types. Historical research and writing are never complete. The task remains for some other researcher to develop a simple but comprehensive scheme for categorising Mechanics' Institute buildings.
The research on the region reports on over forty buildings. They range from the substantial extant examples at Inverell, Warialda and Tenterfield to smaller and sometimes temporary structures that may have ended their useful existence as farm sheds, as at Mount Pleasant. The original buildings were constructed between the 1860s and the early decades of the twentieth century and were made of brick, timber or slab. Most were single-storeyed but some had a second storey. Generally the buildings consisted of a major room for lectures and smaller rooms for library facilities and other activities. The buildings were the result of local initiative supported by grants of land and 'matching' funds from the Colonial (and later State) Government. As in their Scottish inception, it was the leaders of the community - professional and business people, the clergy and land owners - who provided both the leadership and the funds for the organization and construction of the region's institutes. The ongoing success of the institutions usually depended on the support of the community's leaders through committees or boards of trustees. The first School of Arts committee of the "church city" of Armidale, for instance, included representatives of the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian clergy, as well as landed and business interests. The involvement of women in leadership roles was rare. The support of women, particularly the wives of the community leaders, however was important for the establishment and on-going success of the institutions. Glen Innes, in 1922, was something of a rarity in providing special entertainment rooms for women. The opening of a new Mechanics' Institute was an important event in the region's communities, variously described as a "gala" event or a "red letter day". These occasions were supported sometimes by the Governor or a Minister of State but certainly by parliamentary representatives, local government officials and the leaders and citizens of the community. The name of Sir Henry Parkes has been closely linked to the Tenterfield institution. Another important event for the communities was the opening of extensions or additions to their buildings, for supper rooms, reading rooms for the libraries, further developments of the main halls and even the addition of the popular, if somewhat controversial billiard rooms. These additions are evidence of general community acceptance. However, most institutions had a chequered career with periods of support but also times when numbers and finances were low.
Some of the buildings recorded in the following pages have been destroyed by flood, or fire (as at Warialda, Moree and Hillgrove), or have been demolished by windstorm or because of age and the excessive costs of renovation. Others survive and continue to serve a wide variety of functions for the local community. In Bundarra, for instance, the "hall" remains as the major social centre for the community The general situation is that surviving buildings are now "owned" by the Local Government agency and administered by various committees. The programsGenerally speaking, extensive programs of lectures were not evident, mainly because the pool of local lecturers was limited and audiences were not always responsive. There were a number of general lecture programs, such as those at Tenterfield, Narrabri and Gunnedah, and the record shows that during 1907-1908, technical education classes and lectures in Chemistry and Mining were held at Hillgrove. Other mentally stimulating activities such as debates were common and there were popular inter-Institute debates on the Tablelands. There were also dress-making classes at Uralla, classes with a "railway flavour" at Werris Creek and "soirees" at Tamworth. The library became a central focus for the institutions. It provided an important source of information on the local but also the regional and overseas worlds from which many remote communities felt disconnected because of vast distances and limited communication. Subsidies were also provided by government for library resources. As well as reference books and journals, there were newspapers and fictional works. The libraries varied greatly in size, usage, and the quality and quantity of their collections. Some, like Glen Innes, were described in the 1930s as being "excellent". Overall, they were a recognised part of the local community and provided a base for later library services. In many cases, these later services followed the partnership already developed between the institutions and local government. In Armidale, for instance, the School of Arts Library donated 9000 volumes to the War Memorial Library when the latter took over the city's library services. Several of the individual reports mention the early librarians by name. While they were generally not professionally trained, they were important contributors to the development of an important community service. The concept of local ownership and management of educational institutions, while common in other developed nations, was not widespread in nineteenth century Australia. The Mechanics' Institutes were a different kind of educational provider. Perhaps because of the way in which they were established and governed, their definitions of education and learning were broader than those of other educational institutions. When lecture programs and other similar activities received a limited response, a broader view of education was adopted, stressing social and leisure needs and focusing on library services. The provision of tables and special rooms for billiards provided an important illustration of how the institutions sought to address local needs. The lecture program may have had limited success, the library was probably being used by numbers of subscribers but the "social" dimension of the institution, noted through the use of the hall for meetings, dances and concerts, required some on- going attention. From the male point of view, billiards provided not only a source of social interaction but also local and inter-town competition. The name of Lindrum appears in reports as famous players featured in special demonstrations and competitions. These special events, together with the ongoing use of the tables, provided a necessary income stream. In Uralla in 1905, an appointment was made of a person as "billiard marker, librarian and caretaker". Billiards often proved so popular that additional facilities had to be added, such as at Quirindi and at Armidale where a separate, special room was constructed to cater for demand. The popularity of billiards illustrates two points about the institutions and their activities. The first is that they did not always enjoy a high level of popularity and programs were needed which kept in touch with current tastes and needs. The second was that financial considerations were usually a high priority for those managing the institutions and fees for billiard games provided a ready supply of funds.
Educationally, the institutes provided a link to the development in the 1970s of locally based adult education centres which emerged in many of the communities in the region. The focus on the library and its social, recreational and cultural dimensions of learning also provided a link with present twenty-first century emphases on lifelong and lifewide learning. While Mechanics' Institutes may have had limited success in achieving their initial goals, they have remained in many communities of the region, symbolised by a building or a library service. As they adapted to the needs of their local communities, they provided the foundation for a number of other community services and organisations, which now cater for the needs of many of the citizens of their communities. Subsequent activities and uses of the buildingsThe activities that were carried on in these buildings gradually changed from those of the imported role of the Mechanics' Institute to those that reflected the needs and stage of development of the local community. This process occurred at different times and in different ways throughout the region. After the problems of the Great Depression and the Second World War, Mechanics' Institutes had ceased to exist. When the State Government set up a library service in conjunction with Local Government in the 1940s, the last vestige of the original program ceased. However, there were other activities that had become part of the local program and some of these continued. The activities of the local Mechanics' Institute were determined by local needs and goals. They were focused on the local community and therefore difficult to compare and contrast. Reading the many individual stories of the institutions suggests however that the activities that were different from the original program of lectures and library may be categorized under three headings: activities linked to new ventures; activities focused on 'filling in gaps'; and activities that sought to preserve links with concerns associated with the Empire and later the Nation. The value and viability of the Mechanics' Institutes depended partly on their ability to become aligned with emerging ventures and developments. Examples of this in individual communities include the trial of gas and electric
The region's institutions, through their buildings, provided a short or long term solution to local gaps in the provision of services. One example is with local government where in Quirindi, Bingara and Inverell, for instance, the Mechanics' Institutes shared office space with the local councils. Educational institutions also made use of the Institute's facilities. In Bingara, for instance, when a new Institute building was erected, the Roman Catholic School took over the original building and went on to use it for over a century. Also, technical education made use of Mechanics' Institute spaces in Gunnedah, Bundarra and Wallangarra.
Organisations such as the RSL, various church denominations, the scouts, banks and individual businesses occupied all or part of the buildings. The uses of the buildings in a particular community depended on what was available and required. The use of the facilities for major community events declined in Quirindi and Narrabri, for example, with the building of an Oddfellows' Hall in Quirindi and a Town Hall in Narrabri. The third heading also recognises links with the formation of Mechanics' Institutes in the "old country" as well as with national and international developments in the twentieth century. The region's institutions were linked strongly to Australia's participation in the Boer War, as well as the First and Second World Wars, and in the subsequent remembrance of these conflicts in memorials, such as at Tenterfield, Warialda, Baan Baa and Ben Lomond. The institutions were frequently used as recruiting centres and venues for departure and "welcome back" functions for servicemen and women, as well as serving as canteens or depots for armed service operations. During the First World War, for instance, a "Soldier 's Club" was run in the Armidale School of Arts and during the Second World War, the Tamworth institute housed a popular service canteen. Specific "old country" links were evident in the naming of the 1933 addition to the Deepwater facility after King George V, and the Boggabri hall after Queen Alexandra, wife of Edward VII. On the national front, the linking of Tenterfield with Sir Henry Parkes and Federation has resulted in the building achieving national status and special attention, particularly during the Centenary of Federation year in 2001. The individual reports provide further evidence of features of this kind. The impact of the Mechanics' InstitutesThe individual reports record the local assessment of the impact of the Institutes. In seeking to summarise the variety of responses, three general themes are identified. The first is that the evidence of the Institutes in many communities in the twenty-first century is a building whether it still stands or has disappeared. Many of the original buildings, including those at Moree, Hanging Rock, and Gunnedah, are no longer standing. However, on the Gunnedah site stands Local government offices while the Moree Civic Centre now takes the place of the original School of Arts. Part of the Nundle School of Arts is still used by the regional library while the new Narrabri Library stands on the same site as the old School of Arts. But other buildings remain. In Inverell, the School of Arts now houses a regional art gallery; the beautifully restored Mechanics' Institute building in Tamworth is a museum for Australian Country Music; and the Armidale Literary Institute accommodates a Folk Museum. The Warialda Soldiers' Memorial Hall and School of Arts still serves a very significant role in the community, while in Bingara, two former Schools of Arts buildings remain, although now serving ends quite different from those for which they were originally intended. Secondly, there is also a major service that can be traced to the Institutes and their original purpose and that is the library. Still a State Government supported and locally managed service, libraries remain a major source of information as well as a source for entertainment and leisure through various media and the printed word. Lifelong learning is facilitated through these sources. The third theme has to do with community involvement. The region in which these Institutes were developed has never been "closely settled", the population has never been high and in many communities it is in decline. However, the Institutes were established and grew and were supported and changed their programs to meet local needs. This happened because of partnerships between government and local communities. The initiative came from the local community, inspired by developments overseas in a world in which communication was more difficult and slower than in this century. A borrowed idea was transformed into a "native" institution that filled in gaps and helped with new activities and showed how government and community partnerships could work. Institutions believed to have existed - from official documents or local tradition - but not covered in this study include: Binalong (near Boggabri), Bowling Alley Point, Delungra, Elsmore, Tingha and Walcha Road. Further research may unearth the stories of these and perhaps other institutions of the region. ReferencesBaragwanath, P. 2000. If the walls could speak: A social history of Mechanics' Institutes in Victoria. Windsor: Mechanics' Institute Inc. Candy, P.C. & Laurent, J. (Eds). 1994. Pioneering culture: Mechanics' Institutes & Schools of Arts in Australia. Adelaide: Auslib. Fieldhouse, R. & Associates. 1996. A history of modern British adult education. Leicester: National Institute of Adult Continuing Education. Kellermeier, S. 1994. 'The architecture of the institutes: Selected examples from Queensland', in Candy, P.C. & Laurent, J. (Eds). Pioneering culture: Mechanics' Institutes & Schools of Arts in Australia. Adelaide: Auslib, pp 253-267. Wesson, A. 1972. "Mechanics' institutes in Victoria", Australian journal of adult education, 12, 1, 3-10.
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