NARRABRIThe Narrabri Mechanics' Institute was established in temporary rented premises in Maitland Street in the early 1870s. By March 1874, land had been set aside for an Institute and the foundation stone for a new, permanent building was laid by the local Member of Parliament, Mr T. Dangar, in 1879. The building, which was completed in the following year, stood in Doyle Street, near the corner of Barwon Street, on a site now occupied by buildings of the Narrabri Shire Council. An interesting article from an issue of the Narrabri Herald at the time makes it clear that the new premises were far from expansive. They were described as "a couple of rooms too hot to read in of a summer 's evening and too cold on a winter 's night".
Within months of the opening of the building in 1880, public agitation led to the addition of a hall. The later recollections of an elderly citizen described the addition as "a hall with a stage at one end and along one side, a long kitchen with big stoves". As soon as the hall came into use, it became the venue for many of the social functions, particularly dances, that had previously been held elsewhere in the town. It would seem that by the early 1890s, the Mechanics' Institute had became popularly known as the "School of Arts". The record shows that the School of Arts buildings were lit by gas in 1906, the lights being installed by Mr A. Watts. Interestingly, the buildings had featured in a public trial of electric lighting back in 1892. Guy Young, writing in When Narrabri was Young, quotes the following account from the Town and Country Journal of 1892: "The trial of electric light took place here on February 4 and 5, 1892. Two arc lights hung in the street, one at the post office corner overlooking Maitland and Doyle streets and the other at the Mechanics' Institute. The light showed a long way around. There were fifty or sixty lights in the Mechanics' Hall." A new billiard room was added to the School of Arts in 1910 and officially opened by the Mayor, Alderman Luke Malone, on the 3rd March in the same year. The School of Arts continued on the site until September 1922 when it was closed and the buildings were taken over by the Narrabri Parents & Citizens' Association. By then, the buildings were in rather bad shape and repairs to the hall were needed before it could be licensed for public use. During 1934, the Public Works Department took over the building and converted it into a modern office block, establishing its own local headquarters in the premises. In November 1948, after further alterations, the building became the home for the Narrabri Public Library and, after January 1951, the Namoi Regional Library. The final renovations of the building were carried out in February 1960. Three years later, it was demolished and replaced by more modern library premises. Its StoryIt is clear that the Narrabri Mechanic's Institute began in a small way. The Narrabri Herald, towards the end of the 1870s reported: "Hitherto our local library has been of the circulating class simply. The Queen's English by Dr Alford and Ogilvie's Dictionary have been our great works of reference. The balance of books has been made up by standard authors of the day. Lectures and penny readings have been unknown." After the addition of the Mechanics' Institute Hall, activity increased dramatically. Local dramatic performances, described as "mainly farces and melodramas", began to flourish. The Narrabri Garrick Club was formed in 1883 and went on to stage regular productions including "All that Glitters is not Gold", and "Caught in the Cuff". Frequent concerts were held featuring "ballads and comic recitations" and the Herald reported, on one occasion, that: "Mr and Mrs Druitt sang 'White Wings' in a free and happy style, and Mrs Druitt sang 'Golden Love' extremely well and with great effect." Other interesting activities of the Institute at the time included regular lectures from a visiting phrenologist who assessed the characters of his volunteers from the bumps and indentations on their heads! From time to time, he also included exhibitions of "mesmerism" in his presentations. Debating became very popular, especially after the formation of the Institute's "Debating Club" in 1885. It is recorded that eighty people, including thirty women, turned up to listen to a debate entitled "That the execution of Queen Mary of Scots was unjustifiable" and that audiences of over fifty people were common at the club's weekly debates. Interest in debating appears to have lapsed for a time during the 1890s but it was subsequently revived with the formation of the Narrabri School of Arts Debating Society in May 1901. Public lectures were also held during these early days of the Institute: "Father Hearn of the local Roman Catholic Church gave a number of lectures on subjects not concerned with religion. The Rev. Joseph Searle lectured on 'The Conquest of Mexico'. Dr Walley gave classes in First Aid, and lecturers from the Board of Technological Education gave lectures on Sheep and Wheat Farming." Issues of the Narrabri Herald in 1892 provide a very good indication of the extensive use made of the Narrabri School of Arts at the time:
Much of the public function of the School of Arts was usurped in 1893 with the erection of the Narrabri Town Hall. A number of people had argued at the time that the School of Arts Hall was big enough for Narrabri's needs but a public referendum strongly favoured the town hall project. Meetings and social functions which had previously been held at the School of Arts were now transferred to the newer and larger Town Hall.
Mr John Brooks, through his research into early editions of the Narrabri Herald, has uncovered detailed records of the operation of the Narrabri School of Arts during the period from 1903 to 1905. Its President during this period was Theodore "Theo" Morath, a German immigrant who ran a successful sawmilling business in the town and who raised a large family. The Vice-President in 1903 was Charles Ross, the manager of another sawmill. The Treasurer was H. Loder, the Secretary was W. G. Dengate and the Auditors were S. W. Brown and C. Guest. The President and his officers were supported by a Committee of no fewer than ten other men, all of whom were respected members of the community. This involvement of community leaders in the management of Schools of Arts provides an indication of the high regard in which they were held at the time. The Annual General Meeting held on 21 July 1905 reported that the Narrabri School of Arts had 128 members. Its membership fees had produced income of "40 pounds eleven shillings" and the hall rent had provided another "64 pounds". It was reported that a hundred books had been repaired and that a new bookcase had been installed and painted. It was also noted that "the windows of the hall have been protected by wide boards which prevents peering into the hall." The Narrabri Herald carried a detailed report of the meeting, along with details of how many meetings had been attended throughout the year by the various Committee members. It is worth listing these, not only to record those who were involved but also to show the extent of the community's involvement in the organisation:
The Narrabri School of Arts hall was frequently used for community and social gatherings. In about 1910, for instance, a Miss Buckland ran cooking classes there, making use of the large stoves in the hall's kitchen. An interesting incident in March 1922 shows that the School of Arts Hall was still being used at the time for social functions. John Brooks tells the story: "A group secured the School of Arts and held a dance but attendance was by invite only. People heard about this and gathered outside in the street. When someone came out for fresh air or a smoke, they were accosted by the crowd outside, 'why weren't we invited', 'what is going on', I suppose they asked. Then, after a while, a dead duck was thrown through the window and onto the dance floor. The outside group than arranged an impromptu hire of the Town Hall and from their number, organised some music. After a while, the two groups joined together for a happy night at the Town Hall." By the time of the "incident of the dead duck", however, it had become clear that insufficient income was being generated by the School of Arts to justify its continued existence. At a meeting in September 1922, it was revealed by the Committee that members would have to be charged "three pounds, ten shillings" each, just to keep the hall going. Faced with this prospect, the meeting decided to formally close the School of Arts and to hand the premises over to the Narrabri Parents' & Citizens' Association. Its Later UseAs noted above, the Narrabri Mechanics' Institute building, or "School of Arts", was taken over by the Department of Public Works in 1934 and from then on, was used for offices. From1948 onwards, it served as the home of the Narrabri Public Library and later, the Namoi Regional Library. The building was demolished in 1963 to make way for a new Council owned library building on the site. Its Significance to the CommunityThe record shows that the Narrabri Mechanics' Institute had its "hey day" during the period from the late 1870s to the early years of the Twentieth Century. It appears to have been in full operation at least until the outbreak of the First World War and possibly for a few years afterwards. For much of its life, it had depended heavily on community use and support of its facilities, particularly its large meeting hall. When the Narrabri Town Hall was built, the "School of Arts" hall became a less popular and less frequently rented facility. This in turn affected the Institute's finances and eventually led to its demise. By this time also, interest in public lectures and in billiards as a social entertainment had also begun to wane, adding to the Institute's difficulties. Interestingly, the original library function of the Institute was to continue in the same building for some fifteen years from 1948 onwards. When the building was eventually demolished, the one which replaced it was also used, in part, to house a library service.
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