Mechanic Institutes and Athenaeums:
Mechanics' Institutes were established in Europe and America in the early nineteenth century as voluntary organisations for craftsmen and skilled workers. Institutes aimed to disseminate knowledge from trade to trade, breaking down traditional guild exclusiveness. They provided for the education of craftsmen and other skilled workers through lectures on science and a variety of self improvement topics.
Athenaeums were essentially subscription libraries, something between a public and a private organisation. They were popular from the late seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, often set up by scholarly professional groups for the benefit of other institutions, such as institutes and academies, but with their membership open to the general public.
Mechanic Institutes and Athenaeums in New Zealand in the Nineteenth Century:
In New Zealand, such organisations were formed for craftsmen and skilled workers following the first wave of large-scale European settlement in the 1840s. In Otago, the Provincial Council reserved land for mechanics' institutes and the like throughout the area in the 1860s and 1870s: Oamaru (1865), Lawrence (1870), Hampden and Invercargill (1871), Cromwell and Riverton (1873), Roslyn (1874) and Arrowtown (1875). After the abolition of the Otago Provincial Council there continued to be new reserves set aside at Port Chalmers and Waikouaiti in 1877. One study, which identified at least 96 such institutes in New Zealand, concluded that the majority were originally formed to run a library, although many provided adult education services.
Librarian and historian David Verran notes that:
'by the time of their export to New Zealand in the middle of the nineteenth century, the norm was more to provide a modest library of fiction and some non-fiction, a reading room for newspapers and magazines, and a venue for popular lectures and classes, book readings, selections from plays and light drama and music.'
James Belich describing them as:
'agents of the mid-nineteenth century forebears of moral evangelism, intended to fill the spare hours of self-improving workmen with useful leisure, or at least harmless pleasures, such as listening to or reading moralizing sermons, or playing Draughts and reading newspapers'.
Verran considered the impact of these organisations to be significant, if varied, at least until the 1880s.
Origins of the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute:
The Dunedin Mechanics' Institute was formed in 1851 by Reverend Thomas Burns (1796? - 1871), who was the most important religious leader in the early settlement of Otago and a strong supporter of public education. The Institute began with high educational and cultural ideals, 'a courageous and commendable experiment in view of the primitive facilities that existed for the dissemination of knowledge of the sciences and arts.' It was supported by many of the prominent men involved in early governing of the town. The inaugural meeting was attended by several prominent Otago figures including Burns, William Cargill, James Macandrew and John McGlashan. The objects of the institute included:
‘Lectures and classes for public instruction upon such subjects as natural philosophy, history, astronomy, geology, chemistry, political economy, music, languages, etc., and also to have regular fortnightly meetings of the members for mutual improvement by essays, reading and conversational inquiry.'
These were ambitious goals for a community of only 1500.
The Mechanic Institute's first building was on the site of what is now the Cargill Monument in the Exchange and opened on the 8 January 1853. The building was a small two-roomed affair designed by Daniel Macandrew, brother to James Macandrew, but provided an important meeting place for the budding settlement: the Provincial Council met there for many years, as did the Town Board.
According to David Verran, the Dunedin Mechanics Institute had few members or books, and held no classes. Later assessment judged the institute as ‘the most ambitious attempt to promote the cultural life of the village, but was perhaps a little too aspiring', flitting ‘sadly in and out of the story of Dunedin.' An 1858 report in The Colonist showed to the disgrace of Dunedin that six years after establishment its ‘membership was almost non-existent [20 members], and that under the headings number of books, number of classes, lectures during the year, subjects taught, objects of the institution and progress since first established, the answer in each case would have been ‘None'.'
The sharp words on the inefficacy of the organisation led to rebirth of the Mechanics Institute. It was renamed the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute and 44 new members joined. The organisation was given one thousand pounds for a building by the Provincial Council and the new building was completed in June 1862. The old Princes Street section was sold for a profit, and although the gold rushes of 1861-1862 had a negative effect on membership numbers, membership did increase. By the mid-1860s, the organisation had grown to include around 563 members and the new building was not large enough to accommodate them.
Construction of the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute Building:
By mid-1869 there were firm plans to erect a new building in Dunedin, although the process tried the patience of the Committee of Management, and was not without opposition. The Committee resolved to issue a notice requesting architects to furnish designs for the new building by early June. The Committee proposed that the building be brick and stone, or brick only, and that there be two shops facing The Octagon, and that there be a conversation room, class and storerooms, library, reading room, magazine and ladies room. Eight tenders were received for the construction of the new building. On 7 August 1869 the Committee of Management accepted the tender of W.T. Winchester at a price of £2,500. Winchester apparently declined to take up his tender and the next lowest of Messrs Watt and Co. was put to the Committee.
On 26 July 1869, architect David Ross presented plans for a new building in the Octagon. The committee had described the drawings marked ‘Economy' as exhibiting the most attention to detail, with the accompanying elevation ‘tasteful, striking and distinctive.' The Otago Witness published a description of the new building based on Ross' plans. The building had a ‘shop frontage, and a large hall and other premises at the back.' The site had a steep fall away from the Octagon and this was to be used for kitchens, cellars or other such uses. The article gave a detailed description of the new building:
‘The front will consist of two shops with an 8ft corridor between them. One of these will be 18ft by 30ft, and the other 15ft by 30ft, and will have cellars and kitchens, and large living rooms above them.'
The rents from the premises were to form revenue for the Athenaeum, or it was hoped, up to £225-250 per annum.
‘At the end of the corridor there will be an entrance hall, 12ft by 23ft 6in, leading to the reading room, which will have an area of 36ft by 35ft, and to the library of 35ft by 18ft, also to a magazine room of 14ft 6in by 23ft 6in on the right, and to ladies' room of 14ft by 15ft on the left, the latter having a lavatory and other conveniences attached. These rooms will be so arranged, by the librarian's desk being placed in a position that will command the whole of the entrances, so that no person can enter or retire without being seen.'
The two large rooms were to be divided by a moveable partition so that one large room could be formed with an area of 54ft by 35ft. The height of the shops and the magazine room was 15 ft, while the library was 17ft 6in. The library was lighted from the ceiling, and the reading room from windows in the side of the hall. The library had fireplaces and the reading room a large stove in the centre.
An 8ft staircase lead from the central hall to the basement floor, where a lobby, 12ft by 24ft, led to a conversation room, 14ft by 18ft, and to three class rooms, respectively 30ft by 17ft, 17ft 6in square, and 18ft by 13ft, all to be divided by moveable partitions, so as to form one large lecture room.
The basement floor also included ‘rooms suitable for the residence for the librarian', a storeroom, provision for a lavatory, and a passage to the yard at the back. The whole of this floor was to be built of bluestone with brick partitions, except where moveable. The roof was slate, and the interior plastered.
The front was of classic design, with Corinthian pillars on each side of the corridor supporting a pedestal, ‘on which is to be place a group of figures in relievo, the centre part will stand prominently out from the sides, and niches will be left in each wing for figures, windows intervening. The front will be cemented, and panels will be left on the upper part for the necessary inscriptions.' The article concluded that ‘[t]he entire building will no doubt form a prominent and highly ornamental feature in this part of the city and prove a boon to the residents of the whole of Dunedin.'
The foundation stone was laid on 9 November, with a public ceremony on the 12 November 1869 in Masonic style, with a large audience in attendance, presided over by local dignitaries and masons. Inserted in the foundation stone was a scroll describing the institution and dating the laying of the stone, and those involved. Another scroll was inserted with copies of the Otago Daily Times, the Otago Witness and Evening Star and the Masonic magazine. In addition there was a vial with coins of the period. Life member of the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute, Mason, and Otago Superintendent James Macandrew addressed the gathering hoping that the ‘building would not only be an ornament to the city in an architectural point of view, but that it would also be, in every sense of the word, a temple devoted to science, literature, and art, and would tend to elevate the tone of public feeling to something beyond thoughts of the mere acquisition of wealth.'
The building was opened by the Premier the Hon. William Fox on the 9 May 1870. It cost about £2,500. The Chair of the Committee hoped that the institution
‘taken in connection with our public system of education, with our High School for boys and girls, our School of Arts, or hoped-for School of Mines and Chemistry, or Classical and Philosophical Chair, and especially our bracing and invigorating climate - to the City of Dunedin becoming, one day, the modern Athens of the Southern Hemisphere.'
The Hon. William Fox continued the elevated theme, arguing that without education ‘we shall ultimately sink to the lowest depth in the scale of nations, and that as a nation we must have ‘means of enlightenment, and travel at a speed commensurate with our enlarged ideas' and those means can only be devised by ‘men of science, men of cultivated intellect.' Fox was most pleased that the male citizens of the town were not appropriating all the advances ‘but that they wisely intend to throw open their doors to that more civilising portion of the community, by whose absence they would have materially deteriorated, and by whose presence the enjoyments and advantages to be derived from such an Institution will be enormously enhanced - the humanising influence of a highly educated woman.'
In 1870 the Provincial Council passed an ordinance governing the operation of the institution, allowing for distribution of its property should it be dissolved.
Operation of the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute:
Following the construction of the new building, efforts were made to establish weekly evening classes, which were to meet in the lower rooms. The classes were intended for adults, and were not considered a substitute for day schools. It was hoped that the classes could be expanded ‘so as to place the means of mental culture within the reach of all who are willing to take advantage of them.' The classes were to be managed by a Committee, to consist of the Class Committee of the Athenaeum, the teachers, and three members of the classes to be elected by the pupils.
The building was modified in 1874. The lower rooms were cleaned and were to be furnished as chess, card, and smoking rooms, with only one room carpeted, the rest bare. One of the windows was enlarged to throw more light on the ‘darksome staircase.' There was also an idea to erect a Gymnasium.
In 1876 further alterations were discussed to increase the accommodation in the building, with two proposals aimed at increasing or rearranging the space. There was considerable debate about the wisdom of spending additional money so soon after the construction of the new building. The first proposal added 25 ft to the rear of the building; the second converted the downstairs to a library, and was the cheaper of the two options. There was general opposition to moving the library to the lower floor, and the Committee thought a larger meeting was needed to make the decision, and that there should be a membership drive to fund the proposed addition. The alterations were part-funded by the purchase of life memberships by 52 people.
In 1879 the building was damaged in a serious fire. The fire was centred on the library, and reports from the time indicated that the fire began in the fireplace near the librarian's desk. The reference library and the reading room were saved by the brigade. Only one third of the library was burnt. After the fire it became clear to the Committee that ‘various sums of money collected by the acting librarian had been appropriated and also various sums given to pay monthly accounts had been used for his own purposes.' The man was charged with arson, larceny and embezzlement.
Athenaeum and Mechanics Institutes in New Zealand in the Twentieth Century:
The popularity of mechanics' institutes and athenaeums declined in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. James Belich suggested that:
Generally speaking these institutions experienced one of three fates: they collapsed, were taken over by the respectable and kept their refined curriculum, but lost their decent pupils, or they became camouflaged beer houses and lost their curriculum, but kept their pupils.'
The decline was largely prompted by the adoption by local government of the services that such organisations had traditionally provided: adult education and access to a library. Consequently, Mechanics' Institutes and other similar organisations have often been regarded as ‘mere stepping stones' to the formation of public libraries, or as early but limited examples of adult education programmes.
Where such organisations did continue into the twentieth century, it was largely due to the library services they provided. In rural communities, where they often remained the only library service available, such organisations did continue to thrive after those in larger towns and cities had closed. Tuapeka, Arrowtown, Port Chalmers, Naseby, Clyde, Milton and Riverton were still providing a library service in 1938, and the Invercargill Athenaeum also continued to operate.
The continued survival of the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute, based as it was in a main-centre is unusual, as the fate of other, similar organisations in New Zealand's main centres indicate.
The Auckland Mechanics' Institute, for example, opened in September 1842, and by 1856 had its own premises (which boasted circulating library, reading room, reference library, hall and classes and lectures on a wide range of topics), and which for many years was the only public meeting place in Auckland. By the 1870s it was trying to broaden its appeal by providing light entertainment, but was seen as fading into obscurity and lacking relevance by that date, and by 1880 had been absorbed into the Auckland public library.
In Wellington a revived Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute existed for more than thirty years from 1849 but closed because of financial difficulties before any public library was established. In Wanganui there was a Mechanics Institute in a single-storey weather-board building in 1853 and a reading room known as the ‘Institute' by 1857. The Borough took this over in 1876 and on the 6 January 1877 the Wanganui Public Library was incorporated.
In New Plymouth a Mechanics Institute existed by 1853 and the Taranaki Institute by 1858. The Institute was dissolved in March 1879 and the old Provincial Council Building was demolished in April 1937. In Nelson the Literary and Scientific Institution was founded on board the first emigrant ship, the Will Watch, on the voyage out, on the 17 May 1841. The foundation of a Mechanics' Institution to be run on the same principles was announced in a workers' newspaper on the 8th of July that year. These efforts culminated in the founding of the Nelson Literary and Scientific Institution, sometimes called ‘The Nelson Institute', on the 30 April 1842. A library and reading room were built and opened by 27 September. Membership waxed and waned as the institution's character alternated between a gentleman's club and an organisation providing elementary education for adults. The Nelson Institute still exists and operates a reference library and the provincial museum now housed in a twentieth century building.
In Canterbury the Christchurch Mechanics' Institute was formed in 1859 and ‘other institutes and athenaeums flourished more or less briefly in [Christchurch and Lyttelton] and other Canterbury towns. For example, mechanics' institutes were formed at Timaru in 1862 and at Waimate in 1868'. The Christchurch Mechanics' Institute became the Christchurch Literary Institute which, encountering increasing financial difficulties, was jointly administered by the Provincial Government and Canterbury College from 1873. The latter body took over entirely in 1878. The Canterbury Public Library was transferred to the Christchurch City Council in 1948. By then the Mechanics' Institute and the Literary Institute had long since disappeared.
In Timaru the Mechanics Institute had its own building by 1868. On the 24 March 1876 it was suggested the Institute be brought under the borough's control. On the 3 June 1909 a new Public Library was opened, owned and operated by the Borough Council which had provided the site, the building being paid for by a grant from Mr. Carnegie and by two thousand five hundred pounds, the proceeds of the sale of the Mechanics' Institute's land and buildings. Here too, by this time, the Mechanics' Institute had ceased to exist.
In Oamaru the Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute was established by 1865. It had a modest building by 1867 which was demolished and replaced by Thomas Forrester's neo-classical building in 1882. It was taken over by the Borough Council and turned into the Municipal Library in 1948. When that transferred to a new building on an adjacent site in 1975 the old Athenaeum building became the North Otago Museum.
In Invercargill a Mechanics Institute was founded in May 1862 and an Athenaeum Society in 1875. The latter's building on the corner of Dee and Esk Streets was opened early in 1876. The municipality took steps to take it over as a public library but the Athenaeum rebuffed its offered subsidy on the 15 June 1915. Nevertheless, by way of a private member's bill, the Borough Council took it over in 1916. The old building was not big enough so the Council built a new one and used the old for ‘business purposes'.
The Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute in the Twentieth Century:
In the late 1880s there was a move by the Dunedin City Council to establish a public library. An association was formed for that purpose which negotiated with the Athenaeum for the public library to be conducted on the Athenaeum's site and under its management. However, ratepayers defeated this.
The idea of a joint enterprise was floated again in 1907 while Andrew Carnegie's money was paying for the building of a public library, but the Athenaeum members were now reluctant to be involved, fearing the loss of privileges and autonomy. The new public library thus came into being entirely independent of the Athenaeum. The latter has continued to function as a subscription library on its Octagon site ever since.
In 1902 the Committee attempted, unsuccessfully, to sell the building. Instead, the Committee proposed alterations that would make their centrally-located premises more suitable for the organisation's needs. A smoking room with appropriate ventilation was to be added. Other problems were identified which were to be fixed with the new alterations: the newspaper room was very dark, the magazine room too small, and the library insufficient for the number of books. The Committee proposed adding a bay 31ft by 23ft to the circulating library, 9ft to the newspaper room, the magazine room was to be enlarged to 52ft by 30ft, and there would be a reading and chess room 31ft by 20ft for smokers, and chess and draughts room for non-smokers 25ft by 20ft. The ladies room was also to be improved. The reference library was to be enlarged, all the rooms were to be well lighted from the roof, and the ventilation would be overhauled, all at a cost of £2500 including furniture and purchase of books.
The Committee hoped an increase of members would contribute some money, as well as additional funding from leasing cellarage at the rear of the building. There was also a call for the City Council to take over responsibility for providing facilities for ladies. While no architect had been appointed, Messrs Lawson and John Louis Salmond (a long time member of the Athenaeum), had been preparing the plan for submission to members. Despite concerns about a potential fall in revenue as a result of the new public library, the meeting agreed to authorise the committee to proceed with raising money for the alterations.
A new double current ventilation system patented by Mr H.I.M. Ross was installed in the smoking room. The system consisted of a ‘strip of perforated zinc, with half-inch holes, running round the skirting board and fronting what is called the ‘distributing box'; into this box four pipes, one at each corner of the room are led, and these run out at the top alongside the exhaust tube to the cowl. The air current leads down these pipes into the distributing box, and is then naturally drawn up to the exhaust tube above and out at the cowl.' The room was kept entirely free of smoke with an absence of draught. The new rooms were opened in March 1903.
In the 1950s the building was again redesigned, celebrating a centenary since the founding of the original Mechanics Institute in 1851. President W. Lang noted the redesign was completed and that ‘our members now enjoy completely modern facilities, making the past year one of great significance.'
A plaque outside the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute commemorates the foundation of the Fortune Theatre in 1974, when it was based at the rear of the building in the purpose-built theatre which still exists in the Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute.
The Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics Institutes in the Twenty-First Century:
In mid 2005 the Dunedin Athenaeum Society and the Dunedin City Council entered into negotiations for the Council to purchase the Athenaeum building from the Society. The Society had made it clear it wished to continue to operate its subscription library from the Octagon site. In 2007 Dunedin City Council purchased the Athenaeum Building. Dunedin City Council has announced that it is considering ‘using the building for a medium-sized theatre space, possibly seating 800 people.' The Council plans to conduct a feasibility study on the viability of transforming the building into a theatre, and have given Council staff four years to look into the idea before making any decision. As part of the sale agreement the Athenaeum Library will continue to operate from the building.
The Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics Institute is the only institution of its sort in New Zealand still fulfilling its original purpose in the building designed for it in the nineteenth century. Although the interior is now very shabby its reading room is little altered, and it still has its lecture rooms and other facilities. The Dunedin Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute building has a singular place in New Zealand's heritage, because of its original purpose and continued use, which lends it a special significance.
