Prahran Mechanics' Institute
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Prahran Mechanics' Institute is a subscription library situated at 140 High Street, Prahran, Victoria, Australia.
Established in 1854 by subscriptions of the local community, it is one of the oldest surviving Mechanics' Institutes in Victoria and one of only six still operating its lending library. It is the only mechanics' institute in Victoria still governed by its own Act of Parliament.
In 1915 it established the Prahran Technical School which operated on the High Street site until 1971. Today Swinburne University of Technology partially occupies the buildings.
Since 1980 the library collection at Prahran Mechanics' Institute has specialised in the history of Victoria and, as the only lending collection of its kind in Australia, is a valuable resource for researchers.
In the long tradition of mechanics' institutes around the world, Prahran Mechanics' Institute runs a programme of educational activities including free public lectures. It also operates Prahran Mechanics' Institute Press, a not-for-profit publishing service for authors of works about aspects of the history of Victoria.
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