Search the collections
Melbourne Working Men's College (RMIT)
Image: "NETTLETON & ARNEST PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO"
Source: Museum Victoria
Melbourne's Working Men's College was founded with funds provided by prominent grazier, Scottish immigrant and philanthropist Francis Ormond and Victorian trade unions. Although it was not until 1887 that the first students attended the Working Men's College, the College had been in planning since 8 May 1882, when the concept was approved by the Trades Hall Committee (now the Trades Hall Council), and a financial committee was established. Despite its name, from the beginning it taught both males and females. Its motto was "perita manus, mens exculta" - "a skilled hand, a cultivated mind".
It was immediately successful, with over 900 students enrolled by the end of 1887. Students undertook a variety of subjects including mechanics, physics, bookkeeping, elocution and arithmetic, as well as certain trades such as cookery, carpentry and dressmaking. In 1899 full courses were introduced in the areas of Applied Arts and Technology. The Applied Arts, covering such areas as architecture and industrial design, grew to such an extent that a separate 'School of Applied Arts' was establish, with its own complex opened in 1917. Museum Victoria holds a key that was presented to the Governor of Victoria Sir Arthur Stanley to mark this occasion.
Other items in the collection include samples of students work.
References:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMIT_University, viewed 02/12/2009.
RMIT University - A timeline of RMIT history: http://www.rmit.edu.au/browse;ID=q0dhwbxncmdc, viewed 02/12/2009.
Victorian Heritage Register Online: http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/vhd/heritagevic#detail_places;3011, viewed 02/12/2009.
Items per page: 10 50 (showing 1 - 10) 12 items
-
Photograph - Working Men's College, Latrobe Street, Melbourne, Victoria, circa 1895
Monochrome photograph of the Working Men's College Melbourne, taken by the studio of Nettleton & Arnest, circa 1895. This photograph is part of a collection of 47 photographs of Melbo ...
From: Melbourne, Australia Images: 1 -
Motor Car Chassis - Rootes Group, Humber Hawk Mark VI, 1957
The Humber Hawk Mark VI was first built in Britain by the Rootes Group in June 1954 and remained in production until May 1957. It was the last model of the Hawk series to retain the box ...
Images: 4 -
Bonnet - Tussore and Lace, circa 1940
White cloth bonnet, made of tussore and lace. Made around 1940 as a demonstration piece by staff at the Emily McPherson College. The students, most of whom were teachers in training, d ...
From: Melbourne, Australia Images: 3 -
Presentation Key - School of Applied Arts, Working Men's College Opening, 1917
This presentation key is a tangible link to the major educational institution in central Melbourne, which has been in existence since 1887. Melbourne's Working Men's College was founde ...
From: Melbourne, Australia Images: 2 -
Staircase Model - Working Men's College, circa 1910
Model of a section of spiral staircase, constructed from Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon). Made by a student at the Working Men's College, Melbourne, between October 1887, when ...
From: Melbourne, Australia Images: 3 -
Photograph - 'The Elbow', by A.J. Campbell, Werribee Gorge, Victoria, Nov 1896
Image taken by A.J. Campbell on one of two camp outings with the Working Men's College Photogrpahic Club to Werribee Gorge in November 1895 and 1896. The image is part of a Photograph a ...
From: Werribee Gorge State Park, Australia Images: 1 -
Photograph - 'Blackwood Pool', by A.J. Campbell, Werribee Gorge, Victoria, Nov 1896
Image taken by A.J. Campbell on one of two camp outings with the Working Men's College Photogrpahic Club to Werribee Gorge in November 1895 and 1896. The image is part of a Photograph a ...
From: Werribee Gorge State Park, Australia Images: 1 -
Photograph - 'Fishing Near Myrniong Junction', by A.J. Campbell, Werribee Gorge, Victoria, ...
Image taken by A.J. Campbell on one of two camp outings with the Working Men's College Photographic Club to Werribee Gorge in November 1895 and 1896. The image is part of a Photograph a ...
From: Myrniong, Australia Images: 1 -
Photograph - 'A Sequestered Nook', by A.J. Campbell, Werribee Gorge, Victoria, Nov 1896
Image taken by A.J. Campbell on one of two camp outings with the Working Men's College Photogrpahic Club to Werribee Gorge in November 1895 and 1896. The image is part of a Photograph a ...
From: Werribee Gorge State Park, Australia Images: 1 -
Photograph - 'Second Camp', by A.J. Campbell, Werribee Gorge, Victoria, Nov 1896
Image taken by A.J. Campbell on one of two camp outings with the Working Men's College Photogrpahic Club to Werribee Gorge in November 1895 and 1896. The image is part of a Photograph a ...
From: Werribee Gorge State Park, Australia Images: 1
