Brief History of the Stanley Athenaeum and Public Room

‘The Public Room’ was constructed at Upper Nine Mile in 1857. The Stanley Athenaeum was established in 1863 and moved into The Public Room and immediately established a library there and a librarian was soon appointed. The building burned down in the 1870s and was replaced by the current brick building which opened in 1874. The building was extended in 1891. It was the  community library until 1959. The building underwent a major restoration in 2010. The Friends of Stanley Athenaeum manage the adjacent Memorial Hall and the public toilet block. The Athenaeum also hold copyright to Geoff Craig’s published works of which there are some 50 titles and they plan to republish some of these. Stanley also holds several rare ‘triple-decker’ or three volume and ‘double decker’ or two volume nineteenth century novels, some of which are not found in major collections.

MIV Plaque No. 24 was unveiled by Jim Lowden, former MIV Secretary, 25 August 2012. This plaque is situated on the front of the Institute, to the right of the front door.

Stanley Athenaeum and Public Room was also featured in MIV's Mechanics' Institutes in the Frame

Published Histories

Two histories of the Stanley Athenaeum have been published:

GF Craig, History of the Stanley Public Room and Athenaeum (1986);

GF Craig, The Stanley Athenaeum (1999)

Annual Events Calendar

The Athenaeum is open every Friday and 4th Saturday of each month, 10am -12pm.

The Geoff Craig Memorial Lecture is held biennially in the odd numbered year and usually in September.

Permanent and Temporary Exhibitions and Displays on show in the Library that change half yearly.

Building facilities

-Hall

-Meeting Rooms

-Kitchen (Standard)

-Public Toilets (all hours)

Capacity

Standing: 20

Seated: 20

Available for hire for:

-Wedding Ceremonies

-Wedding Receptions

-Wakes/Funerals

-Birthdays

-Art Shows

-Dance Classes

-Theatre Groups

-Yoga/Pilates or similar

-Club or group meetings

-Youth Groups

All of these can be held in the Stanley Soldiers Memorial Hall next door to the Athenaeum

Hire Charges

Charges are available on contacting the booking officer. Ph: 0458 606 922 or
(03) 5728 6591

Available for hire for:

-Wedding Ceremonies

-Wedding Receptions

-Wakes/Funerals

-Birthdays

-Art Shows

-Dance Classes

-Theatre Groups

-Yoga/Pilates or similar

-Club or group meetings

-Youth Groups

All of these can be held in the Stanley Soldiers Memorial Hall next door to the Athenaeum

Library

~Volumes: Approx 4000

~Collection span: 1820s-1970s

~Special Collections:

Historical Books, Geoffrey Francis Craig Local History; books of authors Ada Cambridge (1844-1926), and runs of those titles of Ethel Turner (1872-1958) and Alan Marshall (1902-84); Athenaeum archive and memorabilia, including borrowing cards; archives of community organisations, including CWA; Fruitgrowers’ Association; geological specimen collection; historical photographs.

Hours of Operation

Every Friday and 4th Saturday of each month 10am- 12pm or by appointment

Subscription Fees

Friends of the Stanley Athenaeum - $10 per annum

Research and Archives

The Geoff Craig Local History Collection and Stanley Community Archives are available for researchers for local history, family history and access to the historic book collection