Prahran Mechanics’ Institute

Thousands of years ago humans discovered that by heating rocks in a fire they could make better weapons for hunting for food. With time people became intelligent enough to improve on these processes and make more sophisticated implements and weapons. These people became known as blacksmiths. With these skilful men, communities grew, villages became towns, towns became cities, but with growth came hunger and criminals. Britain sent its undesirables to the new colonies. Australia benefited from the abilities of the blacksmiths, but industrialisation raised factories and with them came the loss of thousands of skilled tradesmen. So where did all the blacksmiths go?