'Industrial Instruction' for the 'Industrious Classes': Founding the Industrial and Technological Museum, Melbourne

Abstract

This paper examines the movement to foster scientific and technical learning in the colony of Victoria during the 1860s. It discusses how the concept of a public museum for 'industrial' and 'technological' instruction emerged, and analyses the events leading to the establishment of the Industrial and Technological Museum, Victoria's first public institution for educating the people in applied science.