This morning on 2SER with Tim Higgins, Tim and Lisa talked about the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts, one of the few institutions to have survived intact from the earliest days of Australia's colonial past. The SMSA is celebrating 180 years and yesterday they launched the publication of their history, written by Dictionary author and historian, Garry Wotherspoon. The SMSA was established in 1833 and was the precursor to technical colleges and TAFE. Based on a British model, the school was all about educating the working classes, guided by the philosophy of the importance of education and its transformative powers, for society as a whole and for individuals. Many of Sydney's political and intellectual leaders participated in classes, gave lectures and contributed to the management of the SMSA such as Henry Parkes, (Premier NSW), Edmund Barton (Australia's first Prime Minister), Billy Hughes (Prime Minister), Louisa Lawson (suffragette), Ludwig Leichhardt (explorer), Henry Kendall (poet) and Norman Selfe (engineer). In one of Lisa's very first segments with Tim, she talked about the politician and murderer, Thomas 'Lemonade' Ley. He honed his rhetoric skills as a teenager in the SMSA's debating club! Over the years, the SMSA has held classes in mechanical drawing, science, debating, singing, art, mathematics, architecture, anatomy and even simple surgery. Their historic headquarters, built in 1836, are now the Arthouse hotel. Their new premises are one block further south in Pitt St where they have an excellent lending library and run a great events and talks series. The Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts have been a strong supporter of the Dictionary of Sydney; many of our authors give lectures and talks at the SMSA and we are thrilled to join them in celebrating this important milestone in their history.

Join Tim and Lisa again next Wednesday at 8.20am on 2SER Breakfast 107.3FM for more great stories about Sydney’s past, courtesy of the Dictionary of Sydney.