Sydney's first technical college, which grew out of the lectures at the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts, and flourished for four years before the colonial government took over technical education.
Established as a joint enterprise by the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts, the Trades and Labour Council and the Engineering Association, and run by the School of Arts, Sydney's first technical college opened its doors in 1878. Its immediate success with students, despite financial and physical difficulties, proved the need for systematic technical education in the city.
