Over the weekend, Ballarat played host to some of the worlds brightest historically preservative minds.
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For the first time ever, the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute was honored with the task of holding the National Conference of Mechanics’ Institutes, School of Arts and Their Ilk.
Authors and scholars from across the globe made the journey to Ballarat to speak, teach and share information about preserving history and looking towards the future.
Conference chair Jim Lowden spoke about the importance of having these speakers here in Ballarat.
“It’s extremely important. Being able to get this group together and have them share information and teach each other things that they may have never experienced in their own country is vital to teaching future generations,” he said.
Mr Lowden called upon the Australian government to help support the Mechanics’ Institutes to help preserve Australia’s history.
Sitting down with three individuals from different countries and three different professions, it is clear to see the positives that are coming from the national conference.
Siân Williams, a research collector at Swansea University in Wales, Professor Rory Duncan from Heriot-Watt University in Scotland and Michele Frey, an author and principal environmental planning consultant with XYST discussed the positives generated by the conference.
“It's been really interesting coming to Ballarat, sharing experiences and finding out about mechanics institutes across Victoria and Australia,” Ms Williams said.
“Looking at common issues and how we solve then, as well as new ideas and how we approach them is key.”
Professor Duncan echoed these sentiments.
“Information sharing in very important,” he said.
“I’ve learned a lot in the past 48 hours. From my perspective, there are lots of thoughts about what is the place of a university to a community. Many of those challenges and questions are being answered here.”
After enjoying a tour around the city before a dinner in Miners Rest, they were able to marvel at Ballarat’s famous heritage.
“What we saw was phenomenal,” said Ms Frey.
“The architecture was amazing and quite unique. I talked in my lecture about New Zealand's lack of prominent concrete and brick work. It’s great to see here.”
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