We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which Mechanics’ Institutes have stood for two centuries across Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples whose knowledge systems, cultures, and communities have sustained this continent for tens of thousands of years.

While the bicentenary gathering will take place in Melbourne, on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation, this milestone honours a national story. It begins in 1827, when the Van Diemen’s Land Mechanics’ Institute opened on the lands of the Muwinina people, who had lived on and cared for the area for over 5,000 years prior to European settlement.

Across Australia, Mechanics’ Institutes were established on Aboriginal lands—places already rich with learning, storytelling, and deep intellectual traditions. As we commemorate 200 years of these institutions, we recognise that these lands have long been sites of knowledge-sharing, sustained over many thousands of years.

This bicentenary is an opportunity not only to celebrate the enduring legacy of Mechanics’ Institutes, but also to reflect on the fuller history of the lands on which they were built, and to commit to a future grounded in respect, inclusion, and shared knowledge.