Journey to any town in Australia and there is a good chance you will find a school of arts. They became popular in Sydney in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with about 140 established. They were also known as Mechanics Institutes. The School of Arts were originally established by volunteers as independent community organisations, assisted by a small government subsidy.
On Saturday 21 December 1901, Minto celebrated the opening of their School of Arts building. It was completed the previous September and an excited community celebrated with a concert and social. The build-up to the opening was enormous and the Hon. John Kidd was chosen to officially open the building. The program for the night included Miss Cookson's version of singing "The One-Legged Goose", and a rendition of the comic song "The Chinaman", by Mr Craft. One can only wonder about the lyrics of this version! The Chairman Mr Skerritt officially opened the building in the undisclosed absence of Mr Kidd.
The Minto School of Arts became an important social and cultural institution for much of the twentieth century. Over the years it was home to dances, bazaars, and meetings, and would serve the community as a library for a time.
Photographs in the library's collection show it still standing in 1993. Today the site at 6 Surrey Street is occupied by the Minto Community Hall.
Written by Andrew Allen
Sources:
Campbelltown Herald, 8 January 1902
Freyne, Catherine 2010
The School of Arts Movement
In Dictionary of Sydney
