The PMI was recently forced to take some action with regard to its
heritage registered buildings at 140 High Street, Prahran.
The buildings were leased in 1947 to the Victorian Minister for Education to provide for the Prahran Technical School, which the PMI established on the site in 1915. The buildings were leased for a term of 99 years for a peppercorn rental of one shilling per year - and the lease was expire in 2046. In return for the peppercorn rental, the Victorian Minister for Education undertook to comply with a list of conditions stipulated in the lease, including to maintain and insure the PMI's buildings.
At the time the lease was made, the Victorian Minister for Education was running the Prahran Technical School on the site and the Prahran Mechanics' Institute was represented on the council of the school. The PMI committee of 1947 could not possibly have foreseen the dismantling of the technical school system and the removal and eventual closure of its school.
Some years ago the Victorian Minister for Education left the site and allowed another educational entity to occupy the PMIs buildings. The current occupant, Swinburne University, is not administered by the Victorian Minister for Education, and had nocontract with or legal obligation to the PMI at all. This occupation placed the PMI, its buildings (including a heritage listed building) and its important library service in a very vulnerable predicament for the future.
After years of discussions and attempts to find a solution, representatives of the PMI Committee attended a formal mediation session with the Victorian Government Solicitors and Swinburne University. It became clear in the mediation that the Minister for Education would not relinquish the lease unless the PMI sold the buildings to the University.
On 16 September a Special General Meeting of the PMI was held and 61 percent of the members present voted in favour of this proposal.
Read a public statement from the PMI Committee 24/09/2009
Other documents of interest:
- Details of the sale agreement
- President’s address to the Special General Meeting
- Legal advice received from Gerard Nash QC
The Committee will now consider a range of options for the future accommodation of the PMI and its library service. All members are invited to contribute to the planning of the way forward for the PMI. Contributions can be as a formal submission or informal by mail or email.
Here are some of the media and other documents relevant to the various stages of the campaign:
- PMI Media Release, May 2009: Historic Victorian Library Under Threat
- The Age, 4 May 2009: Library Throws Book at Squatting Swinburne by Carolyn Webb.
- Stonnington Leader, 19 May 2009: Prahran Mechanics’ Institute tells uni, settle rent or get out by Kate Bruce-Rosser.
- Fifty-Plus News, June 2009: Joining the fight to save historic Victorian library by Margaret Riddle.
- 23 July 2009: PMI Public Notice from the committee
- Stonnington Leader, 4 August 2009: Mediation to Help Solve Lease Dispute by Kate Bruce-Rosser.
- 27 August 2009: Notice of Special General Meeting to be held at the PMI on 16 September 2009.
- Stonnington Leader, 1 September 2009: Institute Backs Down: Swinburne Tipped to Buy Building by Kate Bruce-Rosser.
- The Age, 21 September 2009: Historic Library Forced to Sell Home by Carolyn Webb.
- Stonnington Leader, 1 September 2009: Uni Strikes a Deal: Institute Will Sell Up to Secure its Future by Kate Bruce-Rosser.
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