Originally Published 8 August 2019
Patrick (Pat) Galvin AM has been a member of the PMI for almost 20 years and a volunteer for nearly ten. A former senior career Commonwealth public servant (Secretary Department of Arts, Heritage and the Environment , Chairman Australian Heritage Commission etc) his work as a volunteer at the PMI in recent years has involved the preparation of an index of the many items in the Institute’s Minute books. These books contain the minutes of meetings of the Committee and General meetings of the Institute from its founding in the 1850s to the present. He is presently reviewing and auditing the index from the beginning to 2012 for consistency in presentation and correctness before moving on to more recent years. He was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1991 for public service especially for heritage and the arts.
The minute books (for many years handwritten) record the history of the Institute through the formal decisions of its Annual meetings, its Committee and sub-committees. Pat’s index will point the way for the researcher wishing to pursue the authority for activities and their changes over time e.g acquisition of land and buildings, rentals of premises; price of admission to events, particularly in the early years of ‘penny concerts’, popular entertainments and balls. The minute books also answer all sorts of questions. When did the PMI initiate formal ‘technical education’ in Prahran? Why was a Secretary Librarian sacked, (and what happened when he refused to move from the residence provided?) How was the PMI affected by the establishment of a free public library service? How did the Institute fare during the World Wars and depressions? Was its relationship with Government and the Council always an easy one? Questions like this are fascinating in that they illuminate not only the place of the PMI in its community but the changes in that community itself from the mid-19th century to the 21st.