State Library Victoria
State Library Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, located in Melbourne. It was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the world; the Library's vast collection includes over two million books and 350,000 photographs, manuscripts and newspapers, with a special focus on material from Victoria, including the diaries of the city's founders, John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner, the folios of Captain James Cook. It houses some of the original armour of Ned Kelly; the Library is located in the northern centre of the central business district, on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe and Little Lonsdale streets. In 1853, the decision to build a combined library and gallery was made at the instigation of Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe and Mr Justice Redmond Barry, Q. C.. A competition was held, won by the arrived architect Joseph Reed, whose firm and its successors went on to design most of the extensions, as well as numerous 19th-century landmarks such as the Melbourne Town Hall, the Royal Exhibition Building.
On 3 July 1854, the inaugurated Governor Sir Charles Hotham laid the foundation stone of both the new library complex and the University of Melbourne. The library was the first stage opened in 1856, with a collection of 3,800 books chosen by Mr Justice Barry, the President of Trustees. Augustus H. Tulk, the first librarian, was appointed three months after the opening; the Melbourne Public Library as it was known was one of the first free public libraries in the world, open to anyone over 14 years of age, so long as they had clean hands. The complex of buildings that now house the Library were built in numerous stages, housing various library spaces, art galleries and museum displays filling the entire block in 1992; the first stage was the centre of the front block, opened in 1856, with most of the front wing, along with the floor Queen's Reading Room complete in 1864 by Abraham Linacre. Other wings were built are various time, such as Barry Hall, along Little Lonsdale Street, in 1886, McCoy Hall, built for the Museum in 1892, Baldwin Spencer Hall facing Russell Street in 1909, the McAllan Gallery on the LaTrobe Street side, built in 1932.
Temporary buildings were built in 1866 for the Intercolonial Exhibition of Australasia just behind the front wing, which remained in use until 1909, when work began on the library's famed Domed Reading Room, opened in 1913, designed by Bates and Smart, the successor to Reed's firm, now known as Bates Smart. In 1959, the dome's skylights were covered in copper sheets due to water leakage, creating the dim atmosphere that characterised the Library for decades; the National Gallery of Victoria moved to new buildings in St Kilda Road in 1968, the Melbourne Museum moved to the Carlton Gardens in 2000. The library underwent major refurbishments between 1990 and 2004, designed by architects Ancher Mortlock & Woolley; the project cost A$200 million. The reading room closed in 1999 to allow for renovation; the renamed La Trobe Reading Room reopened in 2003. The redevelopment included the creation of a number of exhibition spaces, some of which are used to house permanent exhibitions The Mirror of the World: Books and Ideas and The Changing Face of Victoria as well as a display from the Pictures Collection in the Cowen Gallery.
As a result of the redevelopment, State Library Victoria can now be considered one of the largest exhibiting libraries in the world. In February 2010, the southern wing of the library on Little Lonsdale Street was reopened as the Wheeler Centre, part of Melbourne's city of literature initiative. In 2015 the Library embarked on a five-year, $88.1 million redevelopment project, Vision 2020, to transform its public spaces and facilities to better meet the changing needs of the community. On 29 April 2015 the Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley announced that the 2015–16 State Budget would provide $55.4 million towards the redevelopment of State Library Victoria, including the restoration of the Queen’s Hall, the creation of a rooftop garden terrace, a dedicated children’s and youth space, the opening up 40 percent more of the building to the public. In late 2017, the library's contribution of $27 million from donations was raised. In September 2018, the main Swanston Street entrance is temporarily closed and replaced by the newly refurbished Russell Street and La Trobe Street entrances.
The grassy lawn in front of the library's grand entrance on Swanston Street is a popular lunch-spot for the city's workers and students at the adjacent RMIT University. Enclosed by a picket fence by a wrought iron fence and gates in the 1870s, the space was opened up with the removal of the fence and the creation of diagonal paths in 1939; the forecourt includes a number of statues. A pair of bronze lions flanked the entry from the 1860s until they were removed in 1937 due to deterioration. A memorial statue of Mr Justice Sir Redmond Barry, Q. C. by James Gilbert and built by Percival Ball was installed on the central landing of the main stairs in 1887. Flanking the entrance plaza are Saint George and the Dragon, by the English sculptor Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, installed in 1889 and Jeanne d'Arc, a replica of the statue by French sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet, installed in 1907. WW1 commemorative statues ‘Wipers’ and ‘The Driver’ were at the centre points of the 1939 diagonal paths were relocated to the ground of the Shrine of Remembrance in 1998.
A statue of Charles La Trobe, by Australian sculptor Peter Corlett, was installed in 2006 in the
State Library of Western Australia
The State Library of Western Australia is a research and public lending library located in the Perth Cultural Centre in Perth, Western Australia. It is a portfolio agency of the Western Australia Department of Culture and the Arts, controlled by the Library Board of Western Australia; the State Library has particular responsibility for collecting and preserving Western Australia's documentary heritage. The J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History is the section of the library dedicated to West Australiana. In 1886, the Western Australian Legislative Council allocated £5000 to be spent in celebrations for Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. Of this, it was decided. A foundation stone was laid at a site in St Georges Terrace in 1887, however due to the lack of funds this site was not built upon. Instead, books to the value of £1000 were ordered from England, the library found temporary accommodation in a building opposite the site; the Victoria Public Library, named in honour of Queen Victoria, opened on 26 January 1889.
The first managers of the library were the clerks to the management committee, W. C. Townsend and Basil Porter; the first Chief Librarian, James Sykes Battye, was appointed in 1894. By 1896, construction had begun on a site at the corner of James and Beaufort Streets, in 1897 the library moved to the new James Street site. In 1904, the word'Victoria' was removed from the name of the library, which became known as the Public Library of Western Australia. A new addition to the site was opened in 1913, it was called Hackett Hall after Sir John Winthrop Hackett, the President of the Trustees of the Library and Art Gallery. The library shared this building with the Art Gallery and Museum, the Western Australian Museum still occupies the building today; the Library Board of Western Australia was established with the passing of the Library Board of Western Australia Act 1951, appointing the first State Librarian, Francis Aubie Sharr. The purpose of the Board was to assist local authorities in establishing free public libraries throughout the state, work to co-ordinating those libraries as a statewide system.
However, James Battye resisted having the Board take over control of the Public Library of Western Australia. It was only after Battye died in office in 1954 that the Library Board gained control of the library, it was closed for a year for renovations reopened in 1956 as the State Library of Western Australia. This included a section dedicated to collecting Western Australian material – the J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History and State Archives. Between 1964 and 2002 the organisation was known as the Library and Information Service of Western Australia; this reflected the Library Board's broader operations beyond the walls of the library in encouraging the development of public library services throughout the state. In July 2002, the library once again became known as the State Library of Western Australia. By the late 1970s, the library had grown sufficiently that staff were working from ten different sites and annexes in the city. Planning was undertaken for a new building as part of the development of the Perth Cultural Centre.
In 1985 the library’s current home, the Alexander Library Building, was opened. It is named after Professor Fred Alexander, the first chairman of the Library Board of Western Australia; the State Archives was established as a separate unit in 1988, the State Records Office of Western Australia was created as a separate entity to the library in 2000 with the passing of the State Records Act 2000. Responsibility for the collection and management of public records was transferred to SRO, although it remains co-located with the State Library in the Alexander Library Building; the State Library's operations fall into three main areas – collecting and preserving Western Australia's documentary heritage, general reference and public lending library services, supporting the public library network in Western Australia. The J. S. Battye Library of Western Australian History is the arm of the library dedicated to Western Australian materials; the Battye Library contains a comprehensive collection of books published in Western Australia, as well as books by a Western Australian or about Western Australia published elsewhere.
It contains a comprehensive coverage of West Australian newspapers, a more selective coverage of serials and maps published in Western Australia. The library has extensive collections of: Original manuscripts, journals and letters of individuals, records of non-government organisations; the State Library was the legal deposit library for Western Australia under the Copyright Act 1895 and the Newspaper Libel and Registration Act 1884, but these Acts were repealed in 1994 and 2005 respectively. Legal deposit provisions were re-established in principle in 2012, with the passing of the Legal Deposit Act 2012, brought into force for physical publications with the passage of the Legal Deposit Regulations 2013; the library's reference collection provides resources which "reflect key Australian reference publications. The collection holds over 300,000 books and nearly 5,000 serial titles, many items are available for loan; the library provides a number of electronic resources, some of which are available off-site for library members.
There are approximately 100 public computers available to users, as well as free Wi-Fi. Other specialised collections and services inclu
Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia, located on the cultural boulevard of North Terrace in Adelaide, is one of three significant visual arts museums in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of over 38,000 works of art, making it, after the National Gallery of Victoria, the second largest state art collection in Australia, it was known as the National Gallery of South Australia until 1967 when the current name was adopted. The Art Gallery is located adjacent to the State Library of South Australia, the South Australian Museum and the University of Adelaide. AGSA is part of Adelaide's North Terrace cultural precinct and had 712,994 visitors in the year ended 30 June 2011; as well as its permanent collection, AGSA displays a number of visiting exhibitions each year and contributes travelling exhibitions to regional galleries. The gallery was established in 1881 and opened in two rooms of the public library by Prince Albert Victor and Prince George George V of Great Britain.
The present building dates from 1900 and was extended in 1936 and 1962. Subsequent renovations and a significant extension of the building which opened in 1996 added contemporary display space without compromising the interior of the original Victorian building. In 2016, the gallery participated in the large "Biennial 2016" art festival; the AGSA is renowned for its collections of Australian art, notably Indigenous Australian and colonial art, British art, including a large collection of Pre-Raphaelite works, by artists Edward Burne-Jones, William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Morris & Co. and Japanese art. It has important works of the Heidelberg school including Tom Roberts' A break away!, Charles Conder's A holiday at Mentone, Arthur Streeton's Road to Templestowe. The mid-twentieth century is represented by works by Russell Drysdale, Arthur Boyd, Margaret Preston, Bessie Davidson, Sidney Nolan; the gallery holds works by twentieth century South Australian artists including James Ashton, Hans Heysen and Jeffrey Smart.
European landscape paintings include works by Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruisdael, Salomon van Ruysdael, Joseph Wright of Derby, Camille Pissarro. British portrait painters are well represented in the collection which includes Robert Peake, Anthony van Dyck, Peter Lely and Thomas Gainsborough. Other works include paintings by Francesco Guardi, Pompeo Batoni and Camille Corot. Sculpture includes works by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Jacob Epstein. Selected Australian works Selected international works William Holman Hunt and the Two Marys,.
Carrick Hill
Carrick Hill is a publicly accessible historic property at the foot of the Adelaide Hills, in the suburb of Springfield, in South Australia. It was the Adelaide home of Sir Edward "Bill" Hayward and his wife Lady Ursula, contains a large collection of drawings, sculptures and paintings. Completed in 1939 and built in the style of an English manor, it is one of the few period homes in Australia to have survived with its grounds undiminished and most of its original contents intact; the nearly 40-hectare property was the wedding gift of Ursula's father to the Haywards. After their marriage in 1935 the couple spent a year-long honeymoon in Europe, they bought many of the furnishings for their new home, including an imposing staircase, at the sale of Beaudesert House in Staffordshire, England. Construction of Carrick House began in 1937 and was completed in 1939. During this time Lady Ursula designed the gardens; the Haywards claimed a number of well-known artists as close friends, some of their work features in the collection that fills the house.
Ursula was an artist in her own right, her work is represented. Carrick Hill was bequeathed to the state on Sir Edward's death in 1983, it is closed during July for essential maintenance. An admission charge applies to the house, but not the gardens. A licensed cafe serves a variety of light meals at the usual prices. Carrick Hill houses themed art exhibitions. On 13 November 2005, it hosted a reunion picnic for former staff of John Martin's, for many years owned by the Hayward family; the event coincided with the opening of a social history exhibition entitled "Johnnies Spirit of a State" and was held on the weekend of the Adelaide Christmas Pageant, founded by Sir Edward. Carrick Hill has hosted exhibitions of works by notable Australian artists, built around the Hayward collection. Previous exhibitions have featured the work of William Dobell, Jeffrey Smart, Robert Hannaford and Adrian Feint. In 2018, Carrick Hill hosted an exhibition of May Gibbs' illustrations and other artists working with Australian botanical subjects.
Carrick Hill Ursula Hayward History - includes information about Sir Edward City of Mitcham: Carrick Hill Postcards: Carrick Hill's French connection Johnnies reunion picnic
State Library of Tasmania
Hobart Library known as the State Library of Tasmania, is the main library and headquarters of the library system known as Libraries Tasmania, in the state of Tasmania, Australia. Libraries Tasmania was known as LINC Tasmania. LINC operated the former separate entities of the State Library of Tasmania, the Archives Office of Tasmania, the Tasmanian Adult Education service, the Tasmanian Communities Online, as part of the Tasmanian Department of Education; the name changed to Libraries Tasmania in mid 2018. The headquarters of the Libraries Tasmania known as the State Reference Library, is located at the corner of Murray and Bathurst Street in Hobart; the Libraries Tasmania funds all public libraries in Tasmania. There are 7 city/suburban lending libraries and 39 smaller branch libraries located in the main cities and rural centres throughout the state. All libraries share a single catalogue and the collection circulates between the libraries. Located on the second floor of the Hobart library building, Murray Street, the State Reference Library contains over 200,000 books, periodicals and directories.
Items in the catalogue not located on the library floor can be retrieved by library staff from an area called the Stack within 30 minutes. Reference and research services are provided to on-site and off-site clients using a range of print and online resources; the Ask a Librarian service provides clients with access to online enquiry services. The library operates several collections and archives of historical publications and documents those related to Tasmania. In addition, the library maintains a newspaper index, an image library and a sheet music database A collection of historical and modern published material related to Tasmania, in a range of formats from paper to digital. All Tasmanian-related material is collected including all works published in Tasmania, all works published about Tasmania, all works by Tasmanian authors. A collection of historical books, photographs, works of art and objects collected by Sir William Crowther, whose great-grandfather arrived in Hobart in 1825; the library contains about 15,000 books and manuscripts, as well as photographs and artworks, whaling ephemera including a collection of scrimshaw.
Another collection of historical material, bequeathed to the people of Tasmania by the Allport family to the library in 1965. It includes about 6,000 books, outstanding collection of about 2,500 colonial-era artworks and collections of Georgian era furniture, British and Chinese porcelain. Libraries Tasmania website Tasmanian Library Catalogue Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts State Library of Tasmania on Think-Tasmania.com
State Library of New South Wales
The State Library of New South Wales, part of, known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections and research library open to the public. It is the oldest library in Australia, being the first established in New South Wales in 1826; the library is located on the corner of Macquarie Street and Shakespeare Place, in the Sydney central business district adjacent to the Domain and the Royal Botanic Gardens, in the City of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The library is a member of the State Libraries Australasia consortium; the State Library of New South Wales building was designed by Walter Liberty Vernon, assisted by H. C. L. Anderson and was built from 1905 to 1910, with further additions by Howie Bros in 1939; the property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999. The first library collections were part of the Australian Subscription Library, started by a group of wealthy Sydney citizens in 1826, it was purchased for £5,100 by the New South Wales Government in 1869 and became the Sydney Free Public Library.
In 1895 it was renamed the Public Library of New South Wales until its most recent name change in 1975, when it became the State Library of New South Wales. The Australian Subscription Library was established in 1826 at a meeting at the Sydney Hotel chaired by barrister John Mackaness. Library membership was subject to committee approval. Dr James Mitchell, father of David Scott Mitchell, was a committee member from 1832 to 1853 and Vice President from 1856 to 1869. In December 1827 operations began in rented premises in Pitt Street and in the two years following, the Library led a peripatetic existence having been located a few years in George Street, Bridge Street, Macquarie Street and Macquarie Place; the library had financial problems and required more space to house its growing collections but negotiations in 1838 to construct a new library building broke down over member unwillingness to broaden access to the library. For the members negotiations with the government were more successful and construction of a new library building began in 1843.
The foundation stone for this new building, on the corner of Bent and Macquarie Streets, was laid by Alexander Macleay and the library was opened in 1845. Financial difficulties continued, by 1869 the subscription library was in serious debt; the New South Wales Government was persuaded to buy it for £5,100. In September 1869, the Sydney Free Public Library opened its doors with a stock of 20,000 volumes. Over 60,000 people visited the library in its first year of operation as the Free Public Library. Robert Cooper Walker was appointed Principal Librarian. He, in collaboration with the Trustees, worked to expand the educational role of the library both through collection expansion and the production of printed catalogues of the library's collection; the library expanded its operations, opening a lending branch in 1877. This lending branch was handed to the Sydney Municipal Council in 1909 and became the City of Sydney Library. Another of Walker's initiatives was to establish services across the state, with loans to organisations including the Wollongong School of Arts and the Mechanics' Institute at Plattsburg and services for regional libraries from 1883.
The library's collection continued causing continual storage and overcrowding problems. Australiana was a collecting focus for the library and David Scott Mitchell's collecting activities came to the attention of Henry Charles Lennox Anderson, Principal Librarian from 1893–1906. Anderson's stated aim of making the library'a National, not a Municipal, Library' led him to collect Australiana material. However, Mitchell's efforts to collect as many books and manuscripts relating to Australia, the Pacific, the East Indies and Antarctica from 1886 onwards, created competition for these materials. Anderson realised that the library did not have the budget or contacts to compete with Mitchell, attempted to build a working relationship with Mitchell. In 1898, Mitchell announced his intention to leave his collection to the people of New South Wales, subject to conditions including that the collection would be known as "the Mitchell Library". Although his offer was accepted, construction of a new building to house the collection was delayed for several years.
Construction commenced in one year before Mitchell's death. Following Anderson's resignation in 1907, Frank Murcott Bladen was appointed Principal Librarian. In 1909, Hugh Wright was appointed to the newly created position of Mitchell Librarian. Nita Kibble was another early member of the library staff; the Mitchell Library opened on 8 March 1910. The public library remained in the Bent Street building. Mitchell had not kept a catalogue of his collection, as a result, cataloguing was an early priority for librarians in the Mitchell Library. A research department was established as part of the public library in the 1920s under the direction of Nita Kibble, while Ida Leeson as Head of Acquisitions researched gaps in the library's collections. Kibble's research department was used as a mod
William Jervois
Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois was a British military engineer and diplomat. After joining the British Army in 1839, he saw service, in South Africa. In 1858, as a major, he was appointed Secretary of a Royal Commission set up to examine the state and efficiency of British land-based fortifications against naval attack. From 1875 to 1888 he was, Governor of the Straits Settlements, Governor of South Australia and Governor-General of New Zealand. Born on 10 September 1821 in Cowes in the Isle of Wight, Jervois was the son of General William Jervois, his wife Elizabeth Jervois née Maitland. Belonging to a military family of Huguenot descent, he was educated at Dr. Burney's Academy, before entering the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Upon graduating from Woolwich, Jervois was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in March 1839. From until 1841, Jervois was trained at the School of Military Engineering at Chatham. In 1842, having been promoted to lieutenant the year before, Jervois was sent to South Africa where he served as a brigade major.
As a second captain he saw service in the 7th Xhosa War, 1846–1847 during which he drew military sketches of British Kaffraria in South Africa. Returning to Britain in 1848, he commanded a company of Sappers and Miners at Woolwich and in June 1849 was ordered to Alderney with instructions to manage the construction of substantial fortifications. Following a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert to inspect the progress of the fortifications in 1854, he was promoted to the rank of major. Having been refused permission to go to the Crimea he returned to London in January 1855, he became the Commanding Royal Engineer for the London District and Assistant Inspector-General of Fortifications in April the following year. Jervois became Secretary of a Royal Commission set up on 20 August 1859 to examine the state and efficiency of British land-based fortifications against naval attack, it was tasked to consider Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, Portland, Pembroke Dock, Dover and the Medway. The commission's report was published on 7 February 1860.
Amongst other things, it proposed several options for a ring of defences around London, none of which were adopted, although elements were used in the London Defence Scheme. Jervois went on to oversee the design of the resulting fortifications that became known as the Palmerston Forts. Promotion to lieutenant colonel came in 1861, in 1864 and 1865, he was sent to Canada to review its fortifications and at the conclusion of his inspection he submitted what became a politically controversial report that stated that the Great Lakes and Upper Canada were not defensible, he lectured about iron fortifications, inspected and provided advice regarding the defences of various British colonies including Gibraltar and the Andaman Islands. He was promoted to colonel in 1867. In 1871 he was sent to India. Following the withdrawal of British garrison troops from Australia in 1870, Jervois and Lieutenant Colonel Peter Scratchley were commissioned by a group of colonies to advise on defence matters, they inspected each colony's defences and produced the Jervois-Scratchley reports of 1877 and 1878.
These emphasised the importance of shore-based fortifications to defend against naval attack and led to the establishment of local infantry and artillery units. In the 1880s many of the reports' recommendations were implemented by the various colonial governments and they went on to form the basis of defence planning in Australia and New Zealand until Federation. Jervois was raised to the rank of major general in 1877. In April 1875, Jervois was appointed the Governor of the Straits Settlements, a British dependency which included Penang and Singapore, he took office in Singapore on 8 May 1875, served until 3 April 1877. Decisions he made during his tenure cemented Britain's foothold on the Malay peninsula. Although distrustful of Malays, he was sympathetic to the Chinese and would bolster public support for oriental immigration during his time as Governor of South Australia. During an 1877 inspection of Australian maritime defences, Jervois was appointed Governor of South Australia, he was given notice of his "promotion" while in Melbourne in June, although the true reason for his reassignment was that the Colonial Office disliked his interference on the Malay mainland.
Jervois arrived in South Australia on HMS Sapphire on 2 October 1877. Jervois arrived in the colony during a time of political crisis. In October, the Colton Ministry resigned over a disagreement with the Legislative Council about the new Parliamentary buildings. Jervois resisted the pressure to dissolve parliament, James Boucaut became Premier. Jervois' term coincided with unusually good rainfall and a massive agricultural expansion, he laid the foundation stones of the University of Adelaide, the Institute and the Art Gallery, commissioned a new vice-regal summer residence at Marble Hill. Jervois served as Governor of New Zealand from 1883 to 1888. In this role, Jervois provided advice on harbour defence, guided the colonial government on Imperial matters, was active in the country's social life, worked to promote equality, he officiated at the opening of Auckland University College in 1883, declaring that it would be accessible to all New Zealanders, recognised
