THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. - OFFICIAL OPENING OF NEW ADDITIONS. PRESIDENT OF TRUSTEES HONOURED. - Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954) - 22 Aug 1913 (original) (raw)

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Fri 22 Aug 1913 - Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954)
Page 16 - THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.

OFFICIAL OPENING OF NEW ADDI-

PRESIDENT OF TRUSTEES HONOURED.

In what has been designated the Hackett

Hall, as a graceful tribute to the work of

the president of the trustees of the Public

Library, Museum, and Art Gallery. His Ex-

cellency the Governor (Sir Harry Barron)

on Monday afternoon declared open to the

public the handsome additions to the Lib-

rary buildings, of which a full description ap-

peared in Monday's issue of the "West Aus-

tralian." The function was a brilliant suc-

cess from every standpoint. As an educa-

tive force, no institution in this State ap-

peals more strongly to the. student thirsting

for knowledge or to the general public than

the Library, and the best evidence of their

close interest in it was the big attendance

at yesterday's function. The beautifully-

designed hall was crowded. The proceed-

ings lasted only an hour, but they mark

still another, and easily the most important,

epoch in the history of this institution. His

Excellency the Governor was accompanied

by Captain Lindsell. A.D.C., and occupied

a* seat on the right of the chairman, Sir

Winthrop Hackett, who presided by virtue of

his position as president of the trustees of

the Library, Museum, and Art Gallery.

Among the other trustees present were no-

ticed the Lieut.-Governor (Sir Edward Stone),

the Acting Chief Justice (Mr. Justice McMil-

lan) Bishop Riley, the President of the

Legislative Council (Mr. Henry Briggs), Dr.

Harvey, and Messrs. King, Haynes, and

Burrows, the visitors also including the Min-

ister for Education (Mr. T. Walker), Lady

Hackett, the Mayor of Perth (Mr. J. H.

Prowse) and Mrs. Prowse, the Director of

Education (Mr. C. P.- Andrews), the Rabbi

(Rev. D. I. Freedman), Canon Marshall,

Very Rev. Father Verling, the Rev, Father

Lynch,, the Revs. F. E. Harry, and W. Corly

Butler, and other representatives of diffe-

rent denominational Churches, Mr. Jas.

Cowan, P.M., the Government Architect (Mr.

Hillson Beasley), who was responsible for the

designing of the new building; the Public

Librarian (Mr. J. S. Battye), to whom all

the successes alluded to by the different

speakers are largely due ; the Director of the

Museum and Art Gallery (Mr. Bernard

Woodward), the secretary of the Young

Men's Christian Association (Mr. A. S. Wil-

son) and others prominent in the. higher edu-

cational movement. The Premier (Mr.

Scaddan) and the Colonial Secretary (Mr.

Drew) sent apologies for their absence owing j

to prior engagements, others unavoidably ab-

sent including Sir Watter James and Mr.

C. G. Morris, two of the trustees.

The President of the Trustees (Sir Win-

throp Hackett) iii the course of his address

said a period of something like 24 years had

elapsed since the first public Library was

opened in Western Australia, and it was,

with a modest equipment of about 1,500

volumes that they had embarked upon that

great work. That was a year before re-

sponsible Government was proclaimed in

Western'Australia—evidence surely that even

then the people had awakened to a sense

of their responsibilities; that a new

and living spirit was being breathed

into their endeavours, and that they under-

stood the vital importance of having a uni-

versity-educated people. (Hear, hear.) lt

was not inopportune to take a peep into

the past on such an interesting occasion.

When they moved from the small building

—the old Western Australian Bank on St.

George's-terrace—into the basement of the

building adjoining, they had 16,000 volumes.

Since then they had steadily gone forward,

although not so rapidly, perhaps, as they

would desire, until to-day they had 107,000

volumes, of which 10,500 belonged to the

travelling libraries, the remaining. 96,500

occupying places in the reference library.

He might say that the volumes in the tra-

velling libraries passed all over'the State.

It was the main hall of the Reference Lib-

rary in which they were assembled that day,

and they had only to glance around to en-

dorse his sentiment, that it was a work of

which the people might justly feel proud.

(Applause.) This State possessed a popula-

tion of something like only 300,000 people,

and with that they could link the happy

fact that over 162,000 people had visited

the Library last year, which showed a fair

increase compared with the figures for the

previous year. (Hear, hear.) With, the Min-

ister for Education present, in the unavoid-

able absence of the Colonial Treasurer, it

was an opportune occasion to talk in fig-

ures, and to ask Mr. Walker to impress

clearly in his mind what he (Sir Winthrop

fackctt) was about to say. (Laughter.) The

Public Library needed very urgently

More Money and Additional Books

a matter which was more important still

when they bore in mind the establishment

of the University. He wished briefly to bring

before the notice of the Minister for Educa-

tion the handicap under which they labour-

ed in this State compared with those who

controlled kindred institutions in other

parts of the Commonwealth. To meet the

necessities of the Public Library in this

State they received the paltry sum of £3,500

a year, which was wholly insufficient to

maintain the Library in a state of even

moderate efficiency. Let him cite the grants

which were paid to similar institutions. in

other parts of the Commonwealth. The

Public Library, Museum, and Art Gallery

of South Australia-a smaller institution

than that in this State-received £8,000, in

addition to which it possessed the income

from £77,000 worth of endowments. The

Public Library of New South Wales—the

Library only—received from Parliament the

sum of £10,000, of which £2,000 was a spe-

cial endowment for the purchase of books.

In this State they were almost at a stand-

still for the purchase of books, due in a

measure to the extra expense incurred in

connection with the additions to their build-

ings. The Public Library, Museum, and Na-

tional Gallery of Victoria received £22,000,

of which £11,000 was for Library purposes

alone. Here in this State they were

Literally Starving on £3,500.

He earnestly hoped that the Minister for

Education would, in his utterances that day,

give them some promise of brighter things

financially so far as the Library was con-

cerned. He felt honoured to have the op-

portunity that day to request his Excellency

the Governor to open the hall and to pre-

sent to him, on behalf of the trustees, a

key as a souvenir of the occasion. (Loud

His Excellency said that nothing afforded

him greater pleasure than to be able, in

his small way, to help on the great work

associated with the Public Library. An

occasion such as that made one wonder what

people did with themselves—how they pass-

ed their time and how they had been able

to progress—before they learned even to

read or to write. They had in this State

a Library of which they should feel

proud. The American Ambassador in

London had stated recently that the

world must be ruled by the people who

spoke the language of Shakespeare. One

could also cite the popularity of Dickens

among Americans. When the three Dutch

men-of-war vessels were in Tasmanian

waters, the Commodore and two of his cap-

tains told him that they read nothing but

English books, which was only further evi-

The Influence of English Literature.

The Library, he understood, was establish-

ed originally as a permanent memorial of

thc late Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee,

and he was glad to observe that Sir Win-

throp Hackett was one of the originators of

the movement, and was still supporting

very actively the great work which had

been commenced so many years ago.

The building was then declared open to

the public, and the tablet unveiled. This

bore the following words:—"The Hackett

Hall. This hall, named in honour of the

president, the Hon. Sir Winthrop Hackett,

K.C.M.G., M.A., LL.D., M.L.C., was opened

by His Excellency Sir Harry Barron,

K.C.M.G., C.V.O., on August 18, 1913."

The performance of this ceremony was re-

ceived with enthusiastic applause.

THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION.

The Minister for Education (Mr. Walker)

in moving a vote of thanks to His Excel-

lency, said he was surprised as well as

gratified and proud to behold that magnifi-

cent hall. (Applause.) He wanted Sir

Winthrop Hackett to remember that even

if the Library in this State did not receive

the same munificent assistance as that re-

ceived by kindred institutions in New South

Wales and in other parts of the Common-

wealth, it certainly made better use of what

was granted to it than did the libraries in

other parts of Australia. (Applause.) They

were told by Sir Winthrop Hackett that

the establishment of the Public Library of

this State commenced practically simul-

taneously with the inauguration of respon-

sible Government. In those distant days

they were in hired lodgings, if he might use

that expression, with only a limited num-

ber of books, and even then books not per-

haps of the most expensive kind. It seem-

ed a far cry back to that time, but it was

as a mere yesterday. In the. short space of

time intervening they had got this present

magnificent edifice, in which, owing to the

skill and genius of their local architects,

they were now able to display their books

to the best possible advantage. He

could promise Sir Winthrop Hackett

in a general way that he would help

him to the utmost of his ability. But could

they do it with permission of Parliament and

the public; could they keep pace with the

zeal and enthusiasm of Sir Winthrop

Hackett? (Laughter.) He sincerely believed

that if they gave Sir Winthrop Hackett his

way, they would have palaces adorning the

City of Perth at every corner ; he would be

transforming a city of clay and brick into

one of marble. (Laughter.) But let the

people be really grateful that Sir Winthrop

Hackett and his colleagues on the Library

had done so much in connection with it.

(Hear, hear.) The ceremony that day would,

he was sure, be one of the proudest in the

recollection of His Excellency the Governor,

for was it not a standing monument to the

State's intelligence and activity and to the

people's love of knowledge and of human

advancement? (Loud applause.)

BISHOP RILEY'S SUGGESTION.

In seconding, on behalf of the trustees,

the vote of thanks to His Excellency, Bishop

Riley said it was because they appreciated

the work of Sir Winthrop Hackett that the

trustees bad decided to name the main hall

after that gentleman, who was most en-

thusiastically interested in the Library, and

who, incidentally, had been one of their

best and most generous contributors to the

Museum. (Hear, hear.) The trustees

thought that in naming the hall after Sir

Winthrop, as a recognition of his services,

they would be encouraging others to throw

into such work the same zeal and enthusiasm

as their president had done. He could only

say that if the Minister for Education was

only as eloquent in Cabinet as he had been

that afternoon, some good ought to result

from his remarks. (Laughter.) They wanted

an extra £500 this year for new books, for

which these were many vacant spaces on the

shelves. If Mr. Walker would .only use his

eloquence on the Colonial Treasurer as he

had used it on them that afternoon, be ought

to have no difficulty in getting that sum.

(Laughter.) They now-had a children's de-

partment of the Library, with the result

that those who wanted to study an the Li-

brary would be able to do so in peace.

(Laughter.) His Excellency had made a sug-

gestion in behalf of the back blocks, but he

had better tell the people when he was

moving through the country, that if they

had no libraries it was their own fault, be-

Travelling Libraries to the Back Blocks.

They sent volumes as far away as Wyndham

and Leonora, and if people did not get these

facilities it was their own fault if they did

not ask for them. Personally, he was not

satisfied to have merely this fine State Refe-

Thc vote of thanks to His Excellency was

carried to the accompaniment of enthusias-

tic applause, Sir Winthrop Hackett taking

the opportunity to introduce the Government

Architect to His Excellency, who congratu-

lated that gentleman upon the architecture

of the new building. The building was then

thrown open to inspection. It is pleasing to

note that in the construction of the new

building local manufacturers were not over-

looked. The whole of the handsomely

stamped metal linings, the ornamental

friezes, the cornice mouldings, the massive

brackets supporting the galleries, and other

incidental effects were manufactured in

Perth and fixed in position by the Wunder-

lich Company, who are to be congratulated'

upon such, an artistic achievement.