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CAI^^ORNIA 
 
 Statb" Library, 
 
 -♦-^gyt ^ » 
 
 Accession Jfo. 
 
 Call JVo. 
 
 .MMBH 
 
 
Public Library of New South Wales. 
 
 istorual 0otfs 
 
 By 
 
 F. /A. BLADEN, F.R.G.S,, Lond 
 
 BARRISTER-AT-LAW 
 
 Subat antiquos acrrtirrc fontrs. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 81869 A 
 
 SYDNEY : 
 WILLIAM APPLEGATE GULLICK, GOVERNMENT PRINTER. 
 
 I 9 I I 
 
^573322 
 
 n O] 
 
161463 Hii 
 
 FOREWORD. 
 
 The task of collecting authentic portraits of the men who, during 
 the early days, were active workers in the library field, has been 
 one of considerable difficulty. I have to express my obligations 
 to Mr. J. Arthur Dowling, Dr. Andrew Houison, and Mr. Hugh 
 Wright, Assistant Librarian, to whom I am indebted for many 
 of the portraits and views. 
 
 I shall be glad to receive, at any time, portraits — for preser- 
 vation in the Library archives — of any of the office-bearers whose 
 names appear in Appendix " A," but whose portraits are not 
 
 found in these pages. 
 
 F.M.B. 
 
 Public Library^ Sydney, 
 
PROFESSOR \f. \V. MACCALLUM. XI. A.. LL.D. 
 President. 
 
THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 On Friday, 3rd February, 1S26, ten gentlemen met at the "Sydney 
 Hotel," to consider the advisability of founding a Reading-room and 
 Circulating Library at Sydnev. Lieut. De La Condamine, A.D.C. to 
 Governor Darling, then recenth" arrived, was the leading spirit, prompted, 
 no doubt, by the Go\ernor himself. With him were associated the Rev. 
 
 LIEUT. 1)K LA COXDAMLVE. 
 
 Committeeman, 1S26-41 li- 18.^4-46. 
 
 W^illiam Cowper, Senior Assistant Chaplain ; Dr. Douglas. Clerk to the 
 Legislative Council ; William Lithgow, Auditor-General ; J. Mackaness, 
 Sheriff; Capt. Rossi, Superintendent of Police; William Carter, Master of 
 the Supreme Court; and Messrs. A. Kinghorn, J. Brown, and K. King, 
 merchants. They held written promises of support from several other 
 officers and civilians, and immediately declared the Institution formed under 
 the style and title of the "Australian Subscription Library and Reading 
 Room." The entrance fee was hve guineas, and the annual subscription 
 two guineas. At a later date, members admitted on these terms were styled 
 proprietors as distinguished from subscribers, who paid three guineas a 
 year, but no entrance fee. 
 
THE Pl'BLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 ^^^fSAj^ 
 
 
 1826 
 
 ^CKV^ 
 
 THE FIRST BOOK STAMP. 
 
 Within a fortnight, the first general meeting was called. Rules and 
 
 regulations were drawn up. Admission was by ballot, and one black 
 ball in tour was fatal. Officers of Men-of-War and 
 Regiments quartered at Sydney were admitted as 
 " Honorary Members" without ballot, but were 
 required to pav the annual subscription. A stamp 
 for the marking of books was procured, and directed 
 to be placed upon the fiftieth, one-hundredth, and 
 each succeeding fiftieth page of each volume. In 
 
 later years it was also placed upon the backs of the books. The members 
 
 were allowed to take out two volumes 
 
 at a time. The penalties for not 
 
 returning books were graduated, 
 
 according to their sizes. For a folio 
 
 volume the fine was 3d., and for 
 
 pamphlets id., for e\er}- day beyond 
 
 the regulation time. 
 
 The rules, and a list of the first 
 
 officers and members, were printed. A 
 
 fac-simile copv of this interesting and 
 
 unique document is reproduced in 
 
 Appendix B. The original is in the 
 
 possession of D. S. Mitchell, Esq., 
 
 M.A., and is the only copy known to 
 
 be in existence. 
 
 In April, 1S26, the first order for 
 
 books and periodicals was forwarded 
 
 to London, addressed to the Colonial 
 
 Agent, Edward Barnard. The list 
 
 of books ordered is still preserved amongst the Library archives, and is a 
 
 very interesting document. The great quarterlies have precedence, followed 
 
 by high-priced standard works on history, theology, biography, science, 
 
 and travels. As if to grant concessions to the weaker vessels, Scott's novels 
 
 were added, evidentlv as an afterthought. 
 
 WINI. LITHGOW. 
 
 Committeeman, 1826-7. 
 
THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 The books, upon arrival, were deposited at the warehouse of one of 
 the founders of the Institution, A. B. Spark, until a suitable house 
 could be found. One of the tirst steps taken by the Committee was to 
 
 solicit loans of books from members, 
 with which to make a start. About five 
 hundred volumes were obtained in this 
 way. Some of them were subsequently 
 presented to the Institution, notably 
 those of J. T. Campbell and Archdeacon 
 f^ ^i&^ ^ap Scott. Many of these remain on our 
 
 A. l;. M'AKK. 
 Committeeman, 1827-.S & 1834-5. 
 
 shelves to this day. Operations were 
 commenced with about 1,000 volumes o\\ 
 ist December, 1827, in No. i, Terry's 
 Buildings, Pitt-street. Terry's Buildings 
 consisted of a terrace of live large three- 
 storied houses, erected by Samuel Terry. 
 They stood on the block of land which 
 is now bounded on the northern side 
 by X^ickery's Chambers, and on the 
 south side h\ the offices of Messrs. 
 Richardson & Wrench. In the very 
 early days they were amongst the notable 
 
 NO. I, terry's BUILI'i . r I IT ST. 
 
 In which the Library was located from 
 
 1827 to 1831. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 buildings of Sydney. The house in which the Library was located was the 
 most northern of the terrace. It stood on the site where Messrs. Raine 
 & Home's offices now are, the present number of which is 86 Pitt-street. 
 The g-round-floor of the building was 
 occupied by the Committee for the 
 management of the Sydney Dispensary, 
 afterwards the Sydney Infirmary and 
 Dispensary, now the Sydney Hospital. 
 The Library was on the first floor, 
 and the upper story was occupied by 
 Peter Cooke, who acted in the dual 
 capacity of Librarian and Dispenser at 
 the modest salary of ;£40 a year. The 
 rent (/,"i2o) was paid in equal propor- 
 tions by each body. The Library was 
 open from i p.m. to 5 p.m. In July, 
 1828, an alteration was made, the hours 
 being from i p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 
 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 
 
 Cooke was succeeded in February, 
 
 1829, by Charles Henderson, Clerk committeeman, 1S26-31, 1S33-4, 
 
 cV- 1836. 
 
 to the Corporation of Church and School 
 
 Estates. He resigned in April of the same year, and was succeeded by 
 
 George Baxter. 
 
 The bulk of the work, during the early years, fell upon De La Conda- 
 mine, who continued as Honorary Secretary until his departure with his 
 Regiment, (the 57th Foot) in 1831. For several years Messrs. Berry and 
 WoUstonecraft were the Honorary Treasurers, and amongst the most active 
 members of the Committee were Rev. Wm. Cowper and Rev. R. Hill. 
 
 At the outset the books were of a very high educational order, what we 
 would call, to-day, standard works for a Reference Library. Before two 
 years had elapsed the inevitable cry for light and popular literature arose. 
 More fiction was required. The books were too grave in character. These 
 
THE ORlGiX AND DEVELOPIVIiiNT OF 
 
 complaints, and the fact that the subscriptions were falling off, alarmed the 
 Committee, and the London agent was instructed to pav more attention to 
 writers such as " Bulwer, Dickens, and Lever." In particular, he was 
 directed to be \'ery careful to include all of Scott's novels, and " an\' other 
 recent novels which ha\'e been reviewed, and approved, bv the writers of 
 the Ediiibnrgli or Quarterly Reviews." 
 
 One of the first acts of the original Committee was to divide itself into 
 
 F. N. UOSSI. 
 
 ConiniittiHinan, 1S26 iS: 1829-30. 
 
 (iEOHUE ALLEN. 
 Committeeman, 1827-9. 
 
 sub-Committees : ow^ foi- the selection and care of the books, another for 
 the proper furnishing and up-keep o{ ilie house, and a third for the 
 management of the finances. This sensible plan was not adhered to by 
 later Committees, much to the weakening oi the interest o'i the subscribers 
 and the growth of laxit)' in the Committee itself. 
 
 In 1830, finding the income had dwindled in two years from /!^400 to 
 ;£,'200, the Committee appealed to Governor Darling for assistance. Thev 
 were particular in emphasizing the fact that the Society ought to be regarded 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 7 
 
 as a semi-public body, and claimed that they had 
 
 . . . laid the foundation of a Public Library, which, at no distant period, may 
 become highly valuable and useful to the Colony. 
 
 Thev asked for 
 
 allotment, and 
 
 Museum, then in 
 should be combined 
 Governor Darling 
 he sent the Library 
 and issued the 
 tions, under date 
 
 It ajipearing of 
 the interests of this 
 Public Library should 
 lished on a suitable 
 inhabitants may have 
 ing access to such 
 works as it may not 
 every individual to 
 immediate use, and 
 nature having been 
 
 St 
 
 WM. BALCOMBE. 
 
 Committeeman, 1828. 
 
 a grant of a town 
 suggested that the 
 an embryo state, 
 with the Library, 
 was sympathetic ; 
 his cheque for ^50, 
 following instruc- 
 loth October, 1831 : 
 
 great importance to 
 community that a 
 be permanently estab- 
 scale, so that the 
 the means of abtain- 
 ^tandard and other 
 be convenient for 
 purchase for his own 
 an Institution of this 
 already commenced, 
 
 and some liberal contrihulions having been made tliL'rcto, but a building being still 
 required, and the means of the Institution being totally inadequate to the pnuxhase 
 
 of the ground 
 erection ; let 
 and Committee 
 management of 
 the "Australian 
 Library " l)e 
 select two 
 ground in Hyde 
 as the arrange- 
 
 FIRST BOOK-PLATE. 
 
 necessary tor its 
 the President 
 charged with 
 the affairs of 
 Subs crip t ion 
 authorised to 
 allotments of 
 Park as soon 
 ments shall have 
 
 been completed for appropriating and disposing of the said ground, it being understood 
 that suitable provision is to be made for a Muse inn, which, as far as regards the 
 collection of animals, birds, &c., has been already commenced, and which it is 
 conceived may be united with great advantage to the Public Library. The above 
 ground to be granted free of quit-rent for ever. 
 
THE ORIGIN AXD DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 With a view of still further assisting the Institution in question and as a means of 
 evincing the interest which Government takes in its success, it has been deemed 
 proper to place at its disposal two of the building allotments lately laid out above 
 "Rushcutters' Bay" ; let the President and the Committee, therefore, be authorised to 
 select two allotments at that place,which, as the Institution will be at liberty to dispose 
 of these allotments, by sale or otherwise, as may be considered more advantageous, are 
 to be chargeable with the same quit-rent as the other allotments in their immediate 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 RALPH DARLING. 
 
 It will be seen from the tenor and wording of these instructions that the 
 Institution was regarded at the time as of the nature of a Public Library. 
 
 The Committee lost no time in acting upon the Governor's minute. 
 Two allotments were selected in Hyde Park, the combined area being 300 
 
 feet hv 260 feet. I have been able to 
 locate the exact site bv means of an old 
 map of Hyde Park, which has been 
 preserved in the Lands Department, 
 and was evidently prepared by Sir 
 Thomas Mitchell for the guidance of 
 Goxernor Darling, whose intention it 
 was to build upon the Park lying north 
 of Par k-s t r e e t. This plan shows 
 Market-street continued in an easterly 
 direction to vSt. Marv's Cathedral, and 
 M ac q u a r i e-s t r e e t continued in a 
 southerlv line beyond Park-street. The 
 allotments selected by the Committee 
 were situated at the centre of the rect- 
 angle formed by College-street, Park- 
 street, Elizabeth-street, and the con- 
 tinuation of Market-street. 
 
 The two allotments "above Rush- 
 cutters' Ray" were each four acres in extent, with a total frontage of 
 800 feet to the eastern side of the Old South Head Road, directly opposite 
 the present entrance gates to the Victoria Barracks, 
 
 F. A. HELV. 
 
 Hon. Secretary, 1831-2. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 Some years elapsed before Darling's orders were acted upon. In 1834 
 Governor Bourke (who succeeded him) confirmed the grants of allotments 
 at Rushcutters' Bay ; but substituted two small blocks in Bridge-street for 
 the building 
 sites in Hyde 
 Park. These 
 the Society 
 refused to 
 reco g n i s e 
 as a f a i r 
 ex c hange, 
 allegingthat 
 they were 
 both insuffi- 
 cient and 
 unsuitable. 
 Ultimately, 
 they agreed 
 to accept, in 
 lieu thereof, 
 agrant of the 
 
 land on which the Public Library now stands, at the corner of Bent-street and 
 Macquarie-street. Seven years elapsed before the choice was endorsed by a 
 subsequent Committee, and ratified bv the Governor. This block then 
 formed a part of the Government Domain. It was at the back of the old 
 Government House, which then stood at the present intersection of Bridge 
 and Phillip-streets. In fact, the allotment is described in the old papers 
 as being " near the kitchen garden." 
 
 During the years occupied in these negotiations, the Library had 
 a rather precarious existence. In February, 1831, F. A. Hely, Superin- 
 tendent of Convicts, succeeded Lieut. De La Condamine, as Honorary 
 Secretary, In December, 1831, the books were removed from Pitt-street to 
 rooms at the old Post Office in George-street. This building was situated 
 
 flp-sa 
 
 -/J':^^-fik'^ „_.;.. '--4. _^ 
 
 THE GENERAL POST OFFICE. 
 
 Ill which the Library was located from i S3 1-6. 
 
10 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 LIEUT.-COL. SHADFORTH. 
 Hon. Secretary, 1^33-45. 
 
 on the site of the present Post Office, and 
 up till the year 1830 had been the Sydney 
 Police Office. The illustration is from an 
 old engraving : the original plans and 
 elevation are still preserved in the office of 
 the Government Architect. In the following 
 month, Thomas Connolly was appointed 
 Librarian, in succession to George Baxter. 
 In the latter part of the year 183 1, 
 Richardson, bookseller, of Cornhill, 
 London, was appointed agent to the 
 Library ; his terms being one-half the 
 ordinar\' trade discount. 
 
 In January, 1833, Lieut. -Col. Thomas 
 Shadforth succeeded F. A. Helv as Honorarv 
 Secretary. In 1834, the library was incor- 
 porated by Act of Council (5 George IV), and Dr. James Mitchell, Thomas 
 Walker, and \V. T. Cape were appointed trustees of the property. It is 
 noteworthy tliat in the title of the Act, the words "Public Library" were 
 used. In this year (1834), ^^e first attempt at a classification of the books 
 was made, and it was decided to divide them as follows : — 
 
 1. Agriculture and Horticulture. 
 
 2. Antiquities. 
 
 3. Architecture. 
 
 4. Chemistrw 
 
 5. Classics. 
 
 6. Commerce. 
 
 7. Dramatic Works. 
 
 8. Essays. 
 
 9. Geographv. 
 
 10. History and Biography. 
 
 1 1. Jurisprudence. 
 
 12. Mathematics, Astronomy, 6i:c. 
 
 SEAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN 
 SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 II 
 
 14. 
 
 15- 
 16. 
 
 17- 
 18. 
 19. 
 20. 
 21. 
 22. 
 23- 
 24- 
 
 Medicine, Anatomy, and Surgery. 
 
 Mechanical Arts. 
 
 Miscellaneous Works. 
 
 Natural History. 
 
 Novels and Romances. 
 
 Philology. 
 
 Philosophy. 
 
 Poetry. 
 
 Political Economy. 
 
 Reviews, Magazines, and other Periodicals. 
 
 Sermons and Theological Works. 
 
 Voyages and Travels. 
 
 The first printed catalogue I can discover, is dated January, 1828. I do 
 not think there was an earlier one. It contains the by-laws and a list 
 
 of the officers and members. It would be 
 " obviously absurd to attempt to draw any 
 
 comparison between this catalogue and 
 one issued by a modern Library ; in its 
 time it was no doubt regarded as a very 
 creditable piece of work. Later catalogues I 
 have seen are those for the years 1834 and 
 1836. One glance at these old catalogues 
 makes it evident that the titles of the 
 books then performed their original and 
 intended function. For cataloguing pur- 
 poses, a book was then known and described 
 exclusively bv its title. The author was 
 disregarded entirelv, unless his name 
 happened to stand first in the title, e.g., 
 The Voyages of Captain Cook are entered 
 under "Voyages" — not under "Cook." 
 Lang's " History of New South Wales " is given under " History "—there is 
 no entry under either "Lang" or " New South Wales." Sir Walter Scott's 
 
 B 
 
 JUDGE THERRY. 
 
 Committeeman, 1831-2, 1834-7, & 
 
 1839-40. 
 
12 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 novels are entered under "Sir" — not under "Scott." In realitv, it is an 
 alphabetical!}- arranged inventory, without location numbers or distinguish- 
 ing classification marks, of the abbreviated titles by which the books were 
 familiarly known to the Librarian — in other words, the germ of the modern 
 dictionary catalogue. 
 
 In July, 1835, Governor Bourke, in answer to a request for the 
 conveyance of the promised deed of grant, suggested that the Government 
 
 JAMES LAIDLEV. 
 Mcc-Prcsident, 1834-5. 
 
 REV. R. MANSFIELD. 
 Committeeman, 1836-7 & 1S43-64. 
 
 should undertake the erection ot a building. W^ithout waiting for the 
 consent of the .Society, he wrote to the Secretary of State in the following 
 terms : — 
 
 Government House. 
 My Lord, Sydney, August 7. 1S35. 
 
 In a})i:)lying to vour Lordship for permission to jiropose to the Council of 
 this Colony the appropriation of money for the erection of a building to serve as a 
 Library and Museum, and to be placed in connexion with the Sydney Botanical 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBKARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 13 
 
 Gardens, I 
 have the great 
 advantage of 
 addressing a 
 Minister who 
 being himself 
 a member of 
 several learned 
 societies is fully 
 able to appreci- 
 ate the value 
 of Institutions 
 formed for the 
 promotion of 
 Literature and 
 Science. I 
 may, there- 
 fore, I trust, 
 anticipate a 
 
 THOMAS WALKER. 
 Conimitteemau, 1834-8. 
 
 i;i,Mhl NCE OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE, 
 In winch tlie Library was located from 1836-40. 
 
 favourable reply to the proposal I have now 
 the honour to submit to Your Lordship. 
 
 There has been for some time established 
 in Sydney a subscription Library, the members 
 of which have lately become a joint stock 
 company under the provisions of an Act of 
 the Governor and Council. To this Act I 
 beg leave to refer your Lordship for the 
 Regulations by which the Society is governed. 
 
 It has hitherto been maintained entiiely 
 by private funds. On the retirement of my 
 predecessor from this Government he dire ted 
 that it should receive two small allotment ■; of 
 ground in the suburb of Sydney and a building 
 allotment within the town : the former to be 
 sold to })rocure some jiortion of the funds 
 required to erect a building on the latter, with 
 the condition that the building should contain 
 rooms for the Colonial Museum for which 
 
T4 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 c. K. IIOLDKN. 
 
 Coinniitteeman, 1839-40, iS4'')-7 
 
 iS;6, iS: i<S63-3. 
 
 collections on a small scale have been making for a few years past. This arrangement 
 
 was subsequently ajiproved by the Secretary of State. 
 It has been carried into effect so far as to give 
 
 possession to the Society of the two suburb allot- 
 ments, but I would beg leave to submit a different 
 
 arrangement for the building. I ap}n-ehend some 
 
 difficulty in procuring suital)le rooms for the 
 
 ]\Iuseum in the rooms which the funds of the 
 
 Society will enable them to erect, and it would be 
 
 a novel and perhaps an imprudent measure to 
 
 place the public property in a house over which 
 
 the Government w^ould have no other control than 
 
 as a kind of a lessee of a part of it. I consider. 
 
 therefore, it would be more advisal)le to build a 
 
 house for a Library and Museum, and. cancelling 
 
 the promise of a building allotment to the Society, 
 
 to allow them to place their books m the Library, 
 
 and ha\'e the use and occupation of the rooms 
 
 composing it, with a condition that they shall, if 
 
 required by a vear's notice, vacate the rooms, 
 in which case they should receive a building 
 allotment in Sydney, or the value of one at 
 this day which may be estimated at £.',50.* 
 By the }n"oi)osed arrangement I might 
 hope to establish at once a convenient 
 Institution for the study of Natural History 
 and to lay the foundation of a Public Library. 
 The cost of a suitable building will not 
 exceed £4,000, the appropriation of which 
 sum I beg permission to jirojxise to the 
 Council for this object. 
 
 RICHARD I'.orRKl':. 
 
 ^Mari^iiidl note in original. — This is rc- 
 [loiU'il h\ Mr. Macpherson to be the price at 
 which all except one of tlie allotments in 
 Bridge-street recently sold. 
 
 joiix FAiiiiAx. (William Macpherson wa.s Collector of 
 
 Librarian, 1839-41. Committeeman, 
 
 1862-4. Internal Revenue.) 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 15 
 
 In 1836, a valuation was made of the property of the Society. The 
 books (2,600 volumes) were valued at ^1,040, and the furniture at ^88 15s. 
 
 No estimate was made of the value of land. 
 During May of this year, the Library was 
 moved from the old Post Office to the house 
 in Bridge-street, then recently vacated by the 
 Chief Justice. This building stood on the 
 site of the present offices of the Department 
 of Lands, at the corner of Bridge and Gresham 
 streets. The illustration on page 13 shows 
 the building as it was when occupied by the 
 Chief Justice. It is taken from a view by J. 
 Carmichae! and from old plans in the Govern- 
 ment Architect's Department. Additions, 
 which entirely altered the appearance of the 
 building, were made in 1854, and again in 
 1867, for , 
 
 the pur- 
 pose of accommodating the rapidly in- 
 creasing staff of the Surveyor-General. 
 On the Estimates for the year 1838, 
 an amount of ;i£,'4,ooo was \'Oted for 
 building a Public Library and Museum. 
 In July of that year the Society urged 
 the Colonial Secretary to commence oper- 
 ations. Orders were in consequence is- 
 sued to the Colonial Architect, Mr. M. W. 
 Lewis, to confer with the Committee, 
 with a view to the preparation of plans 
 and specifications. At the last minute 
 a hitch occurred. The Gox'ernmeiiL 
 required some assurance that the public 
 would have free access to the books. 
 
 JUDGE BURTON. 
 
 The Committee, on the other hand, Vice-President, 1842-4 
 
 LIEUT.-COL. BARNEY. 
 Committeeman, 1 84 1-2. 
 
i6 
 
 THE ORIGIN- AXD DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 clung to their proprietary rights ; if the Institution were to be transformed 
 into a Public Library, they not unnaturally required some equivalent for the 
 
 money( prob- 
 ably about 
 /^ 3, o o o ) 
 which had 
 been expen- 
 ded in books, 
 fittings, and 
 furniture. 
 
 A resolu- 
 tion was fi-f 
 nallv passed 
 bv the Com- 
 mittee, on 
 25th Octo- 
 ber, 1838, to 
 the effect that 
 a special 
 
 ^l. JA.MKS S PARSONAGE. 
 In which the Library was located from 1840-3. 
 
 room should be appropriated for the use of 
 the general public (or non-subscribers), 
 who would be provided with the books of 
 the Library for perusal and reference, but 
 not for loan, between the hours of 10 a.m. 
 and 5 p.m. ; access to be by ticket, signed 
 by a member of the Committee, and renewed 
 every three months ; the expense of an 
 extra Library Attendant thus incurred, to be 
 defrayed by the Government. The Gover- 
 nor would not agree to this proposal, and 
 the Committee, on being informed thereof, 
 wrote to Sir George Gipps as follows : — 
 
 The Committee having again maturely con- 
 sidered the subject, regret that, consistently with 
 
 CANON ALLWOOD. 
 
 Committeeman, 1842 & 1856-65. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES 
 
 ;ALEXR. M'LEAY.^ 
 
 President, 1S26-4S. 
 
 DR. C. NICHOLSON. 
 Coininitteeman, 1838-47. Vice-President, 
 1848-53. President, 1854-5. 
 
 E. DEAS THOMSON. 
 
 Committeeman, 1 830-1. 
 
 President, 1840-53. 
 
 --SjJW 
 
 MM 
 
 DR. J. MITCHELL. 
 Committeeman, 1832-53. Vice-President, 
 1854-5. President, 1856-69. 
 
 Presidents of the Australian Subscription Library and the Australian 
 Library and Literary Institution. 
 
THE ORIGIN' AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 their duty, they cannot meet His Excellency's views by recommending any further 
 deviation from the principles on which this Institution was founded than what they 
 proposed in their resolution of 25th October, 1838 ; but the\' confidently hope that 
 
 on further consideration of these principles, 
 
 ! y^-'^t ' -.- 'Tv^ — ""'"^ — '~^' ' ^~" . of the peculiar circumstances of the Colony, 
 
 and of the usages in the mother country with 
 
 respect to the admission to Public Libraries, 
 
 ; His Excellency will be satisfied with the 
 
 arrangement which has been already proposed, 
 and the more especially as His Excellency is 
 aware that no strangers are admitted without 
 tickets to the Library of another Colonial 
 Institution which is chiefly supported at 
 the expense of the Public Funds of the 
 Colony*. 
 
 DR. LAXG. 
 
 Cominitlet'inan, 1826-7, 1859-60, A: 1863-6. 
 
 Trustee, 1S70-8. 
 
 Gipps's reply is not available, but he 
 enclosed Sir Richard Bourke's despatch 
 of 7th August, 1835, tjuotcd above, in 
 proof lliat tlic Government was desirous 
 of helping the Society, and sent also a 
 copy of an approving repiv from Lord 
 Glenelg. Gipps probably hinted that 
 they were occupying a Government build- 
 ing rent-free, and were being rather 
 
 JUDGE A BECKETT. 
 Committeeman, 1838-9. 
 
 *Tlie allusion no dou'jt is to the Sydney School of Arts, towards the support oi which the 
 sum of £200 p^r arinum was paid by Government. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 19 
 
 generously treated ; the reply of the Society was not calculated to pacify 
 officialdom. They asked : — 
 
 1. That they should not be deprived of any p^ -i 
 
 privilege or benefit granted or promised 1 
 
 by Governor Darling. 
 
 2. If the rooms in the old Chief Justice's house, 
 
 of which they had been in jiermissive 
 occupancy, were to be taken from them, 
 they should be given duenotice, andshould } 
 receive from Government an eligible build- 
 ing allotment in the town, or a sum of ; 
 money sufficient to purchase such an allot- ! 
 ment on which "an edifice becoming the ; 
 nature of the Institution, and which may L 
 be a credit to the Colony and an honor to 
 the Government, could be erected." 
 
 p. J. ELLIOTT. 
 Librarian, 1841-63. 
 
 ED YE MANNING. 
 Committeeman, 1838-y, 
 
 While takino- this stand, the Com- 
 mittee urged the Goxernment not to stop 
 the preparations for the erection of a 
 Library and Museum, complaining in the 
 same letter that they were being greatl}' 
 inconvenienced bv insufficient accommo- 
 dation. A formal reply, to the effect that 
 the Colonial Architect had been directed 
 to prepare plans and estimates, closed 
 the correspondence; but the Committee 
 did not let any opportunitv pass of 
 reminding the Government that they 
 expected Darling's promise of a town 
 grant to be made good, or a money 
 equivalent paid. 
 
 In J a n u a r y, i 839, Librarian 
 Connolly resigned. The position was 
 advertised in the Sydney papers, and 
 John Fairfax appointed on ist April. 
 
20 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 In November, of the same year, he re- 
 ceived a gratuity for the way in which 
 he had compiled the Library Catalogue, 
 and, at the same time, a promise of an 
 increase of salary, but the prospects 
 were not alluring enough. After two 
 years' service John Fairfax resigned, 
 and was succeeded in March, 1S41, by 
 P. J. Elliott. 
 
 In May, 1840, the allotments above 
 Rushcutters' Bay were sold for ;6\5»3^4' 
 and, in the same month, the premises in 
 Bridge-street, occupied bv the Library 
 and Museum, were ordered to be vacated 
 to accommodate the Survevor-General 
 
 J. H. PLUNKETT. 
 Committeeman, 1837 and 1865. 
 
 and his Staff; rooms being proxided for 
 the Library at a building in Macquarie- 
 street, opposite the site on which the 
 Sydney Mint now stands. The main 
 building had, at various times, been used 
 for the accommodation of one, or another, 
 of the Government Officials and their 
 Staffs — notably the Surveyor-General 
 and the Collector of Internal Revenue. 
 It was finally granted to the Church 
 Authorities for a Parsonage : the Li- 
 brary appears to have been located in 
 the small annexe on the right-hand 
 side of the building shown on page 16, 
 ante. 
 
 REV. DR. ULLATHORNE. 
 Committeeman, 1839-40. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 21 
 
 vSome of the entries in the Committee's Minute Book are amusing when 
 read in the light of present-day knowledge ; e.g:, we tind in October, 1841, 
 one member of the Committee moving that "the work entitled 'Jack 
 Sheppard ' be ejected," and at the same meeting it was resolved "that 
 three copies of a proposed work entitled ' Stolen Moments,' to be published 
 in the Colony, wrote (sic) by Henrv Parkes, be subscribed for." 
 
 The Governor having offered two sites to the Committee, one 
 "opposite the residence of Mr. Ed\'e Manning," the other "opposite the 
 
 DR. G. BENNETT. 
 Committeeman, 1846-53. 
 
 F. L. S. MEREWETHER. 
 Committeeman, 1848-9. 
 
 Club House," it was decided in May, 1841, to accept the former and start 
 operations. 
 
 Upon this decision being made known, several plans were submitted 
 by officials and private architects. In nearly every case they were on 
 by far too ambitious a scale. Finally, in November, 1842, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Barnev submitted a scheme for a building to cost ^'10,000. 
 
22 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 This was adopted on the understanding that onlv^ a part of the erection 
 (to cost ;^5,ooo) should be immediately undertaken. Within three weeks^ 
 tenders were called for, and accepted, and an architect, Mr. Henry Ginn, 
 appointed. 
 
 G. A. LLUVD. 
 Committeeman, 1870. 
 
 CHARLES COVVPER. 
 (Committeeman, 1850-5. 
 
 Operations o\\ the kind at the corner of Bent and Macquarie streets 
 were at once commenced, and, earl\- in h>bruar\', 1843, the work was sufti- 
 cienlly ad\anced to permit (>\ the formal ceremonx' of kivinq- the foundation 
 stone. Sir Cjeori;"e Ciipps was asked to ofticiate ; but for some reason — now 
 unknin\n he informed the Committee that he " declined presidino- at the 
 ceremony."" Ihe l^-esiLienl, Alexander McLea\-, \\as thereupon selected, and 
 a Committee, consisiiui; ot Dr. C. Xiclu^lson (Chairman), Dr. l\oss. Dr. 
 A. M. A'Becketl, and \\ . T. Cape, was formed to make the necessary 
 arrangements for dul\- celebrating the e\ent. 
 
 Theeeremon\ was pertormcd on 14111 h'ebruar\ , 1S43. The speeches oi 
 Dr. .Nicholson and Alexander McLeay were reported at length in the Sxdncy 
 
M. METCALFE. 
 Hon. Treasurer, 1S58-65 
 
 A. H. RICHARDSON. 
 Hon. Treasurer, 1S66-70. 
 
 Honorary Treasurers— The Australian Subscription Library and the 
 Australian Library and Literary Institution. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 23 
 
 Morning Herald oi 15th February, 1843. A brass plate was embedded in 
 the foundation stone containing the following inscription : — ■ 
 
 LAPIDEM. PRIMARIUM. 
 
 ^DIFICII. 
 
 DICATI. IN. USUM. 
 
 BIBLIOTHEC.^. COLLATICI^. AUSTRALIENSIS. 
 
 A. RADULPHO. DARLING. EO. ORD. CxUELPH. GR. 
 
 ANN. SAL. MDCCCXXVI. INSTITUTE. 
 
 CONJECIT. 
 
 ALEXANDER. MACLEAY. SOCIET. REGI.^. SOC. 
 PRIMLTS. ET. UNICUS. ADHLTC. PRASES. 
 
 SEXTUM. JAM. ANNUM, REGNANTE. VICTORIA. Q.D.S.P. 
 
 XV'I. CAL. MART. ANN. SAL. MDCCCXLIII. 
 
 CURANTIBUS. , 
 
 GEORGIO. GIPPS. EQ. AUR. COL. PR.^F. PATRONO. 
 
 GUL. GRANT. BROUGHTON. D.D. AUSTRAL. EPISC. VICE. PATRONO. 
 
 ALEX. MACLEAY. SOCIPZT. REGI^. SOC. PR.-ESIDE. 
 
 GUL. WESTBROOKE. BURTON. FOR. REG. PR^T. VICE. PR.^SIDE. 
 
 ART. M. a'bECKETT. RAD. MANSFIELD. CLER. 
 
 JOHAN. STIRLING. GUL. B. CLARKE. CLER. A.M. 
 
 CAROL. NICHOLSON. :\I.D. S.C.S. GLTL. T. CAPE. 
 
 JOHAN. L. INNES ROB. ROSS. CLER. M.D. 
 
 JACOBO. MITCHELL. GUL. J. DUMARESQ. 
 
 TH. SHADFORTH. LEG. TR. A. SEC. 
 
 GEOR. MILLER. vER. COLL. CUSTOD. 
 
 PHIL. J. ELLIOTT. A. BIBLIOTHECA. 
 
 HENRIC. GINN. ARCHITECTQ, 
 
24 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 In a cavit\' in the foundation stone a glass bottle was deposited, 
 containing a number o( coins, and a copv on parchment of the Latin 
 inscription. 
 
 The proceedings were followed by 
 a luncheon, at which the usual loyal 
 toasts and that of " Prosperity to the 
 Australian Subscription Library " were 
 proposed by the President. 
 
 About this time the Committee were 
 notified b\' the Goxernment that the 
 rooms occupied by them near the corner 
 of King and Macquarie streets, were 
 required for official purposes, and as 
 
 REV. W. B. CLARKE. 
 
 Committeeman, 1843-4, 1847-51, tS: 1854-5. 
 
 Vice-President, 1856-66. 
 
 Trustee, 1870-8, 
 
 SIR THOMAS MITCHELL. 
 Committeeman, 1832-3. 
 Mce-President, 1845-7. 
 
 there were no other available premises 
 belonging to the Government, it became 
 necessary to rent rooms temporarilv. 
 On 1st April, 1H43, the Librar\- was 
 removed (pending completion of the 
 building) to a house in .Macquarie- 
 place, rented Irom Mrs. Keibev, for 
 which ;£,\^oo a year w.is paid. This 
 was a serious drain on the precarious 
 income, and the iiexl \ear saw them 
 pinched for mone\-. In lune. 1S44, 
 thev wrote to the London a^rent to cut 
 
 ■HWI 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 25 
 
 his monthly shipment down to /^5 worth of new books and to send no 
 more works of fiction. 
 
 This was a year of dissension. Alarmed by the increasing liabilities 
 and the decreasing membership, a party led by the Rev. Dr. Lang attacked 
 the Committee. A special meeting was held on 22nd February, 1844, 
 Alexander McLeay in the chair. Resolutions severely censuring the Com- 
 
 ^ 
 
 •%„^ 
 
 ™' 
 
 CHARLES CAMPBELL. 
 
 Coinmitteemaii, 1841. 
 
 Deputy Chairman, 1869. 
 
 Chairman, 1870. 
 
 A. M. A BECKETT. 
 
 Committeeman, 1842-5 and 1867-9. 
 
 Deputy Chairman, 1870. 
 
 mittee were moved by Dr. Lang; but he was hopelessly in the minority. 
 In/er alia it was proposed to abolish the system of balloting for members 
 and to reduce the subscription to £\ per annum. Amongst the members 
 who supported the Committee were Dr. Bland, Judge Therry, Bishop 
 Broughton, Richard Windeyer, James Macarthur, and Robert Lowe. 
 
 Lang endeavoured to ventilate the matter in the Legislative Council, 
 and on 17th May, 1844, asked a series of questions, without, however, 
 c 
 
26 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 recei\ing much satisfaction or, apparently, any svmpath^•. Most of the 
 reforms advocated by him were, however, subsequent! v adopted. 
 
 In Nov^ember, 1845, the long cherished 
 object of the Society was achieved, and 
 the Library boasted a building which 
 it could call its own, and which had been 
 specially designed to suit the purpose 
 for which it w^as to be used. For about 
 twenty years thev had been forced to 
 make shift in dwelling-houses or spare 
 rooms in Government Offices. During 
 that period the funds had been sufficient, 
 but the accommodation unsuitable and 
 often inadequate. The ensuing twentv- 
 iive vears found them in an almost 
 
 R. WINDEYER. 
 Committeeman, 1S45-6. 
 
 constant state ot poverty, but wMth a 
 commodious and handsome home on 
 one of the finest sites in vSydney. For 
 many years it attracted to its Reading 
 Room and Lecture Hall the culture 
 and learning of Sydney, and became 
 the recognised meeting-place and 
 home of literary and scientific bodies. 
 Numbering amongst its prominent 
 members many men of remarkable 
 mental calibre and earnestness, it became 
 a much more powerful educational factor 
 
 S. A. DONALDSON. 
 Committeeman, 1S50-1. 
 
 -'M- V 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 27 
 
 than the limited member roll would suggest. The exclusiveness, to which 
 we can trace the ultimate reverses of the Society, was characteristic of the 
 time and was not more peculiar to Sydney and 
 its Library than to other places and similar 
 bodies. 
 
 At a General Meeting held on 9th July, 
 1846, it was resolved that ladies should be ^ ,^ 
 
 eligible for election as subscribers. This 
 resolution may have been passed in a formal 
 way to allay the scruples of sticklers for con- 
 stitutional propriety ; or it may mark the 
 failure of an attempt to exclude women, for 
 in the old lists of members and subscribers, 
 published in the thirties, the names of several 
 married women are frequently to be found. 
 
 In the year 1847 Governor Fitzroy granted 
 to the Society an additional block of land on the 
 northern side of the Library, having a frontage of 30 feet to Macquarie-street. 
 
 "^ 
 
 H. H. BROWNE. 
 Committeeman, 1852-61. 
 
 ^ M 
 
 'V^. 
 
 AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION LIBRARY. 1853. 
 
28 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 Special orders were sent to the London acrent about this time to send 
 regularly, as published, the works of Dickens, Bulwer, Trollope, Disraeli, 
 Warren, Lever, and Maxwell. 
 
 On the igth June, 1848, Alexander McLeay died. He had filled the 
 president's chair, uninterruptedly, from the date of the foundation of the 
 Society, and during the entire period his active interest had never flagged 
 
 Mr. Deas Thomson, who had succeeded McLeav as Colonial Secretary 
 in i8.:;7, was elected his successor as President on iith January, 1849 
 
 r 
 
 ' \i' i . r. I'. Ki\(,. 
 Coinmitteeman, 1 85 1-2. 
 
 REV. DR. WOOLLEY. 
 
 Coniniittecman, 1855-7. 
 
 In 1 85 1 the funds were very low, and the agent was instructed to send 
 out nothing but periodicals, public documents, and the proceedings o\' 
 learned Societies. An application by the Librarian for increases in the 
 salaries of himself and his assistant, occasioned by the high prices of 
 provisions, was refused. A few months afterwards, however, the salary of 
 the Assistant was raised to £1 a week, and at the same meeting the 
 
 F31»" '"■■''?« ~w ■■ iim I ' m 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 29 
 
 Committee, with a fine disregard of the inevitable day of reckoning, ordered 
 
 the Treasurer to apply to the Bank for an overdraft of ^'1,000. 
 
 In January, 1852, the Treasurer 
 reported that he had borrowed ^300 to 
 pay off loans amounting to /^ 290. Not- 
 withstanding the fact that they were 
 heavily in debt, the Librarian's salary 
 was increased this year from ^155 
 to ^'205 ; at the same time the 
 system of admission by ballot was 
 discontinued, the nomination of three 
 proprietors being sufficient for mem- 
 bership. 
 
 In 1853 it was decided to endeavour 
 to stave off financial difficulties by 
 procuring from Government a cash 
 allowance in consideration of the benefit 
 which the Institution conferred on the 
 public from an educational point of 
 view. The Government, however, 
 refused, and 
 
 the alternative of increasing the membership by 
 
 widening the basis of admission was resorted to. 
 
 With this object in view, an Act of Council 
 was passed, by which the Librarv was formed into 
 a proprietary corporation of 1,000 shares of ^^25 
 each, entailing an annual subscription of ^ i per 
 share. The name was changed from "The 
 Australian Subscription Library and Reading 
 Room" to "The Australian Library and Literary 
 Institution." Shareholders were entitled to a 
 separate frank or token for each share held. These ^ „, c-tv.t-i^tt 
 
 T. W. bJMlixl. 
 
 were transferable, and on presentation admitted the Committeeman, 1856. 
 
 THOMAS HOLT. 
 Committeeman, 1855 & i^ 
 
 )i-4. 
 
30 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 bearer to the Reading Room, the object being to afford access to the 
 public for purposes of reference and to encourage the impression that 
 
 the Institution was in the nature of a PubHc 
 Library. A new stamp for the books and a 
 new seal were at the same time adopted. 
 The first tneeting of the Society, after the 
 passing of the Act, was held on 25th 
 January, 1854. Sir Charles Nicholson was 
 elected President ; Dr. James Mitchell, 
 \"ice-President ; George Miller, Honorary 
 Treasurer; and Rev. Dr. Ross, Honorary 
 Secretarv. 
 
 SEAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN LIBRARY 
 AND LITERARY INSTITUTION. 
 
 The years 1854, 1855, and 1856, were 
 uneventful. There were not wanting, how- 
 ever, indications of waning interest on the 
 part of the shareholders ; and the Institu- 
 tion, for the want of regular and sufficient funds, began to suffer, both in 
 character and usefulness. 
 
 In 1856 Dr. James Mitchell was elected President in succession to Sir 
 Charles Nicholson. For fifteen years Dr. Mitchell presided oxer the affairs 
 of the Library ; during the whole of this period he continued to take an 
 active, personal interest in the Institution. He was a member of nearly 
 every Committee from 1832 to 1869. He died on 1st 
 February, 1869, shortly before the Library was taken 
 over by the Government. D. S. Mitchell, Fsq., M.A., 
 founder of the Mitchell Librar\', is his son. 
 
 fclNSTlTUTIONvj 
 
 SECOND BOOK STAMP. 
 
 In 1857 the Government placed in the Librarx' 
 the English Patent Law Commissioners' Publications 
 (about 200 volumes) ; although there is nothing to 
 
 show that the general public could demand free access to these records, 
 yet the fact of such papers being filed at the Library is an indication that the 
 Institution was regarded as something more than a mere private Subscription 
 Librar)'. In 1858 a new contract was entered into w iih the Library's London 
 
THE fUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 3i 
 
 agent — Richardson, of Cornhill — by which discounts, off London publishing 
 prices, of 16I2 per cent, on new books, and 81-2 per cent, on periodicals, were 
 allowed. 
 
 During the years 1858 and 1859 it 
 became evident that the formation of the 
 Society into a legal body-corporate, had 
 not been a success. Several meetings 
 wereheld, duringthisperiod, to consider 
 the best means of improving the finan- 
 cial condition of the Institution. The 
 Government was again approached, but 
 in vain. A proposal to sell the building, 
 land and property, and make a fresh 
 start on a smaller scale, was negatived 
 by the shareholders. 
 
 R. A. HUNT. 
 Committeeman, 1859-61. 
 
 N. D. STENHOUSE. 
 
 Committeeman, 1857, 
 
 Trustee, 1870-3. 
 
 Finally, it was decided in 1859 to 
 reduce the expenditure, sublet part of 
 the building, and enlarge the main hall 
 so that it would be suitable for concerts, 
 public meetings, and other gatherings. 
 With this object in view a sum of/," 2, 200 
 was procured on mortgage from the 
 Savings Bank. 
 
 Nine months' experience showed 
 that the expectations of the Committee 
 were ill-founded. There was very little 
 demand for the hall or lecture room. 
 
32 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 REV. DR. ROSS. 
 Committeeman, 1841-5, and 1858. 
 Hon. Secretary, 1846-54. 
 
 R. A. A. MOREHEAD. 
 Hon. Treasurer, 1855-8. Committeeman, i860. 
 Hon. Secretary, 1861-3. 
 
 W. T. CAPE. 
 
 Committeeman, 1833-54, and 1857. 
 Hon. Secretary, 1858-60. 
 
 jj PROFESSOR SMITH. 
 
 .^Committeeman, 1854-60. 
 
 , -Hon. Secretary, 1864-5. 
 
 Honorary Secretaries of the Australian 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 33 
 
 C. KEMP. 
 Committeeman, 1848-9 and 1S59-62. 
 Hon. Secretary, 1855. 
 
 E. DAINTREY. 
 
 Committeeman, 1853-5, 1858-g, and 1861-4. 
 
 Hon. Secretary, 1856-7. 
 
 WM. FORDE. 
 Hon. Secretary, 1866-70. 
 
 M. FITZPATRICK. 
 Hon. Secretary, 1858. Committeeman, 1859. 
 
 Library and Literary Institution. 
 
34 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 and it became imperative to reduce the cost of management and curtail the 
 purchases of books. The charges for interest on loans were slowly but 
 surely throttling the Institution. Towards the end of 1S59 Mr. (afterwards 
 Sir Charles) Cowper, then Premier, was waited upon by the Committee, and 
 urged to buy the whole property at ^15,000, and turn it into a Public 
 Library. At this time the books were estimated to number about 16,000, 
 and were valued at 5s. each (^^4,000). The land, buildings, and fittings 
 were valued at £ 14,000. 
 
 The Premier, who for six years ([850-5) had been a member of the 
 Committee of the Librarv, appears to have been inclined to accept the offer, 
 
 but before 
 negotiations 
 
 could becom- —--=' 
 
 p 1 e t e d the 
 Ministry 
 went out of 
 office, and 
 nothing fur- 
 t h e r w a s 
 done. 
 
 On the 
 27th Novem- 
 ber, 1S61, a 
 special gen- 
 eral meeting 
 of the Insti- 
 tution was 
 
 called by the Committee, to consider what steps should be taken to place 
 the finances on a more satisfactory footing. It was decided to place the real 
 property on the market. To this end, advertisements calling for tenders for 
 the purchase of the land and building, appeared in the public press for 
 several weeks, but no offer oi' any sort was received, l^ven the Government, 
 when asked, refused, in the first instance, to make an offer; but, in April, 
 1862, the Secretary for Works (W. M. Arnold), being desirous of 
 
 CAPT. E. WARD. 
 Committeeman, 1859-64. 
 
 R. JONES. 
 Committeeman, 1862-66. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 35 
 
 securing the premises for Government offices, wrote asking if the Committee 
 would entertain an offer of ^"6,000 for the building and land. 
 
 The Committee replied that they 
 would be willing to submit to the 
 general body of shareholders an offer of 
 ^8,000. Ultimately it was agreed to 
 refer the question of price to arbitra- 
 tors. This was done, and the value 
 assessed by them at £7,250. The 
 shareholders, although thev had agreed 
 to the appointment of arbitrators, when 
 called upon to ratify the sale, refused, 
 and instructed the Committee to try and 
 sell the books and fittings, as well as 
 the building and land, to the Govern- 
 
 R. JOHNSON. 
 Committeeman, 1866. 
 
 W. R. PIDUINGTON. 
 
 Committeeman, 1865-7 '•^' 1869-70. 
 
 ment. The price asked was £"10,000. 
 
 Before accepting this offer, the 
 Ministry asked for the approval of 
 Parliament. On the 30th October, 
 1862, Charles Cowper moved in the 
 Legislative Assembly, " that the offer 
 of the Committee of Management of 
 the Australian Subscription Library 
 to sell the property of that Institutian, 
 consisting of buildings and books, for 
 the sum of £10,000, ought, in the 
 opinion of this House, to be accepted." 
 
36 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 The motion was discussed at lentrth and with some feeling. One: member 
 openly attributed the failure of the Institution to its exclusiveness ; the do7i^i 
 fides of several members who were 
 shareholders was challenged ; these, 
 although they had spoken in support of 
 the proposal, refrained from voting, 
 and in consequence the resolution was 
 defeated by one vote. It is noticeable 
 that, during the whole of the negotia- 
 tions, it was generally admitted that the 
 Go\'ernment were in dutv bound to 
 establish a Free Public Librarv ; in fact, 
 as early as January, 1862, the Legislative 
 Assembly voted /^ 25,000 for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Foiled in their endea\ours to sell at 
 a profit, the shareholders improvidentlv 
 staved off the evil day by raising another 
 /^ 1,000 on mortgage, to meet pressing- 
 demands. More than half of this sum 
 went, at once, to pay arrears due to the 
 
 London bookseller. These difficulties did not, however, prevent the 
 Committee from voting £\o to illuminate the Library, in honour of the 
 marriage of the Prince of Whales. 
 
 In September, 1863, the shareholders appear to have recognised the 
 hopelessness of persevering in the endeavour to conduct the affairs of the 
 Library on business lines, and fell in, at once, with a suggestion oi the 
 Librarian (P. J. Hlliotl), that he should pay them an annual rental and be 
 allowed to conduct the Library as if it were his private business. , - .. 
 
 The terms of this agreement were, thai Flliott was to pav a rental of 
 ;^300 per annum, terminable by six months' notice on either side. The 
 proprietors and shareholders were to pay their annual subscriptions {£2 and 
 j^i respectively) to Elliott, and the Society was to guarantee him an initial 
 
 D. K. HAWLEV. 
 Librarian, i86;-9. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 37 
 
 cash credit of ;^5oo, to enable him to purchase books, &c. Minor details in 
 regard to the hours of opening and the preservation of the buildings and 
 property were arranged, and the Library was opened under the new system 
 on I St January, 1S64. 
 
 Before twelve months had elapsed it became evident that the new scheme 
 was doomed to failure, and in June, 1865, Elliott gave six months' notice of 
 his intension to terminate the lease. He was succeeded as Librarian by 
 D. R. Hawley on 28th December, 1865. 
 
 The hopelessness of the situation, financially, can be gathered from the 
 following statement made by the Hon. Treasurer at a General Meeting on 
 ist November, 1865. The debts amounted to about ^'4,800; the income 
 from subscriptions, rent, &c., was ^'450 ; the cost of maintenance (including 
 interest) was ;i6900. 
 
 Several meetings of the shareholders and proprietors were held, in 
 November and December, 1865, to decide upon the course to be pursued. 
 Uhimately it was decided to re-form the Company, writing down the shares 
 from 1,000 at ^'25 to 2,000 at/^5. Holders of one share in the old Company, 
 to have four in the new. Holders of two or more shares, in the new 
 
 Company, were to be allowed additional 
 privileges, such as the right to introduce 
 strangers, and to borrow increased numbers 
 of books. A private Act was passed in April, 
 1866, and a start made immediately under 
 the new system. The name " Australian 
 Library and Literary histitute " was retained. 
 
 The subscribers, at this time, numbered 
 less than ,^500 ; and a special stock-taking 
 showed that the volumes, on the shelves, 
 numbered 15,110. The estimate of 16,000 in 
 1859 miLst, therefore, have been excessive, 
 
 At the outset, it appeared as if a sufficient 
 E. c. WEEKES. number of new subscribers would be attracted ; 
 
 Committeeman, 1866. 
 
 Deputy-Chairman, 1867-8. but, in a very short time, the inadequacy of 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 4^ 
 
 The yearly attendance at the outset was ahout 60,000, and the expen- 
 diture about /^3,ooo. The Library was kept open from 10 a.m. till 10 p.m., 
 and books were not permitted to be removed from the reading rooms. 
 
 One of the first acts of the Librarian was to re-arrange the books into 
 the following classes : — 
 
 Volumes. 
 
 Natural Philosophy, Science, and the Arts ... ... 1,922 
 
 History, Chronology, Antiquities, and Mythology ... 1,698 
 
 Biography ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,411 
 
 Geography, Voyages, Travels, and Topography ... 2,027 
 
 Law, Politics, Commerce, Statistics, &c. ... ... 1,296 
 
 Theology, Moral and Mental Philosophy, and 
 
 Education ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,018 
 
 Poetry and Drama . .. ... ... ... ... ... 510 
 
 Miscellaneous Literature, including Collected Works... 1,948 
 Encyclopaedias, Dictionaries, and other Works of 
 
 Reference ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,500 
 
 Prose Fiction ... ... ... ... ... ... i,353 
 
 Periodical Literature and Newspapers, &c. ... ... 3,093 
 
 Specifications of Patents ... ... ... ... ... 2,501 
 
 Total 
 
 20,277 
 
 A rough list of short titles was hurriedly 
 printed in October, 1869. This was followed, in 
 1872, by a much improved catalogue of 384 pages, 
 containing a list of titles, arranged alphabetically 
 imder authors. 
 
 In 1876 a more ambitious scheme was under- 
 taken. It comprised a general author catalogue ; 
 a catalogue of pamphlets ; an alphabetical list or 
 inventory of the titles of all the books in each of 
 the classes ; and a rough subject-index ; in all 
 about 990 pages. This appeared in 1878, and was, 
 for many years, the model on which the catalogues were moulded. 
 
 A. DICK. 
 
 Committeeman, 1867. 
 
42 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 In their first annual report the Trustees stated that the Library was 
 badly housed, and called the attention of the Government to the fact that a 
 larger and better appointed building was urgently required. The complaint 
 was reiterated in succeeding reports, without result. During the first fifteen 
 years the hopes of the Irustees were frequently raised by the preparation of 
 
 ANDREW GARRAN. 
 
 Committeeman, 1869-70. 
 
 F. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Committeeman, 1869-70. 
 
 plans which were never acted upon; the selection of sites which were //^r'^-;- 
 iniilt upon ; and the voting of moneys which thcv were never allowed to 
 spend. 
 
 Despairing of being able to obtain a new building, the Trustees, in 1884, 
 consented to a make-shift in the shape of an addition to the old one ; and in 
 1885-6 a new wing, facing Bent-street, was added, at a cost of /^ 14,690. 
 This extension rendered necessary the vacation of the Librarian's quarters, 
 to make accommodation for whom the house, in Macquarie-street adjoining 
 the Library was purchased in July, 1884. 
 
tHE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 43 
 
 Immediately the Bent-street wing was completed, it was discovered that 
 the walls of the old building, facing Macquarie-street, were unsafe, and would 
 have to be replaced. Advantage was taken of this, to extend and re-build 
 the whole of the Macquarie-street wing ; and to make it uniform in design 
 with the Bent-street additions. This was not completed until 1889, the cost 
 being ;^i2,85o. 
 
 Unfortunately the main consideration in deciding on the designs of the 
 new wings, particularly the Macquarie-street one, had been that the building 
 was intended to be converted into Government offices as soon as a new 
 Library could be erected. The consequence has been that for seventeen years 
 the Institution has remained in a building, not only totally inadequate in the 
 matter of space and accommodation, but also quite unsuited, structurally, for 
 the purposes for which it has been used. It is confidently expected, however, 
 that the end of our troubles is in sight ; and that, when the Mitchell Wing is 
 finished, the remainder of the State Library will be commenced without any 
 break in the operations. 
 
 OLD BOOK STAMPS, 1870-80. 
 
 For the first few years, new books were purchased at the rate of about 
 1,500 volumes annually. In later years (subsequent to 1887) the yearly 
 accessions ran to from about 3,000 to 5,000 volumes. At the present time 
 the Reference Library contains about 140,000 volumes, the Lending Branch 
 29,000 volumes, and the stock, from which country libraries are supplied, 
 about 6,000 volumes — in all about 175,000 volumes. The number of visitors 
 in 1905, was as follows : — 
 
 Reference Library ... ... ... ... ... 175,029 
 
 Lending Branch ... ... ... ... ... 137,704 
 
 Newspaper Room ... ... . . ... .. 351,890 
 
 Total 664,623 
 
44 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 Several of the Trustees, during the years whicli followed the establish- 
 ment of the Library as a Government Institution, devoted a large amount 
 
 of time to its management ; particularly 
 to the examination of booksellers' lists 
 and the purchase of standard works, 
 essential to the initial equipment of a 
 first-class Reference Library. hi this 
 direction special acknowledgment is 
 due to the great debt which the Institu- 
 tion is under to the first President, 
 Charles Badham, D.D. — the greatest 
 scholar Australia has known — and also 
 to such men as W. B. Dallev, Professor 
 Stephens, W. A. Duncan, N. D. 
 Stenhouse, J. D. Lang, W. B. Clarke, 
 and vSir William McLeay ; all of them 
 not only booklovers, but also men of 
 
 SIR WM. MACLEAY. hjgh attainments and cultivated tastes. 
 
 Trustee, iS 70-91. 
 
 The benefactions from private indi- 
 viduals have been considerable. In their annual reports from time to 
 time, the Trustees have acknowledged these specifically. The Wise 
 bequest has been already referred to. In February, 18S5, Messrs. Richard 
 and George Tangye (the former has since been knighted), of Birmingham, 
 England, presented the Library with a copy of the first folio edition 
 of Shakespeare, 1623, in a perfect state of preservation. This splendid 
 gift is regarded as the Library's most valued possession. At various 
 times we have received other rare books and manuscripts from the same 
 source. 
 
 Amongst other notable donations may be mentioned the manuscripts of 
 Governor Bligh, presented by his grandson, W. R. Bligh, Esq., of 
 Parramatta, and the journal of Major Lockyer, pioneer of Western 
 Australia, presented by his descendant, Mr. Nicholas Lockyer, Collector 
 of Customs. 
 
PROFESSOR CHARLES BADHAM, D.D. 
 
 Trustee, 1870-84. President, 1870-83. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NKW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 45 
 
 Several important private collections have, at various times, been added 
 by purchase, and have been the means of strengthening the Library in special 
 departments of knowledge, f.o-,^ in November, 1885, the library of H. F. 
 Gurner, of Melbourne, comprising 1,200 volumes, was purchased. This 
 collection was particularly rich in Australian books and pamphlets, and was 
 of great service in supplementing the Wise bequest. In February, 1886, 
 Dr. \^on Lendenfeld's scientific librarv of 439 volumes was purchased. In 
 March, 1891, the classical and scientific library of Professor Stephens, con- 
 sisting of 1,431 volumes and nearly 200 pamphlets, was acquired, and in 
 December, 1896, 1,200 \olumes of reports, bound numbers of newspapers, 
 and other publications were received from the Chief Secretary's Department ; 
 in the following month I joined the staff of the Librar\', taking with me the 
 manuscripts and records used in the compilation of the Hiskwical Records of 
 New SoufJi Wales. 
 
 In their third annual report, dated 9th February, 1874, the Trustees 
 
 made allusion to the question of estab- 
 
 lishing a Lending Branch. They pointed 
 out, however, that until the Library was 
 housed in a more suitable and com- 
 modious building, this extension of its 
 functions, however desirable was quite 
 impracticable. They favoured the erec- 
 tion of a building nearer the centre of the 
 city, to be used as a Reference Library, 
 and the utilisation of the old building at 
 the corner of Bent and Macquarie streets 
 as a Lending Branch. 
 
 To John Stewart, M.L.C., Trustee, 
 
 is due the credit of first advocating 
 
 the advisability of equipping a Lending 
 
 Branch ; he proposed that a building, 
 
 or rooms, should be hired in the city w. A. duncan. 
 
 r-. , '1 Trustee, 1870-85. 
 
 (Market-Street or rark-street were named President, 1883-5. 
 
 f 
 
 
 .3—- 
 
46 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 by him as most suitable), and that about 5,000 volumes of standard 
 works should be procured from England. The matter was discussed at 
 several meetings of the Trustees, and finally, in March, 1876, an order was 
 sent to England for 2,000 volumes at a cost of about ^S'^o. 
 
 Wlien the proposal to establish this branch was being discussed, it was 
 subject to considerable opposition on the ground that it would attract 
 readers from the more serious literature in the Reference Librarv. It was 
 
 found, on the con- 
 mation of a Lend- 
 though carried on 
 ing, greatly stimu- 
 in the Reading 
 
 The Branch 
 basement of the old 
 on 31st July, 1877. 
 months 10,968 \'ol- 
 1,225 borrowers, 
 which the Branch 
 first, were from 
 The time was e\- 
 arv, 1880, to from 
 This alteration was 
 able to the working- 
 unable, under the 
 to avail themselves 
 of the advantaiies 
 
 ROBERT OWEN. 
 Trustee, 1870-8. 
 
 trary, that the for- 
 ing Branch, even 
 in the same build- 
 lated the attendance 
 Rooms. 
 
 was opened in the 
 Library building 
 During the first six 
 umes were lent to 
 The hours during 
 w as opened, at 
 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
 tended on ist Janu- 
 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. 
 found very accept- 
 classes, who were 
 former regulations, 
 to any large extent 
 offered. 
 
 In August, 1 88 1, the Branch was removed to a separate building, adjacent 
 to Parliament House grounds, which had been originally used as a Church. 
 Here it continued to steadih' increase, both in the number and value of 
 books, and the number of borrowers. In June, 1899, the Lending Branch 
 and the Newspaper Room were removed to the second floor of the Queen 
 Victoria Markets, in the very centre of the city. It is a coincidence, that 
 the Branch should be located in exactly that part of the city, where, it was 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 47 
 
 originally proposed by the Trustees, to rent a room for this purpose, more 
 than thirty years ago. 
 
 The removal to more spacious and centrally-situated premises, greatly 
 increased the business. In 1896 (the last year of the occupancy of the old 
 building) the number of borrowers was 6,348. In the following year it had 
 increased to 8,675, while the number of books borrowed, increased, in the 
 same period, from 92,685 to 110,548. The figures for 1908 were : — 
 
 Number of volumes available ... ... ... ... 29,808 
 
 Number of volumes issued ... ... . . .. 109,992 
 
 Number of borrowers ... ... ... ... .. ''^»253 
 
 By Act of Parliament, entitled "The Sydney Corporation Amend- 
 ment Act of 1908," the books, fittings, &c. , of the Lending Branch 
 
 of the Public 
 vested in the 
 cil of Sydney 
 cember, 1908, 
 October, 1909, 
 entered into pos- 
 In March, 
 were confronted 
 of the Legislative 
 ing the desirable- 
 interests of society 
 opening the 
 days, from 2 p.m. 
 W. B. Clarke and 
 protested against 
 
 W. B. DALLEY. 
 
 Trustee, 1878-88. 
 
 Library were 
 Municipal Coun- 
 from 22nd De- 
 an d on 15th 
 the Council 
 session. 
 
 1878, the Trustees 
 with a resolution 
 Assembly, afifirm- 
 ness, " in the 
 generally," of 
 Library on Sun- 
 to6p.m. TheRev. 
 Rev. Dr. Lang 
 the innovation. 
 
 The President (Dr. Badham), in a letter to the Principal Librarian, to which 
 publicity was given in the Sydney Morning Herald oigih. April, 1878, wrote : — 
 
 What is this philanthropy which would promote health and cheerfulness by 
 opening that great dingy cavern of yours to the working-man, and wooing him, by 
 books of voyages and travels, from healthy air and exercise? .... 
 
 A Library is not a fit refuge for those who have heard sermons, nor at all a 
 reasonable substitute to indemnify those who have not. 
 
48 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 The 'JVustees, as a bod\-, when the matter was referred to them, declined 
 to incur tlie responsibilitv oi taking any action, or making" any recom- 
 mendation. They had no funds to pay overtime to the staff, and pointed 
 out to the Minister that an additional expenditure of ^,300 per annum would 
 be required for this purpose. The Government, feeling that the weight of 
 
 PUBLIC LIBRARY, SYDNEY. 
 
 public opinion was behind Parliament, acquiesced, but would not provide 
 any additional funds. 
 
 A careful account has been kept of the number of persons who have 
 visited the Librar\- on Sunday afternoon, and the number of books used 
 by them ; the figures show that the public has not availed itself of the 
 privileges of access to the Library on Sundays to the extent which was 
 anticipated. During twenty-six years (from 1879 to 1905) the number of 
 books used on Sunday afternoon has been practically stationary, while the 
 number used on week-days has increased nearly threefold. In May, 1896, 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 49 
 
 a notice was given, in Parliament, to extend the hours on Sunday to 9 p.m. ; 
 but the matter was allowed to lapse. 
 
 In 1S83 the system of furnishing Literary Institutions in the country 
 districts, with boxes of books, was brought into force. The first box 
 equipped, containing sixty expensive, well-bound \oIumes, valued at ;^'56 los. ; 
 quite 75 per cent, of these books were histories. The Board expressed the 
 opinion that : — 
 
 £1,000 per annum spent in this manner will confer greater benefits upon readers 
 and students in country districts than it £10,000 had been voted for distribution among 
 these numerous Institutions in small sums to be exjx'nded by local Committees. 
 
 In the first instance a charge of ^i for each box, to cover the cost of 
 freight, packing, collating, c^'c, was made. This, however, was discontinued 
 after a few months, and 
 since then the Library has 
 defrayed the entire cost. 
 The first box was sent 
 in August, i<S83, to the 
 Wollongong School of 
 Arts. 
 
 The present propor- 
 tions of the scheme can 
 be gathered from the fact 
 that during the year 
 ending 31st December, 
 1905, 255 boxes, con- 
 taining 11,871 volumes, 
 were sent to 165 counlrv 
 centres, including thirteen 
 lighthouses. It has been 
 decided to ask Parliament 
 to assist in extending 
 this system, by circulat- 
 ing boxes of books on lending branch, ibbi w. 
 
 '•1 
 
 '"vpp 
 
 J 
 
 ■^' 
 
 'W!*' - 
 
 ii»ii~i' . 
 
50 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 SIR WILLI A ^i MAcAKIIil K 
 Trustee, 1870-82. 
 
 educational topics, among groups of 
 Public School teachers in far outlying 
 and thinly populated districts of the 
 State. 
 
 In 1882 the Trustees ordered from 
 Home a number of embossed books in 
 Braille tvpe for the blind. These were 
 placed in the Lending Branch. In 
 August, 1894, they were transferred by 
 the Trustees to the three Public Institu- 
 tions for the blind in, and about, 
 Sydney. The books numbered, in all 
 598 volumes. 
 
 In June, 1893, the Principal 
 Librarian produced, as a result of 
 
 several vears of labour, his " Austral- 
 asian Bibliography." It was an impos- 
 ing quarto of 1,245 pages, elaborately 
 descriptive of the Ausfraliana of the 
 Library. On the 25th August, 1893. 
 Mr. Walker retired from the Public 
 Serxice on a pension. He was a man 
 of great industry, conscientiousness, 
 and enthusiasm, entirely devoted to 
 the Library, and possessed of a kindli- 
 ness and urbanity which endeared him 
 to his officers and helped to popularise 
 the Institution with its clients. vShortly 
 after his retirement, Mr. Walker was 
 appointed a member of the Board Of 
 Trustees. He died on the 25th July, 
 1897. 
 
 PROFESSOR W. J. STEPHENS. 
 Trustee, iS 70-90. President, 1885-90. 
 
H. C. I . ANDERSON, M.A., 
 Principal Librarian, 1893-1906. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 51 
 
 Mr. Walker was succeeded as Principal Librarian bv Mr. H. C. L. 
 
 Anderson, M.A., the present head of the Department. He came to the 
 
 Library with splendid scholastic credentials. 
 
 He had had a brilliant career at the Univer- 
 sity, had filled several important official 
 
 positions, and was recognised as an authority 
 
 on highereducation. Mr. Anderson's regime 
 
 as Principal Librarian has been marked by 
 
 the introduction of the latest and best modern 
 
 improvements in methods and appliances. 
 
 As Librarian his name will always be asso- 
 ciated with our system of cataloguing. No 
 
 PublicLibraryin theworldcan boast of being 
 
 better served in this respect than that of New 
 
 South Wales. Mr. Anderson's "Guide to 
 
 the System of Cataloguing," now in its fourth 
 
 edition, 
 hasbeen 
 
 highly praised by the leading authorities 
 on catalogue compilation throughout the 
 English-speaking world. 
 
 In September, 1895, the name of 
 the Institution was altered from the 
 " Free Public Library, Sydney," to 
 the " Public Library of New South 
 Wales." 
 
 In the following year the adminis- 
 tration of the Copyright Act (42 Vic. 
 No. 20) was vested in Mr. Anderson, as 
 Principal Librarian and Registrar of 
 Copyright. For many years after the 
 passing of this Act in 1^79, the clause 
 
 EDWARD GREVILLE. ''^^''"^^ ''^^^''^^^ ^ .^^P^ ''^ ^^^^^ '^^^^ ""' 
 
 Trustee, 1873-1903. print published in the Colony, to be 
 
 y< 
 
 
 JOHN STEWART. 
 Trustee, 1873-96. 
 
 ..A 
 
52 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 deposited in the Free Public Library, was practically icrnored bv the 
 publishers. It was not until the Act was administered bv the officers of the 
 Library that the Institution benefited to anv extent. Durins;- the vear 1905 
 
 SIR GEORGE INNES. 
 Trustc'L', 1879-96. 
 
 SIR WILLIAM WINDEYER. 
 Trustee, 1884-97. 
 
 we received, under this Act, 411 books and pamphlets, and a large number 
 o\' maps, newspapers, and magazines, to the total value of /'214. 
 
 Mr. -Anderson a\ as succeeded in the position of Principal Librarian on 
 fanuarv i, 1907, by Mr. Frank M. Bladen, F.R.G.S., Barrister-at-Law, and 
 Fditor of " ^Fhe Historical Records of New South Wales." 
 
 On 171I1 October, i8()S, David Scott Mitchell, M.A., a gentleman who 
 had, for many years, been known by the inner literary circles of Sydney as a 
 keen collector of books ; and who was, in particular, admitted to be facile 
 friiiceps in know ledge o{ .Australasian bibliograpln', communicated, verbally, 
 to the Trustees, through the Principal Librarian, his intention of bequeathing 
 his large and priceless collection of books, pictures, maps, engraxings, 
 manuscripts, autographs, and photographs, to the Public Library, on the sole 
 condition that the Government would take early steps to erect a suitable build- 
 
Facsimile of letter from DAVID SCOTT MITCHELL to the Hon. J. A. HOGUE, 
 Minister of Public Instruction. 
 
 j: /^^ 
 
 6^ 
 
 

 PHOTO-UTMOGRAPHEO 1 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 53 
 
 ingfor a National Library, and make provision therein for keepingthecollection 
 by itself, and making it freely available for students of Australasian history. 
 
 To this the Government readily assented. Mr. Mitchell's acknowledg- 
 ment of the acceptance was dated 3rd November, 1898. The letter is 
 reproduced here in fac-siniile, not only because the handwriting of such a 
 public benefactor must always, as a personal memento, be interesting, but 
 also because this is the first written intimation we have from Mr. Mitchell, 
 concerning his gift. 
 
 From this date the question of erecting an adequate National Library 
 was pressed upon each succeeding Minister, by the Trustees, at every 
 opportunity. The undertakings and obligations of previous Governments, 
 both in regard to votes of Parliament, and promises of sites, were frequently 
 called up in evidence. 
 
 SIR EDMUND BARTON. 
 Trustee, 1885-1900. 
 
 ALEXANDER OLIVER. 
 
 Trustee, 1885-1904. 
 
 No useful purpose can now be served by dwelling on the pertinacity 
 with which the Trustees and the public dilated upon the danger of delay. 
 From causes to which the incertitude of ministerial succession, and the 
 fluctuations of public finance, largely contributed, seven years were allowed to 
 
54 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 elapse before steps were taken which ultimately led to final action. In May, 
 1905, the Premier, the Hon. J. H. Carruthers, j\I.A., took the matter in hand 
 
 with a quick and business-like enthu- 
 siasm which relieved the Trustees of anv 
 further anxietv. On 5th June following" 
 he interviewed Mr. Mitchell. Imme- 
 diatelv, he decided upon a site ; plans 
 were prepared ; and all preliminaries 
 concluded. On 31st October, 1905, the 
 Public Works Committee reported in 
 fa\'our of the erection of — 
 
 a complete building, with stone elevations, 
 on the site in the Domain facing ^lacquarie- 
 street, and adjoining Parliament House 
 grounds : and that the ^Mitchell Branch be 
 proceeded with as early as possible. 
 
 P. G. KING, 
 Trustee, 1892-1904. 
 
 An Act " to sanction the erection of a 
 National T>ibrary, for the State of New 
 South Wales " was passed : tenders 
 were invited : and, in the earlv part of 
 the year 1906, work was commenced. 
 In their Annual Report for 1903, 
 addressed to Mr. Carruthers, the Trus- 
 tees thus referred to the steps which 
 had been taken for the building oi' a 
 new National Librarx- : 
 
 The Trustees desire to place. ]nibliciy, 
 on record their appreciation of the vigorous 
 steps which, during the past few months, 
 
 ■^^^ 
 
 U J. BRIENT. 
 Trustee, 1899-1902. 
 
•(' 
 
 ^ .1 
 
 ( r. 
 
 
 
 •1 I Mt 
 
 V- I 
 
 N«-i 
 
 r%("' "r 
 
 
 I 
 
 L 
 
 Hi 
 
 
 ■^^ »4aK 
 
 A' •^ 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 55 
 
 have been taken to push forward the work of providing a fitting home for the unrivalled 
 collection of Mr. ^litchell. They are not unmindful of the extent to which you have 
 personally interested yourself in accelerating the necessary preliminaries. In previous 
 reports the Trustees had occasion to allude to the efforts which had been made by 
 them at various times, but, unfortunately, without success, to secure the selection of a 
 site and the erection of a suitable building ; it, is therefore, with great pleasure that 
 they now place on record the action which has been taken since their last report. 
 
 The illustration facing page 54 shows the new Library as, according to 
 the present design, it will appear when completed. The Mitchell Wing 
 occupies the right-hand (or Macquarie-street) portion of the building. 
 
 4<«^^. 
 
 k.r- 
 
 HON. J. F. BURNS. 
 Tr u stee , i <S 8 8- 1 9 1 o. 
 
 HON. JAMES HAYES, M.L.C. 
 
 Trustee, 1903-8. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell's splendid gift is doubly welcome to the booklovers of 
 Australia by reason of the fact that it has been the means of hastening the 
 erection of a suitable house to contain the literary treasures of the State. 
 
 Another indirect outcome of Mr. Mitchell's offer has been the removal 
 of the legal disabilities under which the Trustees laboured. As originally 
 
56 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 PROFESSOR i;rri,i:R. l;.a. 
 jnd March, iSqq. 
 
 IIOX. J. HUGHES, M.L.C. 
 
 2ncl .March, rSpg. 
 
 PROFESSOR D.WID, B.A. 
 
 2nd Marcli, iSgq. 
 
 PROFESSOR MAC< \I LUM M.A. 
 
 President. 
 jSth January, 1891, 
 
 HON. SIR XORMAND MACLAURI.X, 
 M.A., M.D., LL.D., M.L.C. 
 
 2nd March, 1899. 
 
 \V. WOOD, ESQ., J. p. 
 
 jnd March, i 899. 
 
 HON. DR. CREED, M.L.C. 
 
 8th February, 1901. 
 
 HON. A. KETHEL, M.L.C. 
 
 _'nd March, 1S99. 
 
 Present Trustees of the Public 
 
 With Dates of 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 57 
 
 J. C. L. FITZPATRICK, ESQ. 
 
 8th February, 190 1, 
 
 D. LEVY, ESQ., B.A,, LL.B, 
 
 24th July, 1906. 
 
 HON. J. L. FEGAN. 
 
 20th August, 1903, 
 
 J. M. GIBSON, ESQ. 
 
 19th August, 1904. 
 
 Library of New South Wales. 
 THEIR Appointments. 
 
 W. J. JEFFERY, ESQ. 
 
 7th June, 1908, 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 J. A. DOWLING, ESQ. 
 
 19th August, 1904, 
 
 DR, J. FRED, WATSON. 
 
 22nd October, 1910. 
 
58 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 constituted, the Board had neither leg'al status, rights, nor powers. It could 
 not acquire, hold, or dispose of property of any kind. Immediately Mr. 
 Mitchell expressed his intention of bequeathing his collection to the Trustees, 
 steps were taken to remo\'e these disabilities ; and, in 1899, an Act of Parlia- 
 ment was passed, entitled the Library and Art Gallery Act, by which the 
 Trustees were constituted a body corporate, with perpetual succession and a 
 common seal. The Act exempts from stamp duty donations or bequests of 
 any kind whatsoever. There is, consequently, no longer any reason why 
 this noble Institution should not participate in the testamentar\- benefactions 
 of public-spirited citizens. 
 
 On the morning of Julv 18, 1906, the Library lost, by death, the services 
 of the President of the Trustees, the Honorable James Norton, LL.D., 
 M.L.C. Dr. Norton's association with the Library dated back to the 
 seventies; for nearly thirty years he had dexoted himselt, without break in 
 time or zeal, to the advancement of the Institution. His long intimacy 
 with the affairs of the Librar\', his extensive legal knowledge, and his wide 
 acquaintance with public men and governmental institutions and methods, 
 combined to accentuate the strong sense of personal bereavement which 
 every member of the staff felt who had the privilege of his intimacy. 
 The trustees elected Professor MacCallum, M.A., LL.D., as President in 
 succession to Dr. Norton; and Daniel Levy, Esq., B.A., LL.B., M.L.A., 
 was appointed by the Government to the vacant seat on the Board. 
 
 SEAL OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
 
JAMES NORTON, LL.D. 
 Trustee, 1878-1906. President, i8go-i9o5. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 59 
 
 Office-bearers of the Australian Subscription Library, tlie Australian 
 Library and Literar}' Institution, and the Public Library ot New 
 South Wales-1826-1906. 
 
 1826. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 J. Mackaness, Rev. R. Hill, 
 
 W. Lithgow, Col. G. G. Mills, 
 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, Sir John Jamison, 
 
 Rev. Dr. J. D. Lang, Captain F. N. Rossi 
 
 William Carter. 
 
 Hon. Treasurers : Messrs. Berry ami ^Voll.stone- 
 craft. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lient. Thos. de la Condamine, 
 A.D.C. 
 
 1827. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Committee: 
 J. Mackaness, Col. G. G. Mills, 
 
 Wm. Lithgow, A. B. Spark, 
 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, Wm. Carter, 
 
 Rev. Dr. Lang, G. Allen, 
 
 Rev. R. Hill, T. C. Harrington. 
 
 Hon. Treasurers : Messrs. Berry and WoUstone- 
 uraft. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut. Thos. de la Condamine, 
 A.D.C. 
 
 1828. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Committee : 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, J. T. Campbell, 
 
 Rev. R. Hill, A. B. Spark, 
 
 Col. G. G. Mills, G. Allen, 
 
 F. A. Hely, , T. C. Harrington, 
 
 Wm. Balcombe, ' Wm. Carter. 
 
 Hon. Treasurers : Messrs. Berry and Wollstone- 
 craft. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut. Thos. de la Condamine, 
 A.D.C. 
 
 1829. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 Committee : 
 
 James Laidley, 
 James Wilson, 
 Jemmet Brown, 
 Capt. F. N. Rossi, 
 H. Donnison. 
 
 Rev. \Vm. Cowijcr, 
 Rev. R. Hill. 
 
 F. A. Hely, 
 J. T. Campbell, 
 
 G. Allen, 
 
 Hon. Treasurers : Messrs. Berry and ^Vollstone- 
 craft. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut, de la Condamine, A.D.C. 
 
 1830. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, Jemmet Brown, 
 
 Rev. R. Hill, Capt. F. N. Rossi, 
 
 F. A. Hely. H. Donnison, 
 
 James Laidley, j E. Deas Thomson, 
 
 T. Macquoid, I M. C. Cotton. 
 
 Hon. Trea.surers : Messrs. Berry and WoUstone- 
 craft. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut. Thos. de la Condamine, 
 A.D.C. 
 
 1831. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, 
 Rev. R. Hill, 
 James Laidley, 
 T. Macquoid, 
 H. Donnison, 
 
 E. Wollstonecraft, 
 E. Deas Thomson, 
 M. C. Cotton, 
 R. Therry, 
 Jemmet Brown. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : W. J. Browne. 
 Hon. Secretary : F. A. Hely. 
 
6o 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 1832. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander MoLeay, F.K.S. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 T. Macquoid, I Dr. J. MitclicU. 
 
 Rev. Wra. Cowper, 1 Wni. Lithjiow, 
 R. Therry, | Major T. L. Mitchell 
 
 H. Donnison. ' Lt.-Col. Sliadforth, 
 
 J. E. Manning. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : Thomas U. Ryder. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : F. A. Hely. 
 
 1833. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander MeLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 T. Macquoid, Captain F. X.Rossi, 
 
 Rev. Wiu. Cowper, James Laidlev. 
 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, Rev. R. Hill. 
 
 Major T. L. Mitchell, W. T. Cape, 
 
 F. A. Hely. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : Thomas U. Ryder. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut. -Col. Thomas Shadforth. 
 
 1834. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander MeLeay, F.R.8. 
 
 Vice-President : James Laidley. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, Rev. R. Hill, 
 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, Sydney Stephen, 
 
 T. Macquoid, , A. B. Spark. 
 
 W. T. Cape, i R. Therry, 
 
 F. A. Hely, I Thos. Walkei'. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : Thomas V. Ryder. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth. 
 
 1835. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander MeLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 ]' ice -President : James Laidley. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, ! Captain Perry, 
 W. T. Cape, A. B. Spark,' 
 
 F. A. Hely, Sydney Stephen, 
 
 Geo. Miller, R. Therry, 
 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, Thos. Walker. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : Thomas U. Ryder. 
 
 Hon. .'Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadfortii. 
 
 1836. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander MeLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Thos. Macquoid. 
 
 Committee : 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, George Miller, 
 
 F. A. Helv, \V. T. Cape, 
 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, R. Therry, 
 
 Captain Perry, Rev. R. Hill, 
 
 Thos. Walker, Rev. R. MansHeld. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : Thomas LT. Ryder. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Sliadforth. 
 
 1837. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeaj-, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Thos. Macquoid. 
 
 Committee : 
 Geo. Miller, i Rev. ^Vm. Cowper, 
 
 W. T. Cape, , Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 
 R. Therrv, Thos. Walker, 
 
 Rev. R. .Nianstield, J. H. Plunkett, 
 
 W. H. Moore, F. Fisher. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : Thomas U. Ryder. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth. 
 
 1838. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander MeLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Thos. Macquoid. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. ^Vm. Cowper, 
 Dr. J. Mitcliell. 
 W. T. Cape. 
 W. H. Moore. 
 Tho.s. Walker, 
 
 Edward Aspinall, 
 Dr. C. Nicholson, 
 W. Carter, 
 Edye Manning, 
 Wm. A'Beckett. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : Thomas U. Rj^der. 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth. 
 
 1839. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander MeLeay, F.R.S. 
 Vice-President : Thos. Macquoid. 
 
 Committee : 
 Dr. C. Nicholson, ' Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 
 Wm. Carter, W. T. Cape, 
 
 Edve Maiming, R. Therry, 
 
 W.'a' Beckett, Rev.Dr.Ullathorne, 
 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, G. K. Holden. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : Thomas U. Ryder. 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 6i 
 
 1840. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.K.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Tlios. Macqiioid. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 
 W. T. Cape, 
 
 R. Therry, 
 
 Kev. Dr. Ullatliorue, 
 
 G. K. Hol.len, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : 
 
 Wiu. Carter, 
 Rev. Win. Cowper, 
 Chas. Campbell, 
 Dr. C. Nicholson, 
 Capt. L. Innes. 
 
 Tiionias U. Ryder. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut. -Col. T. .Shadfortli. 
 
 1841. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Thos. Macquoid. 
 
 Committee : 
 Dr. C. Nicholson, T. C. Harrington, 
 
 Chas. Campbell, Rev. Dr. Ross, 
 
 Captain L. Innes, Rev. R. Allwooil, 
 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, Rev. Wm. Cowper, 
 
 W. T. Cape, I Lieut. -Col. Barney. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : George Miller. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth. 
 
 1842. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Judge Burton. 
 
 Committee : 
 W. T. Cape, A. M. A'Beckett, 
 
 Rev. Dr. Ross, John Stirling, 
 
 Rev. R. AUwood, Dr. C. Nicholson, 
 
 Lieut.-Col. Barney, Capt. L. Innes, 
 
 Capt. W. J. Dumaresq Dr. J. Mitchell. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : George Miller. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth. 
 
 1843. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Judge Burton. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 A. M. A'Beckett, 
 John Stirling, 
 Dr. C. Nicholson, 
 Capt. L. Innes, 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 Rev. W. B. Clarke, 
 W. T. Cape, 
 Rev. Dr. Ross, 
 Capt. W. J. Dumaresq. 
 
 George Miller. 
 
 1844. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Judge Burton. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 Rev. W. B. Clarke, 
 W. T. Cape, 
 Capt. W. J. Dumaresq 
 Rev. Dr. Ross, 
 
 A. M. A'Beckett, 
 Dr. C. Nicholson, 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, 
 J. Hume. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : George Miller. 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth. 
 
 1845. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Sir Thos. Mitchell. 
 
 Committee : 
 A. M. A'Beckett, Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 
 W. T. Cape R. Windeyer. 
 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, Dr. C. Nicholson, 
 
 G. Allen, Rev. Dr. Ross, 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, J. Hume. 
 
 Ho7i. Treasurer : George Miller. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth. 
 
 1846. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Sir Thos. Mitchell. 
 
 Committee : 
 Rev. Wm. Cowper, 
 Lt.-Col. Shadforth, 
 Dr. C. Nicholson, 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 Dr. G. Bennett, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 Hon. Secretari/ . 
 
 G. K. Holden, 
 Geo. Allen, 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 R. Windeyer, 
 W. T. Cape. 
 
 George Miller. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Ross, 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Lieut.-Col. T. Shadforth. 
 
 1847. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Sir Thos. Mitchell. 
 
 Committee : 
 Lt.-Col. Shadforth, W. T. Cape, 
 
 Dr. C. Nicholson, Geo. Allen, 
 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 
 Dr. G. Bennett, Rev. W. B. Clarke, 
 
 G. K. Holden, W. Richardson. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : George Miller. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Rev. Dr. Ross. 
 
62 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 1848. 
 
 President : Hon. Alexander McLeay, F.R.S. 
 
 Vice-President : Dr. C. Nicholson. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 W. T. Cape, 
 Geo. Allen, 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 Rev. W. B. Clarke, 
 Wni. Richardson, 
 
 Hon. TreaxKrer 
 Hon. fiecreian/ : 
 
 j Lt.-Col. Shadforth, 
 I Dr. J. Mitchell. 
 
 Dr. G. Bennett, 
 j F. L. S. Merewether, 
 
 Chas. Kemp. 
 
 George Miller. 
 Rev. Dr. Ross. 
 
 1849. 
 
 President : Hon. E. Deas Thomson. 
 
 Vice-President : Dr. C. Xicholson. 
 
 Connuittee : 
 
 Rev. W. B. Clarke, 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 Dr. G. Bennett. 
 F. L. S. Merewether, 
 Chas. Kemp, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 Hon. Secretani : 
 
 \V. T. Cape. 
 
 Geo. Allen, 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield. 
 j Wm. S. McLeay, 
 1 Dr. Wallace. 
 
 George Miller. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Ross. 
 
 1850. 
 President : Hon. E. Deas Thomson. 
 Vice-President : Dr. C. \icholson. 
 Connnittcf : 
 
 W. T. Cape. 
 Geo. Allen, 
 Rev. R. ;\Iaiisfiekl, 
 Wm. S. McLeay, 
 Dr. Wallace, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 Hoyi. Secretary : 
 
 Rev. W. B. Clarke, 
 Dr. J. Mitchell. 
 Dr. G. Bennett, 
 C. Cowper, 
 S. A. Donaldson. 
 
 George Miller. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Ross. 
 
 1851. 
 
 President : Hon. E. Deas Tlioiusou. 
 
 Vice-President : Dr. C. Xicliolson. 
 
 Committte : 
 
 Rev. W. B. Clarke, 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 Dr. G. Bennett, 
 S. A. Donaldson, 
 0. Cowper, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 Hon. Secretary : 
 
 W. T. Cape, 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 W. S. JMcLeay, 
 Capt. P. P. King, 
 Arthur Savage. 
 
 George Miller. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Ross. 
 
 1852. 
 
 President : Hon. E. Deas Thomson. 
 
 Vice-President : Dr. C. Nicholson. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 Dr. G. Bennett, 
 C. Cowper, 
 W. T. Cape, 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 W. S. McLeav, 
 Capt. P. P. King, 
 Arthur Savage, 
 H. H. Bro%vne, 
 J. Thompson. 
 George Miller. 
 Rev. Dr. Ross. 
 
 Hon. Srcretari/ 
 
 Australian Library and Literary Institution 
 1853. 
 
 President : Hon. E. Deas Thomson. 
 Vice-President : Sir Charles Nicholson. 
 
 Co mm it fee 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfiekl. 
 W. T. Cape, 
 W. S. ilcLeav, 
 Dr. J. Mitchell, 
 Dr. G. Bennett, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 C. Cowper. 
 H. H. Browne, 
 J. Thompson, 
 Dr. H. G. Douglass, 
 I E. Daintrey. 
 
 George Miller. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Rev. Dr. Ross. 
 
 1854. 
 
 President : Sir Charles Xicholson. 
 Vice-President : Dr. James Mitchell. 
 
 Comntitte 
 Rev. Dr. Woollev. 
 Rev. AV. B. Clarke, 
 Rev. R. Mansfiekl. 
 Dr. H. G. Douglass. 
 Professor J. Smith, 
 
 Ho7i. Treasurer 
 
 W. T. Cape, 
 H. H. Browne, 
 C. Cowper, 
 (;. Wright, 
 E. Daintre}'. 
 
 George Miller. 
 
 Ho7i. Secretary : Rev. Dr. Ross. Succeeded, 
 1st :\ray, by W. T. Cape. 
 
 1855. 
 
 President : Sir' Charles Nicholson. 
 
 Vice-President: Hon. Dr. James Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. W. B. Clarke, 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 I Prof. J. Smith, 
 Wm. Thompson, 
 Thos. Holt. 
 
 H. H. Browne 
 C. Cowper, 
 G. Wright, 
 E. Daintrey, 
 Rev. Dr. Wool ley, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 R. A. A. Morehead. 
 Ho7i. Secretary : Charles Kemp. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 63 
 
 1856. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. James Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 H. H. Browiie, Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 
 Wiu. Thompson, Capt. Moriarty, 
 
 Rev. Dr. Woollev. J. Thompson, 
 
 Prof. J. Smith, " T. W. Smith, 
 
 Rev. R. Allwood, G. K. Holden. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : R. A. A. Morehead. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Edwin Daintrey. 
 
 1857. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. J. :\Iitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 Rev. Dr. Woollej', Wm. Thompson, 
 
 Prof. J. Smith, ' '< W. T. Cape, 
 
 Rev. R. Alhvood, 0. Ottley, 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, H. H. Brownie, 
 
 J. Thompson, N. D. Stenhonse. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : R. A. A. Morehead. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Edwin Daintrey. 
 
 1858. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 Prof. J. Smith, 1 John Fairfax, 
 
 Rev. R. Allwood. H. H. Browiie, 
 
 Rev. Dr. Ross, G. M. C. Bowen, 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, M. Metcalfe, 
 
 J. Thompson, E. Daintrey. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : R. A. A. Morehead. Suc- 
 ceeded on 23rd June by M. Aletcalfe. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : M. Fitzpatrick. Succeeded on 
 23rd June by W. T. Cape. 
 
 1859. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, JLL.G 
 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Prof. J. Smith, 
 H. H. Browne. 
 Rev. R. Alhvootl, 
 Charles Kemp, 
 R. A. Hunt, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 E. Daintrey, 
 M. Fitzpatrick, 
 Captain Ward, 
 Rev. Dr. Lang. 
 
 M. Metcalfe. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : W. T. Cape. 
 
 1860. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 R. A. Hunt, 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 R. A. A. Morehead, 
 Rev. Dr. Lang, 
 
 Prof. J. Smith, 
 H. H. Browne, 
 Rev. R. Allwood, 
 Charles Kemp, 
 
 Captain Ward. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : ]\L Metcalfe. 
 
 Ho7i. Secretary : W. T. Cape. 
 
 1861. 
 
 President: Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 R. A. Hunt, 
 
 Thos. Holt, 
 
 C. Kemi?, 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 
 Rev. Canon Allwood, 
 H. H. Browne, 
 Dr. G. Bennett, 
 E. Daintrey, 
 
 Captain Ward. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : M. Mwtcalfe. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : R. A. A. Morehead. 
 
 1862. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 Vice-Presidejit : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. Canon Allwood, 
 E. Daintrey, 
 G. K. Holden. 
 Rev. Dr. Lang, 
 J. Fairfax, 
 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 C. Kemp. 
 Thos. Holt. 
 Capt. Ward, 
 R. Jones. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : M. Metcalfe. 
 Hon. Secretary : R. A. A. Morehead. 
 
 1863. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. Canon Allwood, 
 E. Daintrey, 
 G. K. Holden, 
 Capt. Bm"n, 
 Rev. Dr. Lang, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 John Faii'fax, 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 T. Holt, 
 R. Jones, 
 Captain Ward. 
 
 M. Metcalfe. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : R. A. A, Morehead. 
 
64 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 1864. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Vice-President : Kev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. Ccanon Allwood, 
 E. Daintrev, 
 G. K. Holcien. 
 Capt. Burn, 
 Rev. Dr. Lang, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 Hon. Secretnrii : 
 
 John Fairfax, 
 Rev. R. Mansfield, 
 T. Holt, 
 1 R. Jones, 
 Capt. Ward. 
 
 .■ M. Metcalfe. 
 
 Prof. J. Smith. 
 
 1867. 
 
 Chairman : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Deputy -Chairman : Hon. E. C. Weekes. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 A. M. A'Beckett, 
 Rev. Canon Allwood, 
 A. Dick. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : A. H. Richardson. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Wm. Forde. 
 
 Capt. Burn, 
 
 W. R. Piddington, 
 
 R. M. W. Johnson, 
 
 1865. 
 
 President : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell. M.L.C. 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Rev. Canon Allwood, 
 Capt. Burn, 
 E. Burton, 
 R. Jones, 
 W. Harbottle, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 G. K. Holden, 
 Rev. Dr. Lang, 
 W. R. Piddingdon. 
 J. H. Phinkett 
 W. Wright. 
 
 M. Metcalfe. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Prof. J. Smith. Succeeded on 
 4th December hy 0. Ottley. 
 
 1866. 
 
 Presideyit : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Vice-President : Rev. W. B. Clarke. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 M. Metcalfe, 
 
 Hon. R. Johnson, 
 Hon. E. C. Weekes. 
 W. R. Piddington, 
 W. Harbottle, 
 Rev. Dr. Lang, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer . 
 
 G. Eagar 
 
 R. Jones, 
 
 j Capt. Burn, 
 
 I 0. Ottley. 
 
 A. H. Richardson. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Wm. Forde. 
 
 1868. 
 
 Chairman : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Deputy-Chairman : Hon. E. C. Weekes. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Capt. Burn, 
 
 G. Forbes, 
 
 A. M. A'Beckett, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : A. H. Richardson 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Wm. Forde. 
 
 1869. 
 
 W. A. Duncan, 
 J. F. Ford, 
 Dr. Bedford. 
 
 W. R. Piddington, 
 A. Garran, 
 G. Forbes, 
 
 Hon. Treasurer 
 
 Chairman : Hon. Dr. J. Mitchell, M.L.C. 
 
 Deputy-Chairman : Hon. C. Campbell, M.L.C. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 F. Chapman, 
 j A. M. A'Beckett, 
 I Capt. Burn. 
 
 A. H. Richardson. 
 Hon. Secretary : Wm. Forde. 
 1870. 
 Chairman : Hon. C. Campbell, M.L.C. 
 Deputy-Chairman : A. M. A'Beckett. 
 
 Committee : 
 
 Capt. Burn I Thomas Walker, 
 
 F. Chapman, A. Garran. 
 
 W. R. Piddington, | G. A. Lloyd. 
 
 Hon. Treasurer : A. H. Richardson. 
 
 Hon. Secretary : Wm. Forde. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 65 
 
 ^ixbllt %mm of I^m goutlt IBalfs 
 
 Past Trustees. 
 
 Professor Charles Badham. D.D., 11th Mar., 
 1870— 27th Feb., 1884. (President, 11th 
 Mar., 1870— nth May, 1883.) 
 
 Rev. W. B. Clarke, M.A., F.R.G.S., 11th Mar., 
 1870— 17th June, 1878. 
 
 Right Hon. W. B. Dalley, M.L.C., Q.C., P.C, 
 11th March, 1870— 28th October, 1888. 
 
 W. A. Dimcan, C.M.G., lltli Mar., 1870— 25th 
 
 June, 1885. (President, 8th June, 1883— 
 
 25th Jime, 1885.) 
 Rev. Dr. J. D. Lang, M.L.A., 11th Mar., 1870— 
 
 8th Aug., 1878. 
 Sir William Macarthur, Kt., Uth Mar.. 1870— 
 
 1882. 
 Sir William Macleay, Kt., M.L.C.. F.L.S.. 11th 
 
 Mar,. 1870— 7th D.^c, 1891. 
 Hon. Robert Owen, M.L.C., Uth Mar., 1870— 
 
 25th Nov., 1878. 
 N. D. Stenhouse. M.A., 11th Mar., 1870— 18th 
 
 Feb., 1873. 
 
 Professor W. J. Stephens, M.A., F.G.S., 11th 
 Mar., 1870— 22nd Nov., 1890. (President, 
 27th Mar., 1885— 22nd Nov., 1890.) 
 
 Hon. .John Stewart, M.L.C., 22nd April, 1873— 
 
 30th July 1896. 
 Hon. Edward Greville,M.L.C., 9tb Aug., 1878— 
 
 9th July, 1903. 
 Hon. James Norton, LL.D., M.L.C., 1st. Nov., 
 
 1878— 18th July, 1906. (President, 10th 
 
 Dec, 1890— 18th July, 1906.) 
 Sir George Innes, Kt., 11th Feb., 1879— J 6th 
 
 Oct., 1896. 
 Sir William Windeyer, Kt., M.A., LL.D., 29th 
 
 April, 1884— 11th Sep., 1897. 
 Right Hon. Sir Edmund Barton, P.C, G.C.M.G., 
 
 M.A., K.C., 13th July, 1885— July, 1900. 
 His Honor Alexander Oliver, M.A., 30th Dec, 
 
 1885— 2nd June, 1904. 
 Hon. J.F.Burns, lstDec.,|1888— 22nd Sep., 1910. 
 Hon. P. Gidley King, M.L.C., 29th August 
 
 1892— 5th August, 1904. 
 R. C. Walker, Esq., 7th Oct.. 1893— 25th July, 
 
 1897. 
 Lachlan J. Brient, Esq., Mar., 1899— Sep., 1902. 
 Hon. James Hayes, M.L.C., .5th Mar,, 1903— 
 
 24th May, "1908. 
 
 Present 
 
 Professor M. W. MacCallum, M.A.. LL.D., 28th 
 Jan., 1891. (President, 13th Aug., 1906.) 
 
 Professor T. Butler, B.A., 2nd Mar., 1899. 
 
 Professor T. W. E. David, C.M.G., B.A., F.G.S., 
 2nd Mar., 1899. 
 
 Hon. John Hughes, M.L.C., 2nd Mar., 1899. 
 
 Hon. A. Kethel, M.L.C., 2nd Mar., 1899. 
 
 Hon. Sir Normand MacLaurin, M.A., M.D., 
 LL.D., M.L.C., 2nd Mar., 1899. 
 
 William Wood, Esq., J.P., 2nd iMar., 1899. 
 
 Trustees. 
 
 Hon. Dr. J. M. Creed, M.L.C., 8th Feb., 1901. 
 
 J. C. L. Fitzpatrick, Esq., 8th Feb., 1901. 
 
 Hon. J. L. Fegan, 20th Aug., 1903. 
 
 J. Arthur Dowling, Esq., 19th Aug., 1904. 
 
 J. M. Gibson, Esq., 19th Aug., 1904. 
 
 Daniel Levy, Esq., B.A., LL.B., M.L.A., 24th 
 
 July, 1906. 
 W.J. Jeffery, Esq., 17th June, 1908. 
 James Frederic Watson, M.B., Ch.M., 22nd 
 
 Oct.. 1910. 
 
 Officers. 
 
 Principal Librarian and Secretary : — Frank M. Bladen, F. R.G.S. 
 
 Librarian Mitchell Lihrari/ : — -Hugh Wright. 
 
 Assistant Librarian : — George H. Gifford. 
 
 Cataloguers : — James Pierce, Miss M. Windeyer, Miss M. Y. Fitzhardinge, .M.A. 
 
 Accountant : — W. H. Gifford. 
 
 Superintendent of the Reading Rooms : — J. F. Gannon. 
 
'fir 
 
 m 
 
aupniliix ij. 
 
 AND 
 
 REGULATIONS 
 
 FOa THE 
 
 OF ^ V 
 
 ^• 
 
 The Australlap Subscription Library 
 
 AMD 
 
 READING Room 
 
 APPROVED 
 
 AT A GENERAL MEETING HELD ON 16th MARCH. 
 
 SYDNEY: 
 
 PRINTED AT THE GAZETTE OFFICE, BY R. HOWE. 
 
 1826, 
 
 81869 
 
l?ii^I2©Pd 
 
 VICIS-PATRON 
 
 HIS HONOR THE LIEUT. GOVERNOR. 
 
 PRESIDENT, 
 
 The Hon. Alexander M'Leay, Esa, 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 aspinall, e. 
 
 ALLEN, Mr. G. 
 BERRY, Mr. 
 
 Mr. 
 
 BROWN, Mr. 
 BALCOMB|^,Mf. W. 
 BLAXI^N dT Mr. J. 
 BLAXLAND, Mr. G. 
 BLAND, Dr. 
 BUSBY, JAS. 
 BOWMAN, Dr. 
 BUNN, Mr. 
 COWPER, Rev. W. 
 COWPER, Mr. C. 
 CARTER, Mr. W. 
 CRAWFORD. Mr. 
 CLEMENTS, D. A. C. G. 
 CAMPBELL, Ben. Mr. ROBT. 
 CAVANAGH, Mr. 
 CAMPBELL, J. T. 
 CHAMBEBS, Mr. 
 DUMARESQ, Col. 
 DE LACONDAMINE, Lieut. 
 
 I V V NAMES. 
 
 IQIXON, Mr. 
 DOUGLASS, Dr. 
 DE MESTttE. Mr. 
 GURNER, Mr. 
 HELY, Mt. 
 
 HARRISON, Mr. J. S. 
 HILL, Rev. Mr. 
 HILLIARD, Mr. 
 HOWE. Mr. ROBT. 
 HARINGTON, T. C. 
 ICELY, Mr. 
 JONES, Mr. 
 JAMISON, Sir JOHN. 
 KINGHORNE, Mr. 
 KING, Mr. E. 
 LITHGOW, Mr. 
 LEWIS, Mr. 
 LANG, Rev. Dr. 
 MACKANESS, Mr. 
 MILLS, Mr. 
 M'ARTHUR, Mr. J. 
 M'KENZIE, Mr. A. 
 
NAMES. 
 
 M'VITIE, Mr. 
 MAZIERE, Mr. 
 MITCHELL, Dr. 
 MOORE, Mr. C. H. 
 M'ARTHUR, W. 
 M'ARTHUR, J. 
 NORTON, Mr. 
 OX LEY, Mr. 
 PIPER, Captain 
 PIPER, jun. Mr. 
 ROSSI, Captain 
 REDD ALL, Rev. Mr. 
 RAINE, Mr. 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 RAMSAY, D. 
 RYRIE, D. A. C. G. 
 STEPHEN. Mr. JuHice 
 SCOTT, Rev. Archdeacon 
 SPARK, Mr. A. B. 
 THERRV, Rev. J. J. 
 THROSBY, Mr. 
 TOWNSEND. Dr. 
 WOLLSTONECRAFT, Mr. 
 WARREN, Mr. 
 WARDELL, Dr. 
 WEMYSS, D. C. G. 
 iWENTWORTH, W. C. 
 
 COMMITT£E FOR1|S26. 
 
 JOHN MACKANESa^Q. CHAIRMAN. 
 
 W. LITHGOW Esfl> ^ 
 Rev. W. COVWKR 
 Rev. Djr. £>ANG 
 Rev. RJHILL 
 F. A. HELY, Esq. 
 
 G. MILLS, Esq. 
 Sir J. JAMISON 
 Captain ROSSI 
 W. CARTER, Esq. 
 
 TKEASXTBJSBS, 
 
 Messrs. BERRY and WOLLSTONECRAFT. 
 
 SECRETARY, 
 
 Lieut. DE LA CONDAMINE. 
 
 RULES, &c. 
 
 J. That the Members of this Institution pay 
 
iPii^i2®FrQ 
 
 VICIS-PATRON 
 
 HIS HONOR THE LIEUT. GOVERNOR. 
 
 PRESIDENT, 
 
 The Hon. Alexander M'Leay, Esa, 
 
 BROWN, Mr. 
 BALCOMBlwMf* W. 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 ASPINALL, E. 
 ALLEN. Mr. G. 
 BERRY, Mr. 
 
 ^Mr. 
 
 BLAXIl^NlSi Mr. J. 
 BLAXLAND, Mr. G. 
 BLAND, Dr. 
 BUSBY, JAS. 
 BOWMAN, Dr. 
 BUNN, Mr. 
 COWPER, Rev. W. 
 COWPER, Mr. C. 
 CARTER, Mr. W. 
 CRAWFORD, Mr. 
 CLEMENTS, D. A. C. G. 
 CAMPBELL, gen. Mr. ROBT. 
 CAVANAGH, Mr. 
 CAMPBELL, J. T. 
 CHAMBERS, Mr. 
 DUMARESQ, Col. 
 DE LACONDAMINE, Lieut. 
 
 % V NAMES. 
 
 wtolXON, Mr. 
 \ ^DOUGLASS, Dr. 
 DE xMESTRE, Mr. 
 GURNER, Mr. 
 HELY, Mt. 
 
 HARRISON, Mr. J. S. 
 HILL, Rev. Mr. 
 HILLIARD, Mr. 
 HOWE, Mr. ROBT. 
 HARINGTON, T. C. 
 ICELY, Mr. 
 JONES, Mr. 
 JAMISON, Sir JOHN. 
 KINGHORNE, Mr. 
 KING, Mr. E. 
 LJTHGOW, Mr. 
 LEWIS, Mr. 
 LANG. Rev. Dr. 
 MACKANESS, Mr. 
 MILLS. Mr. 
 M'ARTHUR, Mr. J. 
 M'KENZIE, Mr. A. 
 
NAMES. 
 
 M'VITIE. Mr. 
 MAZIERE, Mr. 
 MITCHELL, Dr. 
 MOORE, Mr. C. H. 
 M'ARTHUR, W. 
 M'ARTHUR, J. 
 NORTON, Mr. 
 OX LEY, Mr. 
 PIPER, Captain 
 PIPER, jun. Mr. 
 ROSSI. Captain 
 REDDALL, Rev. Mr. 
 RAINE, Mr. 
 
 NAMES. 
 
 RAMSAY, D. 
 RYRIE, D. A. C. G. 
 STEPHEN. Mr. Ju»tice 
 SCOTT, Rev. Archdeacon 
 SPARK, Mr. A. B. 
 THERRY, Rev. J, J. 
 THROSBY, Mr. 
 TOWNSEND, Dr. 
 WOLLSTONECRAFT, Mr. 
 WARREN. Mr. 
 WARDELL, Dr. 
 WEMYSS, D. C. G. 
 WENTWORTH, W. C. 
 
 committioe; FORpse. 
 
 W. LITHGOW Es% ^ 
 Rev. W. COV^fiR 
 Rev. m, IwlNG 
 Rev. R5HiLL 
 F. A. HELY, Esq. 
 
 JOHN MACKANESS^Q. CHAIRMAN. 
 
 G. MILLS, Esq. 
 Sir J. JAMISON 
 
 Captain ROSSI 
 W. CARTER, Esq. 
 
 TREASITHERS, 
 
 Messrs. BERRY and WOLLSTONECRAFT. 
 
 SECRETARY, 
 
 Lieut. DE LA CONDAMINE. 
 
 RULES, &e. 
 
 J . That the Members of this Institution pay 
 
to the Treasurer, oil admission, the sum of £5 
 sterling, and an Annual Subscription of j02 
 sterling. 
 
 2. That the Annual Subscription be payable 
 in advance on the 1st of January of each Year. 
 
 3. That Members admitted subsequently to 
 the 1st of July, be only required to pay half the 
 Annual Subscription for that Year. 
 
 4. That the Business of this Institution be 
 conducted by a President, Vice President, Trea- 
 surer, Secretary, and Committee, consisting of 
 a Chairman and nine Members, three of the 
 Committee to form a Quorum. ^ • 
 
 5. That the Committee he ^cted annually ,^ 
 at a General Meeting of ^oelVLembers, when a 
 time must be appointed for receivmg the /ac- 
 counts fronitli5 former Committee. 
 
 6. Tl^t me Treasurer be required to lay a 
 statement of the Funds before each half-yearly 
 General Meeting. 
 
 7. That any Gentleman, wishing to become a 
 Subscriber, shall be proposed by a Member, and 
 his Name recorded in the Library Room for at 
 least three Weeks, before the next ^^eneral 
 Meeting, when all Gentlemen so proposed, 
 shall be balloted for and admitted, if approved 
 of by three-fourths of the Members present. 
 
 8. That the actual presence of eleven Mem- 
 bers shall be requisite to constitute a General 
 Meeting. 
 
9. That no Regulation shall be made, amen- 
 ded, or repealed, except by a majority at a 
 General Meeting, and until the proposatl to 
 that eifect, signed by the Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee and the Secretary, as coming from the 
 Committee, or by at least five Members who 
 are not of the Committee, shall have been sus- 
 pended in the Reading Room at least three 
 Weeks before the General Meeting at which it 
 is to be decided by Ballot. 
 
 10. That a General Meeting be held for the 
 despatch of Business on the second Thursday 
 in January and July of each \e^T^ 
 
 11. That the Committ^b^ required to call 
 a General Meeting^ 'Whenever ten Members 
 of the Institution ahSl unite in requesting it. 
 
 12. That gn^M ember, having subscribed to 
 the LibrJ^y lor three successive years, shall be 
 privileged to transfer his interest in the Institu- 
 tion to any Gentleman who shall have been 
 approved under the provision of Article No. 7 
 of these Regulations. 
 
 13. That a Book be kept in the Library for 
 Members to enter the Names of the Works 
 they desire should be purchased, adding their 
 own Names to the entry of the Books they re- 
 commend, and from which, the Committee will 
 make selections according as the friends of the 
 Society will permit. 
 
 14. That all Works entered in the Catalogue 
 
by the Committee, as Books of Reference, or 
 of great Value, shall not be taken from the Li- 
 brary. 
 
 15. That Books deposited in the Library by 
 Individuals, for the use of the Members, shall 
 not be taken from the Library. 
 
 16. That Members, on taking Books from the 
 Library, shall be required to leave a receipt with 
 the Librarian, and that a Book be kept for this 
 purpose with proper columns. 
 
 17. That one Copy of every Periodical Pub- 
 lication received for the Institution, shall re- 
 main in the Library for one fortmght after its 
 arrival, aud that two addkional Copies, for 
 general circulation aniong the Members in the 
 Country, be ordered, of such as the Comraitee 
 shall appro*e.^ 
 
 18. T^at the time which Members shall be 
 allowed to keep Books ont of the Library shall 
 be regulated by the Committee. 
 
 19. That the following Scale of Forfeits be 
 established for each day's detention beyond the 
 time fixed, viz. 
 
 Folio or Quarto, 3d. per diem. 
 
 Octavo or Duodecimo, 2d, per diem. 
 Pamphlets, Id. per diem. 
 
 Periodical Publications for 
 
 the first six months after 
 
 their arrival, 6d. per diem. 
 
20. That if any Book be lost or defaced, the 
 person in whose hands it was, or ought to have 
 been, shall pay the original Value of the Book, 
 or of the set, if it belongs to one. 
 
 21. That no Member be allowed to have in 
 his possession more than two Volumes at a time, 
 excepting when the Plans, Maps, or References 
 are bound up separately, in which case, he may 
 have that "which refers to the Book he is rea- 
 ding. 
 
 22. Whoever applies first to the Librarian for 
 a Book shall have it, and so in succes^rf ; but, 
 if two or more apply for the sam^ ^ook, a«: the 
 same time, the preference^ ^JWl be determined 
 by Lot. S 
 
 23. That Office©of His Majesty's Army and 
 Navy, and i^iS^sters of Religion, not perma- 
 nently resident at Sydney, shall be invited to 
 become honorary Members, paying the Annual 
 Subscription only, and be entitled to all the 
 privileges of this Institution, except that of 
 voting at General Meetings. 
 
 24. That any stranger, a temporary resident 
 for a period not exceeding three months, be al- 
 lowed admission into the Library, if introduced 
 by two Members who shall record his Name, 
 with their own opposite, in a Book to be kept 
 for that purpose in the Library. 
 
 25. That the Committee shall meet once a 
 
month, or oftener, if necessary, and shall form 
 themselves into Sub-committees, according to 
 the several objects of the Institution, for the 
 more effectual promoting its interests. 
 
 26. That if Subscriptions are not paid within 
 a Month, by Members residing at Sydney, and 
 by those that live in the Country within two 
 Months after they have become due, the Libra- 
 rian is expressly prohibited from giving out any 
 Book to such deficient Members, till the sums 
 respectively due by them are paid ; and if any 
 Member shall allow his Subscriptipn^to run in 
 arrears for a twelvemonth, shalJbeP*considered 
 to have discontinued being^ Member, and for- 
 feit his Share in the Ub\aA^ 
 
 27. That a Gen^raCp Meeting: shall have the 
 power of exa^lmig a Member, if the proposal 
 to that e^ct, signed as coming from the Com- 
 mittee, or by at least five Members not being of 
 the Committee, be openly suspended in the 
 Reading Room, four weeks before the Ballot, 
 at which a majority of three-fourths shall de- 
 cide. 
 
 28. That the Subscriptions being made pay 
 able in advance, no debts shall be incurred by 
 the Society. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 R. HOWE, aOVERNMENT PRINTER, SYDNEY. 
 
DAVID SCOTT MITCHELL, M.A. 
 Barrister-at Law. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 67 
 
 THE MITCHELL LIBRARY. 
 
 ProceedincTs at the Ceremony of setting the Commemoration Stone 
 of the Mitchell Wing of the Pnhlic Library of New South 
 Wales, iith September, 1906. 
 
 The ceremony of setting the commemoration stone of the Mitchell Wing of the 
 new PubHc Library building at the Bent-street entrance to the Sydney Domain, 
 which is to contain the magnificent collection of Australian literature presented to 
 the State by David Scott Mitchell, Esq., M.A., took place on the afternoon of Tuesday, 
 nth September, iqo6, before a large and representative gathering. Mr. Mitchell 
 himself, owing to ill-health, was unfortunately unable to attend. 
 
 Amongst the large gathering of citizens present, representing the official, 
 literary, artistic, and commercial hfe of the State, were the Hon. J. H. Car- 
 ruthers, M.A., M.L.A., Premier of New South Wales; Hon. J. A. Hogue, M.L.A., 
 Chief Secretary; Hon. S. W. Moore, Secretary for Mines and Agriculture ; Hon. C. A. 
 Lee, M.L.A., Secretary for Public Works; Hon. Sir F. B. Suttor, M.L.C., President 
 of the Legislative Council ; Hon. Sir John See, K.C.M.G., M.L.C. Of the Trustees of 
 the Public Library, there were ]M-esent the Hon. A. Kethel, M.L.C, Acting President; 
 Hon. y. F. Burns; Hon. |. Hughes, M.L.C, Vice-President, Executive Council; 
 Hon. Dr. J. M. Creed, M.L.C; Mr. J. A. Dowling; Mr. J. L. Fegan, M.L.A. ; 
 Hon. J. Hayes, M.L.C; Mr. D. Levy, M.L.A. ; Mr. Wm. Wood, J. P. (Three of 
 the Trustees — Professor M. W. MacCallum, the President, Sir Normand MacLaurin, 
 and Professor David — were absent from the State at the time; and the remaining 
 three — Professor Butler, Mr. J. M. Gibson, and Mr. J. C L. Fitzpatrick — sent 
 apologies for absence due to urgent private engagements.) Hon. N. Hawken, 
 Hon. W. Robson, Hon. |. Wilson, Members of the Legislative Council; 
 Messrs. W. Anderson, R. T. Ball, R. Booth, E. C V. Broughton, J. ]. 
 Cohen, J. Fallick, J. Hurley, S. J. Kearney, J. Nobbs, E. W. O'Suhivan, W. W. 
 Young, Members of the Legislative Assembly; and the following representatives 
 of Mr. D. S. Mitchell, donor of the Mitchell Library :— Messrs. E. A. M. Merewether, 
 H. M. Merewether, and W. M. Merewether (nephews,) Mrs. Massey, Mrs. Wardell, 
 and Mrs. Busby (nieces). Miss Rose Scott and Mrs. Shaw (cousins) ; H. C L. Anderson, 
 M.A., Director, Intelligence Department, and Principal Librarian; His Honor Judge 
 Backhouse ; Mrs. and Miss Badham ; O. H. Baker. Consul for U.S.A. ; F. M. Bladen, 
 F.R.G.S.. Librarian, Lending Branch; Rev. Canon Boyce : E. M. de Burgh; |. J. 
 Calvert, LS.O. ; Wihiam Dixson ; E. Du Faur, F.R.G.S.; W. M. Fairland, Sec- 
 retary, Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts; W. M. Fehon ; Mrs. and Miss Garran; 
 F. B. Guthrie', F.C.S. ; W. E. Hawkins, Hon. Secretary of the Shakespeare Society, 
 of New South Wales; Alexander Hay; Dr. A. Houison ; H. A. Hunt, Government 
 
68 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 Meteorologist ; R. F. Irvine, M.A. ; D. Kirkcaldie ; Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Lee ; H. A. 
 Lenehan, Acting Government Astronomer ; Charles Lyne ; Lady Manning and Miss 
 Manning ; Miss Sarah Milligan ; Dr. R. N. Morris ; G. McRae, Assistant Government 
 Architect: George Robertson: Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Saunders: Mrs. Robert Scott; 
 Norman Selfe : Thomas Steel, President, Linnean Society: Mrs. and Miss Stephens; 
 Lieut. -Colonel W. L. Vernon, F.R.LB.A., Government Architect; Francis Walsh, 
 Parliamentary Librarian; Mrs. F. W. Ward; Rev. W. H. H. Yarrington ; 
 
 Proceedings were commenced by the Hon. Alexander Kethel, ^LL.C, Acting- 
 President of the Trustees of the Public Library, who invited the Hon. J. H. Car- 
 ruthers, M.L.A., Premier of New South Wales, to place in a cavity which had been 
 prepared in the commemoration stone, a hermetically sealed bottle containing notes 
 of the addresses to be delivered by the Premier and Mr. Kethel, a copy of the annual 
 report of the Public Library for the year 1905, copies of the morning and evening 
 newspapers, and sundry other documents, also the current coins of the realm, and 
 a number of medals taken from the foundation stone of the Parliamentary buildings 
 which were originally intended to occupy the site. The Premier placed the bottle 
 in the cavity, and the stone was swung up in readiness for setting. It bore the 
 inscription : — 
 
 THIS • COMMEMORATION * STONE • 
 WAS- SET- ON- Ilth- SEPTEMBER- igo6- A.D. 
 BY 
 THE - HONORABLE - JOSEPH ' HECTOR - CARRl'THERS- 
 PREMIER-OF- NEW- SOUTH- WALES- 
 ACTING" FOR" 
 DAVID • SCOTT - MITCHELL - M.A. 
 DONOR- OF- THE • MITCHELL- LIBRARY* 
 
 Address by the Acting President. 
 
 Mr. Kethel then delivered the following address : — 
 
 Our late respected President, the Hon. Dr. Norton, who had been a trustee 
 for twenty-eight years, and President for sixteen years, had long looked forward 
 to this day. He did much to bring about the happy result that we are celebrating 
 to-day, and hoped to be spared to preside over this ceremony, but he was stricken down 
 with sickness and passed away from among us a few weeks since, being permitted 
 to see the near fulfilment of his wishes, but not to partici})ate in them. The Board 
 of Trustees elected Professor MacCallum to the office of President in succession to 
 Dr. Norton, and that gentleman being now absent from the State my co-trustees 
 have appointed me to preside on this occasion. 
 
 As soon as men were so far advanced in civilisation as to conimit their thoughts 
 to writing in any portable form, whether on papyrus, bricks, tablets, parchment, 
 or paper, there were books, and, consequently, libraries. It is said that as early as 
 3,800 years B.C., Sargon ist, ruler of the Asiatic city of Accad, formed a library in 
 that city. Libraries were also formed in the chief cities of Babylonia, and a famous 
 one is said to have existed in Nineveh, rich in works on history, astronomy, sacred 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 69 
 
 and scientific subjects. Egypt, Greece, and Rome also possessed many public and 
 private libraries, that of Alexandria being famous for its reputed possession of a 
 literature which contained the wisdom of ancient Egypt. The downfall of the 
 Roman Empire involved the destruction or dispersion of these ancient libraries ; and 
 during the middle ages the few books that escaped destruction found a safe asylum 
 in the monasteries, where they were preserved with care and copied with scrupulous 
 labour and great skill. The revival of learning in the 15th century, followed 
 by the invention of printing, led to a vast increase in the production of books and 
 introduced a new era in the history of Public Libraries. The number of these estab- 
 lishments has vastly increased and is constantly increasing, till now^ almost every 
 town and village has one or more of them. Referring to the origin and growth of 
 the Public Library of Sydney, it is interesting to note the expedient that the scanty 
 and scattered population of Sydney at that time resorted to. (The whole population 
 of the colony did not exceed 30,000 and of Sydney probably not quite half that 
 number.) A number of leading citizens, in order to secure the circulation of the 
 few books in the Colony, resorted to the ingenious and unique plan of each making 
 out a list of books in his private library ; these lists were consolidated into one 
 catalogue or inventor}^ : opposite the title of each book listed in this consolidated 
 catalogue were placed the initials of the owner's name in whose private collec- 
 tion it was to be found. So it may be said Austraha had a catalogue before 
 it had a library. The scheme was originated in 1821 by Mr. Justice Field, and 
 Messrs. Oxley, Goulburn, Berry. Douglas, Wollstonecraft, and Irvine. There is no 
 reason to doubt that the movement thus commenced was the germ of the old 
 Australian Subscription Library, out of which the Public Library of to-day has 
 developed. On Friday, February j, 1826, ten gentlemen met at the Sydney Hotel 
 to consider the advisability of forming a Reading Room and Circulating Library in 
 Sydney. The leading spirit was Lieut, de la Condamine, A.D.C. to Governor Darhng, 
 who had just arrived; they had written promises of support from several other 
 officers and civilians, and they declared the institution formed under the style and 
 title of the Australian Subscription Library and Reading Room. The entrance 
 fee was five guineas, and the annual subscription two guineas. At a later date 
 members admitted on these terms were styled proprietors, as distinguished from 
 subscribers, who paid three guineas a year, but no entrance fee. Within a fortnight 
 the first general meeting was called, rules and regulations were drawn up : these 
 rules and a list of the first officers and members were printed. A copy of this 
 interesting and unique pamphlet is in the possession of Mr. D. S. Mitchell, and is 
 the only one known to be in existence. In April, 1826, the first order for books and 
 periodicals was sent to London. This list is still preserved among the Library 
 archives, and is a very interesting document. The great quarterlies have precedence, 
 followed by high-priced standard works on history, theology, biography, science, 
 and travels ; and, as if to grant concessions to the weaker vessels, Scott's novels were 
 added. Operations were commenced on ist December, 1827, with about 1,000 
 volumes, including several hundred lent by members. The fii'st home of the Library 
 was at No. i Terry's Buildings, Pitt-street, situated at the spot where Raine and 
 Home's Auction Rooms now are. A great many of these first imported volumes 
 
70 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 are still on the shelves of our Library. During the next eighteen years the Library 
 experienced several removals and varied fortunes, owing to the changing conditions 
 of colonial life, and the rapid increase of the po])ulation of Sydnev ; and in 1843 the 
 building in Macquarie-street on the site still occupied by the Library was built and the 
 books removed thither. The institution soon became to be recognised as the home and 
 meeting-place of Literary and Scientific bodies. From 1845 till i86g the governing 
 body conducted the operations of the Library with varied success ; but became 
 involved in financial difficulties, and in the latter year they sold the building and 
 its contents to the Government. On September 30th, i86g, after adding a valuable 
 collection of Australian books bequeathed by Mr. Justice Wise, the Government 
 opened the institution to the public as the Free Public Library of Sydney. From 
 that date the history of the Library has been one of rapid progi-ess in the increase 
 and value of the books added to its catalogue, the systematic methods of working 
 the Institution, and the growing popularity and public favour which it enjoys. 
 
 The original building being found unsafe, was rebuilt, but being too small to 
 accommodate the increasing stock of books and the reading public, a wing facing 
 Bent-street was added. This was ver}- soon occupied to its fullest extent. At the 
 present time the accommodation, even with that addition, is quite inadequate to 
 provide for the ever-increasing demand. At the time these additions were made it 
 was recognised that a new library would soon be a necessity; the architect had, 
 therefore, their probable future use as Government Offices in view rather than the 
 special needs of a PubHc Library. Consequently for many years the Institution has 
 remained in a building not only totally inadequate in the matter of space and 
 accommodation, but, also, quite unsuited structurally for the purpose for which it 
 has been used. It is confidently expected, however, that the end of our troubles 
 is in sight, and that when the Mitchell wing is finished the remainder of the State 
 Library will be commenced without any break in the operations. 
 
 In 1877 the Trustees decided to add a Lending Branch to the Library, and 
 started in the basement of the Bent-street building, but finding the space insufficient 
 it was removed to the old iron church in Macquarie-street, in 1881. In 1899, the New 
 Queen Victoria Markets being finished, and being situated in a central position in the 
 city, the Trustees rented a portion of the second floor of that building, and removed 
 the Lending Branch to these spacious and convenient premises, where they also 
 established a newspaper room, supplied with all the leading Australasian, and a few 
 European and American papers, which is ])roving to be one of the most popular 
 Branches of the Library. 
 
 In 1883 the Trustees decided to supplv institutions in the countrv districts 
 with boxes of books, and since then have forwarded to scliools of arts, municipal 
 councils, and local pulilic libraries, books, packed about sixty volumes in each box, 
 of carefully selected literature. These are forwarded free to all parts of the State. 
 The first box was sent to Wollongong School of Arts. We also forward to scholars 
 and students in all ])arts of the State, free of charge, educational works, such as 
 they may require, and thus extend the benefits of the library to every part of the 
 State. In acldition to this the Trustees, acting under arrangements with the Navi- 
 gation Department, supply lighthouse-keepers— many of them stationed in isolated 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 71 
 
 places — with boxes of books, suitable for both adults and children on the station. 
 During the past year twenty- five boxes, containing 1,276 volumes, were supplied 
 to the lighthouse-keepers along our coast. 
 
 In i8c)9 an Act of Parliament was passed called the Library and Art Gallery 
 Act, by which the Trustees were constituted a corporate body with perpetual suc- 
 cession and a common seal. 
 
 The credit for the present site is entirely due to the Premier. He suggested 
 it to the Trustees, who at once unanimously approved. The Secretary for Public 
 Works (the Hon. C. A. Lee) thereupon instructed the Government Architect 
 (Mr. W. L. Vernon, F.R.LB.A.) to prepare designs for New Library Buildings, 
 
 together with all the necessary 
 particulars, for submission to the 
 Parliamentary Standing Com- 
 mittee on Public Works. Some 
 active controversy took place at 
 the inquiry relative to the ques- 
 tion of alternative sites ; but on 
 the 31st October, 1905, the Com- 
 mittee reported in favour of the 
 erection of the building. Mr. 
 Carruthers has since given the 
 matter earnest attention, and has 
 pushed it on with such vigour 
 that it is now on a happy road 
 to completion. 
 
 The Government invited 
 Mr. Mitchell, the donor of the 
 Mitchell Library, to set the com- 
 memoration stone, but in his 
 regrettable absence through ill- 
 health, the Trustees unanimously 
 invited the Premier to perform 
 this ceremony, and this course 
 was cordially agreed to by Mr. 
 Mitchell. 
 
 The plans are the outcome 
 of the professional skill of the 
 Government Architect, who has 
 carried them out in conformity 
 with the specification of the 
 Principal Librarian, made after a tour of the principal libraries of Europe and 
 America ; all the latest points of library economy and administration are embodied 
 in the plans, and it is expected to be very complete in its conveniences for students, 
 and its comfort for the public and the staff. With power of expansion it ought to 
 provide accommodation for this growing State for a century to come. 
 
 THE HON. C. A. LEL, ML. A. 
 Secretary for Public Works. 
 
7^ 
 
 The origin and development oE 
 
 The last year's work of the Library was as follows : — 
 
 Reference Li!)rary, numl^er of visitors 
 
 Newspaper Room, do do 
 
 Lending Branch, number of borrowers 
 
 Number of volumes borrowed from Lending Branch 
 
 Country districts supplied 
 
 Number of Lighthouses sup]:)lied 
 
 Number of volumes sent 
 
 Country students and scholars supplied 
 
 Number of books in Reference Library, December 31, 1905 
 
 Do do Travelling Boxes 
 
 Do do Lending Branch 
 
 Newspapers supplied during year 
 
 Do single issues 
 
 175,029 
 35i>890 
 
 i37>704 
 138,896 
 
 13 
 
 11,871 
 
 105 
 
 139.342 
 
 6,122 
 
 29,121 
 
 502 
 
 51,939 
 
 The Sydney School of Arts deserves more than a passing notice at our hands. 
 Established in 1833, just seven years after the foundation of the Australian Library, 
 it became at once a popular and useful institution. In addition to the reference and 
 lending branches of its library, it established a reading-room with magazines, reviews, 
 and newspapers ; formed classes for the instruction of the youth of both sexes ; and 
 organised lectures, usually free, for the instruction of the general community, the 
 lectures being generally on literary and scientific subjects. There was also a debating 
 club formed, which, for fifty years, was a training school or nursery for our public 
 men. Governors of the Colony and professors of the University frequently occupied 
 the lecture platform, and graduates taught its classes. As early as 1870, the Com- 
 mittee of the School of Arts, recognising that the system of apprenticing boys to 
 trades had fallen into disuse, and as a consequence our youths were either untaught 
 or taught in a very slipshod manner, resolved to establish a Working Man's College. 
 For this purpose they leased land and raised funds on mortgage to enable them to 
 extend their premises and provide the necessary accommodation for the increased 
 number of classes that were formed. The subjects taught were many, and ranged 
 from cooking and domestic economy for girls to architectural and mechanical draw- 
 ing and design. The system adopted was so popular and successful that in a few 
 years it grew to such an extent as to induce the Government to take it over and make 
 it an important section of the Educational Department of the State. Our present 
 Premier, the Hon. J. H. Carruthers, when Minister of Public Instruction in 1891, 
 secured the land at Ultimo, and caused to be erected thereon the present Technical 
 College and Museum ; and we trust that it will be his good fortune to complete the 
 splendid edifice, the commencement of which we are to-day celebrating under 
 Such favourable conditions. 
 
 The Library of the Sydney University in 1859 contained about 8,000 volumes, 
 chiefly works of lasting value. After the death of Mr. N. D. Stenhouse, Mr. Thomas 
 Walker purchased his valual)le library for £yoo and presented it in 1878 to the Uni- 
 versity. Donations and additions were after that very frequent, and in 1885 the late 
 Mr. Thomas Fisher bequeathed the sum of /30,ooo to be applied to the establishment 
 
tHE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 73 
 
 and maintenance of a library. Since then the books have rapidly increased in 
 number. They now consist of 70,000 volumes, and are keeping pace with the 
 increase of knowledge in every department of human industry and scholarship. 
 The handsome and commodious building now being erected by the Government 
 for the Fisher Library, and rapidly approaching completion, will form a fitting home 
 for this great and growing library, and afford facihties for the teaching staff and 
 the students within its spacious halls. 
 
 The library of the Parliament is one of the oldest in the State. It was 
 established in the year 1843 in connection with the combined nominee and elected 
 Legislative Council of that time. The library then possessed less than 400 books, 
 which number has since increased to almost 50,000 volumes. On the first Library 
 Committee were Dr. Nicholson (afterwards Sir Charles) and Mr. Edward Deas 
 Thomson (Colonial Secretary). The appropriation for books was hmited to £300, 
 and the expenditure up to 1856 was £3,453 upon 6,662 books. Since the advent of 
 responsible government, the library has been managed by a joint committee of both 
 Houses. Regarding the composition of the library collection, the aim has been to 
 maintain it as one of practical utility rather than one of a general character ; con- 
 sequently the division devoted to works on Government and books relating generally 
 to the business of Parliament is necessarily the most complete. But the other sec- 
 tions, including history, biography, geography and travel, and general literature, are 
 sufficiently comprehensive to meet the requirements of the Legislature. Until last 
 year no suitable provision had been made to house the books properly, but since 
 then a commodious fire-proof library has been completed, and it was opened by 
 His Excellency the Governor on the occasion of the celebration of the Jubilee of 
 responsible Government on 22nd May, 1906. 
 
 The Royal Society of New South Wales possesses a library of 20,000 volumes, 
 the major portion of which consists of the transactions of various Societies and 
 Institutions, and journals dealing with every branch of science, in the collection of 
 which the Trustees have been largely indebted to the Government of the United 
 States of America, the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, and other learned 
 bodies in Europe and America. It is available for consultation, not only to members, 
 but, also, under very liberal conditions, to the public at large. 
 
 In addition to the libraries referred to in the foregoing remarks, there are in 
 Sydney; — The Australian Museum Library of 12,000 volumes, consisting principally 
 of proceedings of learned societies, and scientific books, which although primarily 
 required for reference by the Staff in connection with the work of the Museum, are 
 available under regulations for consultation by students. 
 
 The Linnean Society had its library destroyed at the Garden Palace Fire in 
 1882, but has since collected about 9,000 volumes, all of a scientific character. 
 
 The library of the Technical College, dating from 1881, contains 3,892 volumes 
 of books, 1,115 volumes bound periodicals and 63 trades journals. They are principally 
 text-books and publications dealing with subjects taught at the College. 
 
 All these libraries are constantly increasing the number of books on their 
 shelves. In addition to these public or quasi-public institutions, the reading public 
 is catered for by numerous book clubs and private circulating libraries. 
 
74 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF * 
 
 These figures will serve to show that, considering its age, and the difficulties 
 incidental to pioneering life in a new country, New South Wales, with its capital 
 city, is not badly provided with libraries for the use of its different classes of 
 students. It is to be hoped that the generous example of Mr. Mitchell will now 
 be lollowed by many other citizens who have made special collections in accordance 
 with their own individual tastes. By the generosity of the Parliament, which we hope 
 will be continued to us in the future as it has been in the past, aided by the 
 sympathetic co-operation of private citizens and collectors of books, we hope to 
 see our State Library become as great, as renowned, and as useful to New South 
 Wales as kindred institutions have proved themselves to be in the older countries 
 of the world. 
 
 At the conclusion of his address, Mr. Kethel, on behalf of Mr. D. S. Mitchell, 
 the donor of the Mitchell Collection, and of the Trustees of the Public Library, 
 invited Mr. Carruthers to lay the commemoration stone. The Premier performed 
 the ceremony with a trowel and mallet presented for the purpose by Messrs. Howie 
 Brothers, the contractors, and declared the stone to be well and trulv laid. 
 
 Address by the Premier. 
 
 Mr. Carruthers then addressed the gathering in the following words : — 
 
 Mr. Kethel, Ladies and Gentlemen, — 
 
 I am sure that all present will join with me in regretting that the late President 
 of the Library, Dr. Norton, has not lived to take that leading part in to-day's cere- 
 mony which his worth deserved. 1 know that prior to his death he had looked 
 forward with keen zest to this function, and had actually prepared the notes of 
 his address. The Public Library owes a great deal of its present value to his keen 
 personal interest as well as to his valuable knowledge of books ; but we are favoured 
 in having present with us to-day the Acting-President, Mr. Kethel, who is a fit 
 representative of such a democratic institution. He is a living illustration of the 
 value of study and of the use of books in helping to make a useful citizen. But, 
 above all, we must regret the absence of Mr. Mitchell, and especially that it is owing 
 to his ill-health that he was prevented from accepting the invitation of the Government 
 to set this stone. I consider it a very high honor to be permitted to associate my 
 name with this great national undertaking, and es})ecially so at the invitation of 
 the trustees with the special support of Mr. Mitchell, who, I understand, expressed 
 the desire that I should j^erform the official ceremony of the day. 
 
 The Ciovernment is gratified that the contract has fallen into the able 
 hands of old and tried contractors, Messrs. Howie Bros., whose name is proverbial 
 for faithful work and straightforward dealing, and who have already had some part 
 in building our existing Public Library, our National Art Gallery, and other notable 
 buildings. 
 
THE HON. J. H. CARRUTHERS, M.A., M.L.A. 
 Premier. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 75 
 
 It will not be out of place for me to refer to Mr. Mitchell, whose magnificent 
 gift has called for the erection of this building. It is a remarkable fact, worthy 
 of special note, that Mr. Mitchell was born in the medical officer's quarters of the 
 old Military Hospital, which is now Parliament House, and therefore within a few 
 feet of the site of the Mitchell Library, which is to contain his unique collection. 
 His father, the Hon. Dr. James Mitchell, a member of the first Council appointed 
 by the Imperial Government, and afterwards of the Legislative Council under 
 responsible Government, took a warm personal interest in the old Australian Sub- 
 scription Library, on the committee of which he served for thirty-seven years, from 
 1832 till 1869. Mr. Mitchell was one of the first batch of students at our LIniversity, 
 going to the classes of Dr. Woolley at the age of i6. Among his fellow-students 
 were the late Sir William Windeyer and Alexander Oliver, also the Rev. R. S. Willis, 
 who happily survives so many of that first class of graduates. Mr. Mitchell dis- 
 tinguished himself as a student, winning a scholarship and honors in classics. He 
 was also distinguished in the cricket field and in other manly sports. After graduating 
 in 1856, he studied for the Bar, to which he was admitted in due course. He never 
 practised his profession, as he found the management of his large estate in the 
 Hunter Valley sufficient to absorb his energies, but the fact that he was once offered 
 the position of Attorney-General indicates the opinion held by one Premier of his 
 abilities and potential value to the State. LInfortunately the biographical details 
 available about our benefactor are very meagre, owing to his absolute disregard of 
 self, and refusal to grant any one an interview, or to discuss anything more personal 
 than the Library which he wishes to present to his native land — the one great object 
 of his hfe. He began to make a choice collection of books, chiefly poetry and the 
 drama of all countries, at an early age, but in later years gave his most loving 
 attention to Australian books and records. 
 
 In i8q8 Mr. Mitchell intmiated his intention of bequeathing the collection 
 which he had been making for forty years, with the simple condition attached to the 
 gift that the Government should, at an early date, provide accommodation for the 
 library, and make it freely available for the use of students on the lines of the 
 British Museum. The Government gladly accepted this condition, but, unfor- 
 tunately, nothing definite was done in the way of making plans and commencing 
 the building until last year. In 1899 the Public Library was incorporated, mainly 
 through the sympathetic action of Mr. Wise, and thereby the trustees were made a 
 corporate body with perpetual succession, able to hold and administer any property 
 bequeathed to them. Owing mainly to the difticulties encountered with regard to 
 the sites chosen, little progress was effected till the present Government suggested 
 the site now adopted, which met with the hearty concurrence of the trustees and 
 Mr. Mitchell himself. 
 
 The Principal Librarian at once submitted a specification for a comprehensive 
 and well-planned building, dictated by the experience gained by him during his 
 visit to Europe and America, where he saw the greatest modern libraries. The 
 Government Architect has prepared a worthy plan, which will provide a building 
 that will serve the purposes of students, be convenient to administer in the interests 
 of the public and the staff, and will provide one of the most ornamental features 
 
76 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 of this city. Every care has been taken to make the building conform to the latest 
 principles of library economy, to ensure safety from fire, and ample accommodation 
 for accessions for the next fifty years, with capacity for expansion for generations 
 hence. 
 
 By a happy coincidence, tenders were invited for the building of the Mitchell 
 Library on March igth, the 70th anniversary of the donor's birthday. 
 
 Since definite action has been taken by the Government, and an earnest desire 
 shown to meet Mr. Mitchell's wishes, he has intimated his intention of endowing 
 the Library with a considerable portion of his wealth, so that it will continue to 
 expand after the generous donor may be unable personally to superintend its growth ; 
 and it is now, and must more and more become, far the largest jnu-ely Australian 
 Library in the world. Mr. Mitchell has never grudged any expense to secure rare 
 books, MSS., pictures, engravings, maps, even coins, and anything else that can help 
 the future historian of Australia to write the history of any phase of its social, scientific, 
 or material development. The value of the collection has been estimated by competent 
 authorities at £100,000, but it is, in point of fact, unique and priceless, as no money 
 could possibly replace it. If the Mitchell Collection were destroyed, with its many 
 original MSS., despatches, re})orts, unique books, maps, and ]iamphlets. the history 
 of New South Wales could not be written — which means the history of Australia, 
 for during the first fifty years of Australian history New South Wales practically 
 meant Australia. 
 
 Each scientific society has naturally its own specialistic collection of books ; 
 each social circle may have its own class of literature; each public institution, its 
 own group of books needed for its peculiar requirements. But a national library 
 must cater for all classes in greater or less degree. It should provide, within 
 reasonable limits, the material needed for any student of science, literature, or art. 
 Mr. Mitchell has made Australiana, or books relating to Australia, his specialty, 
 and to that section this wing of the National or Public Library of New South Wales 
 is dedicated. 
 
 May we not hope that other book-lovers and collectors may be stimulated 
 by his example to go and do likewise? It has been invariably found in America 
 that the example of donors of books and collections has been very infectious, and 
 that the mere })resence of beautiful and commodious libraries in each of the great 
 American States has stimutated book-lovers to j^rcscnt or bequeath their collections 
 to the city or the State, rather than have them broken uj:) after years of jiatient 
 collecting. The Boston Public Library, for example, which cost half a million to 
 build, and was, when it was erected ten years ago, the most beautiful building of its 
 kind in America, rccei\T(l donations to the value of its entire cost within ten years 
 of its dedication. What would Great Britain, the United States. France, or any other 
 civilized country, give for a national collection of literature in the widest sense, that 
 extended back to its very infancy and embraced the earlest records of its fovmding? 
 Even with its 3,000,000 volumes. Great Britain has not the material toenable historians, 
 of to-day to get the exact records of English history since the Norman Conquest. 
 It is true that the Domesday Book and Magna Charta are available in the British 
 Record Ofifiice, but many other MSS, and documents relating to the times before 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 77 
 
 Caxton introduced printing have disappeared in oblivion, and many of the more 
 valuable books printed during the last tive centuries have also been lost. On the 
 other hand, the Mitchell Library is so complete in all the printed books and a great 
 many MS. records relating to the early history and development of this country, 
 that it is rare for a fresh book of great value, or a map or chart, or old MS., to come 
 now under Mr. Mitchell's notice. In his researches he has interpreted " Australia " 
 in the widest sense to cover Australasia and the whole of the Pacific Islands, from 
 the Philippines to the Sandwich Group. He has collected all books dealing with 
 the travels of the earliest Portuguese, Dutch, and Spanish navigators, down to 
 Captain Cook, neglecting no record that deals with the earliest efforts of explorers 
 to reach the long-dreamed-of Terra Australis or the Great Southern Sea or any of 
 its islands. He has collected all books deahng with the anthropology, ethnology, 
 philology, geology, botany, economics, and all the natural sciences relating to the 
 whole of this great region. His endeavour has been to make the Library so complete 
 that students from all lands who wish to study the history of any aspect of the 
 national, political, social, or physical development of the vast tract of Australia, and 
 the islands supposed to be links connecting it with Asia and America, will have to 
 come to Sydney for material, as even now they are coming from the universities of 
 Europe and the LTnited States, to study at first hand our jieculiar social and 
 political development, and our marvellous flora and fauna. 
 
 While Mr. Mitchell has made it his special care to secure all the old and rare 
 books and every record that can throw light on our own past history, he has left 
 to the State Library trustees the task of providing current Australian literature 
 and newspapers, and a fair selection of the best books of the busy literary and official 
 world of to-day. This they have done as well as their means would allow, so that 
 seldom any student is unable to find the reference or authority he requires. In the 
 history of the Library are many names of distinguished men who have done yeoman 
 service for the institution, chief among whom I would commemorate to-day those 
 of Professor Charles Badham and Professor W. J. Stephens, whose representatives 
 I am glad to see present with us to-day. 
 
 Many poor students who have distinguished themselves in our schools and 
 university have made grateful acknowledgment of the Library's aid in achieving 
 their honors, and in acquiring a higher knowledge which is often unattainable owing 
 to the cost of the necessary books. The Institution has ever been free to all who 
 love learning, and show the seemly behaviour of lovers. 
 
 For our age and population we have no cause to be ashamed of the size and 
 value of our State Library. With the Mitchell Collection, it will number nearly a 
 quarter of a million volumes — a volume to each family in the State averaging six 
 souls. The British Museum — The National Library of Great Britain — has only one 
 volume to each sixteen persons, the French National Library, about the same, the 
 German Library even less, and the Congress Library of Washington only one volume 
 to forty persons. Of course, these older countries have many other large libraries 
 which are supplementary to the national one, but no country spends more public 
 money on books for free general use per head of the population than New South 
 Wales, It is a matter of some gratulation that while, as a young people, we have 
 
78 
 
 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 been busy cutting down the forests, ploughing the virgin fields, opening mines and 
 building pioneers' homes, the proceedings of this day emphasize the fact that we 
 have not forgotten those higher and nobler achievements pertaining to a people 
 truly great, and that one of our own sons and earliest University students has devoted 
 his life to such a nobly patriotic purpose. 
 
 It is my sincere hope and confident expectation that the finances of the State 
 will warrant the Government in pressing on with the whole plan as designed by 
 Mr. Vernon and approved by the Public Works Committee, so that we may have a 
 
 Library worthy of the State, and 
 a complete building worthy of the 
 site and its high purpose. 
 
 I trust also that the Munici- 
 })al Council of Sydney will soon 
 realize its obligations to furnish 
 from citv rates a library for the 
 literary recreation of its citizens, 
 and leave to the State the more 
 strictly educational functions of 
 a great Reference Library and 
 Archives of National History. 
 
 The Trustees of the Public 
 Library have long suffered many 
 disabilities and difificulties owing 
 to the unsatisfactory planning of 
 the old building and its unsuit- 
 ability for the rapid expansion 
 necessary in a State Library. 
 With the new well-planned build- 
 ing, much better work will be 
 possible. It will be the quiet home 
 of the earnest student, rich or poor, 
 old or young, who seeks for know- 
 ledge and mental improvement. 
 
 We pride ourselves on our 
 system of public schools, by the 
 aid of which every child is enabled 
 to get a good primary education 
 as his share of the common 
 heritage, and we have made Ihc opportunities of education as broad as a generous 
 Parliament can make them. In doing this, however, we but place the key of 
 knowledge in the student's hand. The corollary or complement of the public school 
 must be the treasury which that key ojiens — the Public Library, which will carry 
 on the w^ork the schools have begun. At that critical period when good and evil 
 influences are contending in the soul of youth, when temptations are strongest, the 
 jwwer of resistance weakest, we should place all the incitements, all the allurements, 
 
 LIEUT.-COL. W. L. VERNON, E.RI.BA. 
 ("rovernnient Architect. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. ^9 
 
 all the opportunities, on the side of good. We should provide mental pabulum for 
 all classes but the vicious and the literary trifler. We should offer our boys and 
 girls the lives of men and women whose deeds have won them true glory, and whom 
 mankind delight to honour. We should place in our youths' hands the story of 
 our nation, with its noble achievements and its illustrious men. We should give 
 them the chance of associating in spirit with all the greatest and noblest thinkers 
 and workers that have adorned the world's history. For every pure taste, for every 
 worthy ambition, the Public Library can provide ; towards every aspiration for 
 good it can give an impetus. In the busy arena of to-day not only the scholar, but 
 the man of business, the merchant, the professional man, the mechanic, touches life 
 at a hundred points. Success in any avenue of useful work presupposes some know- 
 ledge of the sciences and their application, of branches of philosophy and economics, 
 of history and of geography. To the man and woman whose opportunities have 
 not gone beyond the primary school, the Public Library is a great continuation 
 class-room. Some who have got only a taste from the Pierian spring of knowledge 
 will, if the opportunity be allowed them, press forward to drink deeper and still 
 deeper draughts of life-giving knowledge. Where can such opportunities be pro- 
 vided? For some the higher schools are open: for the highly favoured few the 
 University offers its valued teachings : but to the great mass of the people the 
 Public Library gives the chief opportunity of supplementing the knowledge already 
 acquired, with the glowing thoughts and burning words of the best writers 
 and the greatest thinkers. The Public Library places everyone on a broad platform 
 of democratic equality, such as can only exist in the republic of letters. It is the 
 people's University, where all may read, learn, and profit by the results of the 
 thought and study of those who have unselfishly devoted their lives to extending 
 the boundaries of knowledge. Even to the most highly educated of our University 
 men it is a storehouse of the learning of all ages, to which he can come for further 
 knowledge and renewed ins}nration. In it he will find recorded the evolution or 
 development of the moral, religious, social, and intellectual life of the whole human 
 family. 
 
 ■ Books are a necessity of our advanced civilization. By their means we are 
 able to place our own thoughts and actions in co-relation with what mankind is 
 doing, and they thus form a great electric chain that links together the great families 
 of the human race, past as well as present. In them the great and good men of all 
 ages and all countries live. A great Reference Library, such as this will be, 
 is composed of the best thoughts of the best tliinkers of all time. It contains 
 the diary of the human race. The memory of the individual goes back but a 
 httle way; or if it goes back far, it picks up but here a date and there an 
 occurrence half forgotten. When he keeps a diary of his life, he can keep 
 the whole of its scenes before him. The memory of the human race is as short, 
 as fragmentary, as accidental, as that of the individual. But with the books 
 of mankind gathered together in one large room, we can sit down and read 
 the solemn story of man's history from his birth, through all his mutations, 
 and thus learn to reverence our ancestors, ascertain our own descent, and 
 find the secret sources of the great problem we call life. If a man be merely 
 
8o THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 utilitarian, he may here get himself ready for his calling, prepare himself for his 
 examination, increase the worldly wisdom that wall better fit him for his profession, 
 his trade, or other means of making money. It will even be a place of pastime, 
 for what amusement more innocent, more sweet and gracious, more refreshing, 
 than the poetry and other works of imagination of hosts of our beloved authors. 
 By its magic aid we can choose our companions among the wisest, best, noblest, 
 and most charming of men and women. And this Library will be a great reception 
 room where we may hold intercourse with the greatest intellects in the world's 
 history — the master-spirits of the race, and we may enjoy their converse when and 
 so long as we will. This Library will be free to all, with no restrictions but such as 
 decency and order demand. We might inscribe over the portals the welcome of the 
 Hebrew prophet of old: " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and 
 he that hath no money, come ! " Who can picture the far-reaching educational 
 possibilities of this Library? It is in the constant, silent, and ]:)ervasive influence 
 of the Library that its power resides. 
 
 The good that David Scott Mitchell has done will live after him, and will not 
 be interred with his bones. It is a matter of regret that no portrait nor bust of 
 this great benefactor to the community is available. The Government offered to 
 have a portrait or bust made, and private friends subscribed enough to have a 
 picture painted by a celebrated artist, but the innate modesty of the donor would 
 not allow him to accede to this request. This building will, however, be a monument 
 to him " more enduring than brass," and we might inscribe in its vestibule the same 
 motto as was used as an epitaph for the great architect of St. Paul's Cathedral : 
 " Si monumentum requiris, circumspice " — (If you seek a monument to this man, 
 look about you). A century hence, when the donor and his admirers shall have 
 passed away, when this city shall have become the rival in the southern seas of the 
 cities of the old world, when science shall have realized more of its great 
 victories, and answers shall have been found to many of the enigmas which now 
 perplex mankind, this Institution will, I am confident, be found to be a treasure- 
 house of all that is worth preserving in our national history and literature; it will 
 have been found faithful to its duty of disseminating amongst all classes whatever 
 is best in human thought and endeavour : and then probably a true estimate of the 
 great benefaction which we commemorate to-day will be possible, and the citizens 
 of New South Wales will be able to record what they owe to David Scott Mitchell. 
 
 At the termination of the Premier's speech, the Hon. ]. F. Burns, the doyen 
 of the Library Trustees, moved a vote of thanks to the Premier. The Hon. J. Hayes, 
 M.L.C., seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation. On the motion 
 of ]\Ir. Carruthers a vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Kethel. 
 
 Mr. Kethel called for cheers for the King and for Mr. David Scott Mitchell, 
 which were heartily given, and the ceremony ended. 
 
n 
 
 
 
 
 
 r )i ^ I 
 
 
 iti t n T 
 
 \> L 
 
 I- 
 

 r .*' 
 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 8l 
 
 ^ppEtiliix ©, 
 
 Proceedings at the Ceremony of declaring the Mitchell Wing of the 
 Public Library f>f New South Wales open to the Public. 
 
 The 8th March, iqio, might, in the annals of the Pubhc Library of New South 
 Wales, well be marked with a red letter. On that day the most numerous, the 
 most comprehensive, and the most valuable collection of printed books, manuscripts, 
 engravings, coins, paintings, and tokens relating to Australasia which had ever 
 been collected by a private citizen (probably even by a pubhc institution) was 
 declared open to the public, under the provisions of the will of the donor, David 
 Scott Mitchell, M.A., of Sydney. 
 
 Apologies for absence were received from His Excellency the Admiral and 
 Lady Poore, the Hon. the Premier and Mrs. Wade, the Hon. the Chief Justice, the 
 Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, the Town Clerk and Mrs. Nesbitt, Mrs. A. M. Mere- 
 wether, Mr. Justice and Mrs. Cohen, Mr. Justice and Mrs. Simpson, Mr. Justice and 
 Mrs. O'Connor, Judge and Mrs. Murray, Judge Rogers. Judge Gibson, the Principal 
 Librarians of the Public Libraries of Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, 
 and Queensland. Sir Sydney and Lady Jones, Lady and Miss Manning, Messrs. 
 W. RTBligh, John Tebbutt, C. B. Stephen, K.C., Thos. Whitley, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest 
 H. Wilshire, Mr. and Mrs. E. F. Pittman and Dr. John Marden. 
 
 The President of the Trustees of the Public Library of New South Wales, 
 Professor MacCallum, M.A., LL.B., presided at the ceremony. Amongst the very large 
 number of literary, professional, and public men present were, His Excellency Gover- 
 nor Chelmsford and Staff; the Hon. J. A. Hogue (Minister of Public Instruction); 
 the Hon. C. A. Lee (Secretary for Public Works) ; Sir Francis Suttor (President of the 
 Legislative Council) ; the Archbishop of Sydney (Dr. Wright) ; the Presbyterian 
 Moderator (Rev. J. Ferguson); Archdeacon Boyce ; Sir Albert Gould (President of 
 the Senate); Messrs. J. Gormly, M.L.C. ; H. Gullett, M.L.C. ; F. Flowers, M.L.C. : 
 Messrs. D. Storey, M.L.A. ; A. James, M.L.A. ; Colonel Vernon, Government Archi- 
 tect ; H. C. L. Anderson (Under-Secretary for Agriculture, and formerly Principal 
 Librarian); H. E. Barff (Registrar, Sydney University); C. J. Saunders and G. 
 McKay (Members of the Public Service Board) ; Dr. A. Houison ; Mr. F. C. Curtis ; 
 Captain Rolleston, R.N., and the following Trustees of the Public Library: — ^Sir 
 Normand MacLaurin, M.L.C. (Chancellor of the University) ; Dr. Creed, M.L.C. ; 
 Alex. Kethel, M.L.C. ; Mr. J. L. Fegan ; Mr. Arthur Dowhng, and Mr. D. Levy, B.A. 
 LL.B., M.L.A. 
 
82, THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 Address by the President. 
 
 Professor MacCallum, in opening the proceedings, said: — 
 Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, — 
 
 The last six months have been marked by two important incidents of a \ ery 
 similar kind in the intellectual progress of the State. The erection of two great 
 Libraries, the Fisher Library at the Laiiversity and the Mitchell Wing of the Pubhc 
 Library, has been completed ; and for the first time in New South Wales, we have 
 edifices on a grand scale, an ornament to the city and a delight to the e^'e, that have 
 been devised from the outset for the harbouring and arrangement of books, and for 
 the convenience of those who consult them. But books contain the gathered wisdom 
 of mankind in the past and present ; and when that wisdom is accumulated by the 
 individual citizen for the common good, and is honoured with such noble habita- 
 tions by the communit}^ at large, it is fair to infer that it is generally prized and 
 respected. For the Fisher and Mitchell Libraries are alike in this, that the contents 
 and endowments have been bestowed by private men for public uses, but that the 
 buildings which perpetuate the names of the donors, have been contributed by the 
 people, acting through Parliament, on the advice of the Government. Personal 
 initiative and State aid have joined hands; m this domain at least Individualism 
 and Socialism have kissed each other ; the one and the many have combined for 
 the advantage of all and some. 
 
 But in certain ways, again, the two Libraries are very unhke. The premises 
 of the elder are practically complete, whatever additions they may need and receive 
 in the remote future. The younger (as you will see if you look at the handsome 
 model kindly furnished b}' Colonel Vernon) is only the fragment of a larger design, 
 is only a flank of the great National Library, which we so badly want, and with 
 which we hope the Government may soon see its way to proceed ; for the Reference 
 Library across the street was not at first intended for its present purpose, and even 
 as a makeshift it is now overcrowded almost beyond the possibility of management. 
 
 But besides the difference between the two buildings, there is a difference 
 between the two collections. The Fisher, like our own Reference Library, embraces 
 most kinds of subjects and caters for most types of students ; its scope is general. 
 The Mitchell Library has its one distinctive feature, and appeals to a particular class 
 of specialists. Though it contains many other rare and valuable works, its ])eculiar 
 province lies in the records, the literature, the descriptions and notices of Australia 
 from every point of view. In short, it provides the apparatus for studying the 
 antecedents and origins, the surroundings and growth of this particular member of 
 the British Imperial family. 
 
 And in this connection, I cannot suppress my regrets that my honoured 
 predecessor. Dr. Norton, is no longer here to preside, when at last Mr. Mitchell's 
 persistent wish is realised and his cherished acquisitions are placed within the reach 
 of any who will turn them to account. Dr. Norton knew Mr. Mitchell from their early 
 days ; for twenty-eight years as Trustee, for sixteen years as President, he gave lavishly 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 83 
 
 of his time and energy (how much of them only tliose behind the scenes can ever know), 
 to the affairs of the Pubhc Library of which this is a Branch ; above all his heart 
 was tilled with love for bygone Australia, his mind was stored with the traditions 
 which it is an object of this collection to preserve — traditions which in his mouth 
 gained in interest and raciness from the caustic humour with which he was wont to 
 narrate them. He would have been the man to represent the Trustees to-day, and 
 bid you welcome on their behalf. 
 
 He indeed had gone from us, ere the laying of the foundation stone, to which 
 he so looked forward, took place here about three and a half years ago. Since 
 then we have other losses, of which the chief that concerns us now was the death of 
 our benefactor, David Scott Mitchell, on July 24, 1907. We cannot but lament 
 that it was not given him to see the noble fabric in which his treasures have found 
 their home. But, at least, he had the satisfaction of knowing that it was to be, 
 that it was already begun, of knowing, moreover, something of the fashion and 
 arrangements of the House Beautiful that would soon arise. 
 
 For the Mitchell Library, such as you see it, the thanks of the Trustees, and 
 of the public, are due in many quarters. First to the Reid Government, which in 
 1898, through Mr. Hogue, then and now ^linister for Education, and always the 
 true friend and zealous advocate of this Institution — through Mr. Hogue, and 
 chiefly by means of his representations — accepted the one, but by no means incon- 
 siderable, condition that Mr. Mitchell attached to his gift, viz., that a suitable build- 
 ing should be erected for the National Library, and provision made in it for keeping 
 the Mitchell Collection intact and by itself. Then to the Government of Sir (at 
 that time Mr.) Joseph Carruthers, whose sympathetic attitude to the project in 
 1905 so pleased Mr. Mitchell, that the latter increased his bequest from ^20,000 to 
 ^70,000; and who. with his colleagues, immediately selected this attractive and 
 convenient site, had the plans for the whole building prepared, and in the following 
 year commenced operations. Sir Joseph himself laying the Commemoration Stone. 
 Then to Mr. Wade, to Mr. Lee, once more as ever to Mr. Hogue, and to the other 
 members of the present Government for their continued assistance and support. 
 Then to Mr. H. C. L. Anderson, formerly Principal Librarian, who, from a tour of 
 inspection in Europe and Ameiica, brought back the latest and most improved 
 ideas on Library construction, and placed them at the disposal of the Government 
 Architect, Colonel Vernon. Then to the Government Architect himself, who, as 
 you see, has contrived to reconcile these practical requirements with the claims of 
 aesthetic dignity and taste ; and to the Assistant Architect, Mr. McRae, for his vigilant 
 and unwearied supervision. Lastly, to the present Principal Librarian, Mr. Bladen, 
 well known as an expert in Australiana of all kinds, and to the Mitchell Librarian, 
 Mr. Wright, with their staff, for so soon reducing to some sort of order this medley 
 of things " rich and rare." I say, " so soon," for the time allowed them has not 
 been long. I am aware that many have expected the Library to be opened earlier, 
 but at any rate, its officials have not been at fault. Nor do I think that anyone is 
 much to blame. Let me explain the situation. All that you can see, from the 
 masonry to the fittings, except a few trifling items — chief among them the reading- 
 chairs^which could not be made here without great expense, are so far as pos sibl 
 
§4 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 of Australian material and Australian workmanship. Much had to be set about in 
 a tentative, experimental way ; unforeseen difficulties arose, unavoidable accidents 
 occurred. To those who know the circumstances, the delay does not appear exces- 
 sive ; and I think j'ou will agree that this Australian Collection demanded in all 
 rational measure an Australian setting to match, and that the result reflects credit 
 on those who were entrusted with the task. 
 
 Thanks then to the liberality of the people, exercised through successive 
 Parliaments and Governments employing the willing services of their officers, we 
 have here a worthy shrine for Mr. ^litchell's gift, which is at the same time a national 
 monument to Mr. Mitchell's memory. He it is to whom our gratitude is chiefly due ; 
 he it is whom this ceremony specially summons us to remember. After his death 
 much was said and wTitten in his honour by those who knew him longer and more 
 intimately than I ; and it is not for me to weaken their tributes by attempting to 
 re-echo them. But on this occasion, when it is our first duty and privilege to com- 
 memorate with all pious reverence the name of our benefactor, I wish to avoid the 
 strain of official eulogy and to give my words a personal touch. Permit me then to 
 tell you two incidents from my own experience, which I like to recall and which 
 seem to me in some ways to characterise the man. The one dates back to 1887, 
 when I first arrived in New South Wales. My books were some time in following ; 
 and, as in those days the Public Library and the University Library were not so well 
 equipped as they are now, I was at a loss how to proceed with the ordinary work of 
 my classes. Mr. Mitchell came to the rescue, and through a common friend, offered 
 me free access to his shelves and the loan of any volumes I might want. But he 
 would not receive me even to accept my thanks, and it was only some eight years 
 afterwards that I made his acquaintance, through the introduction of his cousin, 
 Miss Rose Scott. Here you see the shy recluse, who shrank from the sight of a new 
 face ; but in the recluse there was nothing of the misanthrope ; he was ever ready to 
 further work that seemed in his eyes to be ministering to Australian culture. 
 
 The other incident occurred many years later. I wished to verify the trans- 
 cript of a not very important passage from a not very well known i6th Century 
 book, and asked him if he had it. Without replying, he rose from his chair — his 
 usual chair — the chair on which you, your Excellency, are sitting, for we have 
 secured it as a memento — went straight to the shelf, took down the volume without 
 seeming to look for it, and in less than five minutes had found the sentences. 
 Evidently, he not only bought, as this collection sufficiently shows, but read; and 
 this has sometimes been questioned. Most unjustly. He was no mere bibliomaniac, 
 no mere victim of the collector's itch, but a bibliophile, a lover of books, a scholar 
 in his own departments. 
 
 And what departments were these? He had two loves. The first was Eliza- 
 bethan Literature, and especially Elizabethan Literature in the venerable early 
 editions. There are several of these in his library; and some, that the student in 
 Austraha might hardly expect to see without travelling twelve thousand miles, 
 may be consulted in this collection. 
 
 But in all EHzabethan authors, not only in the poets but in the poetasters 
 and poeticules, in the dramatists, the critics, the pamphleteers, the historians, the 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 85 
 
 geographers and travellers, one of the dominant notes is Patriotism, an intense 
 pride and delight in their country, an absorbing interest in its present, past and 
 future. Is it fanciful to suggest that Mr. Mitchell's patriotic feeling for Australia 
 may have been fanned by the patriotic feeling for England he found among his 
 Elizabethan favourites? Such virtue has gone out from them before now on more 
 occasions than one ; and in Mr. Mitchell's youth local Australian patriotism was 
 not, I am told, so pronounced or confident as it has since become. At any rate, 
 from whatever cause, his perspective gradually changed, and long before the end, 
 he had made it his master purpose to acquire all possible material — books, MSS., 
 coins, pictures — that referred to the history, and by preference, to the early history 
 of his native land. It is the wealth of these that makes the Mitchell collection 
 unique, and practically priceless. It is the grand repository for the history of 
 Austraha, surpassing even those in London and in San Francisco. Perhaps the 
 preciousness of the great gift that Mr. Mitchell has made to the State is not in all 
 quarters fully reahsed. I do not refer to the sum of ;^ioo,ooo at which experts 
 appraise it, nor to the munificent bequest of £70,000 for its maintenance and expan- 
 sion, since men are sometimes willing to pay high for mere curiosities. I refer to 
 its inherent worth. I wish to lay stress on this, for I have heard people talk as though 
 the Mitchell Library were a sort of glorified lumber-room, rubbish-heap, and waste- 
 paper basket. Let me explain my own very different view by an analogy drawn 
 from home conditions. What would we now give it, for the history of early Britain, 
 a collection of all available material had been made a hundred years after the Celtic, 
 or the Roman, or the English, or the Danish, or even the Norman settlement? 
 Nothing of the kind was attempted till the days of Leland in the reign of Henry VI 1 1., 
 Even then, Leland's Collectanea were, for the most part, neglected and exposed 
 to dispersion and waste, till some fifty years later, such of them as were left, were 
 cared for, housed, and supplemented by Sir Robert Cotton, to form the famous 
 Cotton Collection in the British Museum. How many and how great are the gaps 
 in it ! Yet even as it stands, how infinitely in its debt are the antiquaries, the his- 
 torians and scholars of Britain and of Europe ! 
 
 Now Mr. Mitchell, to my mind, was at once the Leland and the Cotton of 
 Austraha. Like the one, he set himself to bring together the documents ; like the 
 other, he set himself to secure their preservation and lodgment under one roof. 
 Nor is this all. He had begun his work well within a century from the first British 
 settlement, and he made provision that it should continue after his death, and with 
 every year become more perfect and complete. He has, moreover, both given an 
 example to other owners of old records and relics of the worthy use to which they 
 may be put, and provided them with a magazine in which such memorials will find 
 their natural place. Already the results begin to show themselves. Austraha has 
 no lack of public-spirited children, who, when a suggestion is made and shown to be 
 practicable, seize an opportunity for filial service. In the past year, the Mitchell 
 Collection has been enriched with valuable pictures presented by Mrs. Victor B. Hall 
 and Mr. R. N. Sheridan; with illustrated periodicals presented by Mr. J. Plummer; 
 above all, with 286 MS. volumes comprising the Judge's notes and correspondence 
 of our second Chief Justice, Sir James Dowling, during the stormy and critical 
 
86 THE ORIGIN AND nEVF.I.OP^rENT OF 
 
 period of Governor Darling's regime, generously presented along with other heir- 
 looms by Sir James's grandson, my fellow trustee, Mr. James Arthur Downing, whose 
 interest in the affairs of the iMitchell and Reference Libraries is constant and 
 inexhaustible. I would fain quote from the pages the very human accounts of 
 these 
 
 Old, unhapp3', far-off things, 
 
 And battles long ago — 
 
 battles waged, I am soiry to say, your Excellency, for the most part between the 
 Governor and the Judges. But time is short, and I must pass over these matters, 
 as over many others, which are as full of entertainment as of instruction. Suffice it 
 to say, that Mr. Bowling's donations are the most notable among many notable 
 first fruits from that harvest of public liberality on which we confidently count, 
 and for which the Mitchell Library is at once the seedplot and the garner. What 
 mav we not expect the future to yield? 
 
 Such then is the character of this great collection. It has its equipment in 
 general and especially in Elizabethan literature. It is fully stocked with the docu- 
 ments and publications that have any relation with present-day Australia — which, 
 however, we must remember, is still Australia in the making, and will soon be 
 regarded by our descendants as having at most reached its mediceval period. But 
 its crowning and distinctive glory lies in its possession of the authorities for the 
 early story of this continent and of this State, for the times which are already 
 becoming to us the Dark Ages. Is that a small matter? I have compared Mr. 
 Mitchell to Leland and Cotton, and it is such men who made possible William 
 Camden and all his successors. Just as Sir Robert Cotton's ingatherings were 
 utilised for the Britannia, so may we hope that David Scott Mitchell's ingatherings 
 will one day be utilised for an Australia. And if any still question the gain and 
 utility, perhaps our future Camden writing on Australian antiquities, with the help 
 of the Mitchell Collection, may quote the very words of grave apology and 
 rebuke, with which the English Camden, three hundred years ago, prefaces his account 
 of British antiquities, derived so largely from the Cotton Collection : it was a passage 
 that Mr. Mitchell loved, in the stately rendering of Philemon Holland : — 
 
 " I am not destitute of reason whereby I might approve this my purpose 
 to well-bred and well-meaning men who tender the glory of their native country ; 
 and moreover, could give them to understand that in the study of antiquity — 
 which is always accompanied with dignity and hath a certain resemblance with 
 eternity — there is a sweet food of the mind well befitting such as are of honest 
 and noble disposition. If any there be, which are desirous to be strangers on their 
 own soil and foreigners in their own country, they may so continue and therein 
 flatter themselves. For such like, I have not written these lines nor taken these 
 pains." 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the pleasure of asking His Excellency, who at 
 personal inconvenience has honoured us with his presence to-day, to fulfil the othei 
 part of his gracious promise, by addressing us and declaring the library open. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 87 
 
 Address by the Governor. 
 
 His Excellency Lord Chelmsford said : — 
 
 I regard it as a great privilege to be invited this afternoon to perform the 
 opening ceremony of this Mitchell Library. Professor MacCallum has alluded in his 
 eloquent speech, and I am glad that he has given us a taste of his quality, to the 
 fact that we have had in the last six months two libraries erected in Sydney, and 
 this is the second time I have been invited to perform a similar function. There is 
 a broad distinction however between the two occasions. (Cheers.) In the case of 
 the L^niversity Library the ceremony had chiefly to do with the building; the library 
 itself had been in use, and all that was required by the University was a worthy 
 home for it, and sufficient accommodation for the students who availed themselves 
 of the library. But on this occasion, I have not only to declare a fine building open, 
 but I have to make available for the use of the public a library of unique and surpassing 
 interest to all Austrahans. I was glad when Professor MacCallum alluded to the 
 architect of these two noble libraries, with which I have been connected during my 
 short sojourn in this State. We are fortunate, in Sydney, to have in our midst 
 an architect of the distinction of Colonel Vernon. (Cheers.) He has provided for 
 us almost contemporaneously two admirable buildings, in the Fisher Library and 
 this Mitchell Wing of the Public Library — admirable not only architecturally, but 
 from the point of view of the purposes which they are intended to serve. There is, 
 however, a second distinction to be observed. In the case of the Fisher Library, 
 the books had been collected more especially for the use of students, and were made 
 easy for their assimilation, and had been, if I may use the expression, peptonised 
 for their better digestion. But in this case a very different state of things exists. 
 We come here upon the origin of things — upon the raw materials — the stuff of which 
 books are made ; not easily assimilated, not easily digested, but waiting for the hand 
 of the master- worker to bring good fruit out of it. (Cheers.) And this fact brings 
 two questions to my mind as a layman: How are we to value this library? And 
 how are we to use it? May I at the outset enter a caveat against any reference 
 to the pecuniary value of this library. The value of this library cannot be estimated 
 in terms of money, and, therefore, I regard any such estimate and reference as, 
 in the first place, beside the mark, because there is no question of attempting to seU 
 this library, and, secondly, sacrilegious, because I think reference to money in the 
 case of works of art and things like this library tends to degrade the whole stand- 
 point from which we ought to regard them. I am afraid I sometimes lose my 
 patience when I am assured that twenty years ago a picture had cost £2,000, but 
 now it would cost ;{io,ooo. Such works of art have an inherent and intrinsic merit 
 of their own, and the merit cannot be gauged in terms of money. (Cheers.) To 
 my mind it is not a question of what this library might fetch if it were offered in the 
 open market. Its special merit lies in the fact that we have in it, miraculously 
 preserved for us, relics of our national life, which, but for the loving care of one man, 
 Mr. Mitchell, might have been mere flotsam and jetsam on the ocean of hfe. In 
 
88 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 this collection we have records which are not mere records, but history themselves. 
 You can touch and handle things here which, if they did not exist, would have 
 meant that Australian history would have to have been written in a different way. 
 But while you may regard these things as dry and uninteresting, I am confident 
 that some day a man will come along who will touch with the linger of genius these 
 dry bones and make them live. (Cheers.) So we ought to value this Ubrary as 
 relics of our national existence — part of ourselves — and give it the very highest 
 reverence that we can. Then, how are we to use it? The answer to this question 
 depends largely on the answer to the first, because as we value it so shall we use it. 
 As I have pleaded for reverence in regard to its estimation, so I would also plead 
 for reverence in our use of it, and I would make this plea in the case of any similar 
 collection of records. There is much stuff on these shelves that wants reverent 
 handling, much material which would furnish very fine copy for those gentlemen 
 whose remuneration is, I think, a penny a line. (Laughter.) I hope, therefore, 
 that the trustees will, so far as is consistent with due liberty of research, take proper 
 precautions against any improper or irreverent use of this library. Secondly, may 
 I hope that those who are going to mine in this quarry will do so in search of truth? 
 The scientific worker — and no worker will achieve success unless he is scientific — 
 must always be true. Science has no greater claim for distmction than this — that 
 it pursues the truth, regardless of established theories. And may I call in aid the 
 words of the greatest and most humble-minded of modern scientists, Charles Darwin? 
 I shall only trouble you with two brief quotations: " I have steadily endeavoured 
 to keep my mind free so as to give up any hypothesis, however much beloved, as 
 soon as facts are shown to be against it." And, again — " It is a golden rule, which 
 I try to follow, to put every fact which is opposed to one's preconceived opinion 
 in the strongest light. Absolute accuracy is the hardest merit to attain, and the 
 highest merit; any deviation is ruin." I have been emboldened to lay stress on those 
 qualities of reverence and truth, for although I have not been privileged to know 
 Mr. Mitchell, I have tried to think what are his }M"ominent characteristics, looking 
 at him through his own collection. It seems to me that you find his reverence in 
 the loving care with which he brought all these things together which pertain to 
 Australia. (Cheers.) You also find his reverence in the care with which he has 
 assured that there should be a proper and dignified building to enshrine these relics. 
 I think you find pre-eminently the mark of truth in Mr. Mitchell, when you look 
 at the catholicity of this collection. There is no undue emphasis in any direction — 
 Mr. Mitchell has swept in everything on all sides. Some day a man may come, 
 and may be able to dive into this collection, and bring truth out of the bottom of it. 
 (Cheers.) I have much ])leasure in declaring this li])rary open. (Cheers.) 
 
 Address by the Minister of Public Instruction. 
 
 Hon. |. A. HoGUK, M.L.A., Minister of Public Instruction, said: — 
 
 I account it a great honor to be in this way identified with an event of such 
 permanent interest, so picturesque and so impressive, as the one we are engaged 
 in to-day — the official opening of the Mitchell Library. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 89 
 
 We are taking part in an event of national importance and far-reaching 
 significance. The doors of this great treasure-house of knowledge are from to-day 
 open to the public for all time. 
 
 I have been looking forward to this event, as I am sure you all have, with 
 deep interest and with feelings of the liveliest satisfaction. I have for some few 
 years had before me the prospect of Australia coming into a great and priceless 
 inheritance — of its kind, one of the most precious that the mind of man could conceive. 
 Only one who was a great philanthropist and at the same time imbued with the 
 loftiest spirit of patriotism, could have conceived the idea of making to his native 
 country a gift such as this — a library that will challenge comparison with any of 
 the great private libraries in the world. I confess that at this moment the feeling 
 uppermost with me is one of pride in our country — pride that Australia should 
 thus early in its career have produced a son endowed with the far-seeing patriotism 
 of David Scott Mitchell. The late Mr. Mitchell had consecrated the best years of 
 his life to the realisation of a grand and noble ideal. As I accompanied the little 
 band of mourners that followed his mortal remains to their last resting-place a little 
 over two years ago, I shared the general regret then felt that he was not to be spared 
 to witness the realisation of his lofty ambition and his most cherished hopes. But 
 it was his consolation to know that his life's work was not wasted, that the noble 
 project to which he had devoted his life and fortune was to be carried out to the 
 very letter of his instructions. 
 
 It is now over nine years since Mr. Mitchell made the munificent offer of 
 the whole of his priceless historical collection to the Government of New South 
 Wales. I happened to be the member of the then Government of Mr. Reid through 
 which the offer was made. It was my privilege to wait on Mr. Mitchell at his private 
 residence, and with the then Public Librarian, Mr. H. C. L. Anderson, to spend 
 some time in inspecting the vast and wonderful collection of books, manuscripts, 
 paintings, engravings, charts, and relics which he had got together. That was in 
 October, 1898. I at once, on behalf of the Government, accepted the munificent 
 offer, and placed on record my appreciation of the patriotic spirit that had prompted 
 it. Certain conditions were attached to the gift, one of which was that the collection 
 should be specially provided for and housed in a separate wing of the National 
 Library, and that it should bear his name. Assurance was given to Mr. Mitchell 
 that the conditions should be faithfully observed. This magnificent building is the 
 result. Owing to political changes, the Government to which Mr. Mitchell's offer 
 was made was not destined to see the project carried out. Nothing was done for 
 some five or six years. But one of the earliest acts of the Government of which 
 Sir Joseph Carruthers was the head was to set about giving effect to Mr. Mitchell's 
 wishes. The erection of the Mitchell Library was provided for, and the commemora- 
 tion stone of this edifice was laid on the nth September, 1906. Many now present 
 may recollect the eloquent and very appropriate addresses delivered on the occasion 
 by Mr. Alexander Kethel, Acting-President of the Public Library, and by the then 
 Premier, Sir Joseph Carruthers. 
 
 It would have been a public misfortune if this priceless collection had been 
 lost to the State. Yet we narrowly missed it. Happily Mr. Mitchell, whose health 
 
90 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 had long been failing, lived to see a beginning made with the work of erecting the 
 building that was to hold his collection of works and other treasures. He was not 
 present at the laying of the foundation stone, but to him that event was ample 
 compensation for years of anxiety and hope deferred. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell was one of the most retiring and modest of men. He could 
 not even be prevailed on to allow himself to sit for a bust of himself, which it was 
 the wish of the Trustees and the Government to see placed in the vestibule of the 
 Library. That may to many be a matter of regret. But to paraphrase the senti- 
 ments of a famous architect, if you want to see his monument, look around you. 
 
 I cannot hope to adequately convey even a faint idea of the value to this 
 generation of Australians, and to posterity', of the unique collection of literary, 
 historical, and artistic treasures of which this building is the repository. To over- 
 rate its value as an aid to the study of the history of Australia would be impossible. 
 It has frequently been said that, without the works in the INIitchell Library, the 
 history of Australia could at best be most imperfectly written, for there are in that 
 collection books, papers, manuscripts, and other records nowhere else available. 
 Mr. Mitchell, who was a scholar and a close student of literature, was an ardent 
 lover of books. He was a great bibliophile. Books were his favourite companions. 
 Few understood better than he the educational, artistic, and historical value of a 
 book, a poem, or manuscript. He was particularly keen on obtaining books relating 
 to Australia and treating of its discovery, history, and progress. No book, news- 
 paper, magazine, manuscript, map, chart, engraving, pamphlet, poem, picture, or 
 old coin or relic, throwing any light on the early or later history of the great south- 
 land but would find in him a ready purchaser. In this way was this wonderful 
 treasury of knowledge built up. At the time the offer was made of the library, it 
 consisted of some 30,000 volumes of books, besides other treasures. Since then and 
 up to the time of its founder's death in iqo". it was constantly added to, and now 
 comprises in books alone over 5o,ooo volumes. The number of volumes had thus 
 been more than doubled within a period of eleven years. But this is not all. Mr. 
 Mitchell left a great share of his large fortune for the future upkeep and upbuilding 
 of the library, thus freeing it from the charges that would otherwise have had to be 
 borne by the State. Not that the people of this State would begrudge any charge 
 incidental to so valuable a possession. 
 
 All honor then to the name of David Scott Mitchell ! Sydney, his native 
 city, will ever be proud of having given birth to such a son, and his name will live 
 in the hearts of future generations of Australians for all time. 
 
 I am glad to see here to-day, joining in these proceedings and givmg then' 
 countenance to what has been done, representatives of the family to which Mr. 
 Mitchell belonged. I desire to publicly acknowledge the generous spirit in which 
 members of the Merewether family have co-operated with the Government in giving 
 effect to the will of their deceased relative. In a bequest from an estate comprising 
 many properties, variously held, some legal technicalities necessarily had to be 
 met with, and unavoidable delay. Thanks to the ready assistance of the official 
 executors in the estate and the beneficiaries under the will, there has been no hitch 
 or delay of any kind in connection with this magnificent bequest. How can we 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. QI 
 
 assess the value of such a gift as this? It is impossible to adequately estimate it. 
 A possession such as this is priceless. No mere money valuation, high though that 
 would necessarily be, could express its worth. Apart from its intrinsic merits, 
 the Mitchell bequest has an inestimable value as an example to others, and I am 
 sure we can all join most heartily in what has already been said on that score, and 
 in the hopes that Mr. Mitchell's example will find many followers. 
 
 I have already referred to the importance of this great collection as an aid 
 to the right understanding of the discovery and history of AustraHa. In this respect 
 Australia may be deemed the most fortunate of countries. In no other part of the 
 world are the national archives, the materials for history, so complete as here. But 
 it is not alone from the view-point of the historian and the student of history that 
 the Mitchell Library appeals to our admiration. A library is a universal educator. 
 Thomas Carlyle has told us that " the true university in these days is a collection of 
 books." It is easy to understand the keen desire in ancient and modern times, 
 among all nations, to establish and maintain libraries. Libraries have been happily 
 described as the torchlights of the world. Generations, empires, pass away. Their 
 deeds, their achievements, their hopes and fears, their triumphs and disasters, their 
 mistakes, their inmost thoughts, are stored up in imperishable records for the 
 edification, the entertainment, the guidance of men. Libraries bring back the 
 dead past to the living present. The spirit of all the ages is there. Sages had 
 written and taught, and warriors had fought and bled to little purpose had their 
 thoughts and their deeds passed into obhvion. The books that treasure up the 
 thoughts that have moved the world are mankind's most precious possession. In 
 the noble language of the poet Wordsworth : 
 
 Books are yours, 
 Within whose silent chambers treasure lies, 
 Preserved from age to age ; more precious far 
 Than that accumulated store of gold 
 And orient gems, which, for a day of need, 
 The Sultan hides deep in ancestral tombs. 
 Those hoards of truth you can unlock at will. 
 
 I here express the hope that access to the precious stores of knowledge 
 reposing silently on the shelves of this beautiful building is not to be regarded as 
 the pecuhar privilege of the leisured class, the bookworm, or the literary trifler. 
 The works in this edifice are for the use and benefit of all. I trust the advantages 
 of this splendid library will be availed of by all true seekers after knowledge, by 
 all classes — the humblest, the poorest, as well as those better circumstanced. Here 
 all may meet on common ground and for a common purpose, for this is a people's 
 possession. That beyond all doubt was the intention of its founder. Australians 
 then can best honor the memory of David Scott Mitchell by coming often and 
 drinking freely from the fountains of knowledge which he has placed within their 
 reach, without favour and without price. 
 
 I join heartily in the congratualtions already offered to the people of New 
 South Wales, and indeed of all Australia, on coming into this most magnificent 
 inheritance. 
 
92. THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 Address by the Secretary of Public Works. ■ - 
 
 The Hon. C. A. Lee, Secretary of Public Work."., said he was pleased that 
 the fragment of the building referred to by Professor MacCallum. which was the 
 first portion of the great National- Library, had given satisfaction to all critics. It 
 formed the ^Mitchell Wing, and had been constructed in the first instance to comply 
 with the conditions of the bequest. Some little impatience had already been 
 expressed that the additional wings had not yet been proceeded with. But the 
 design for the completed library had been approved and its construction authorised. 
 When the Government accepted Mr. Mitchell's condition they knew that it involved 
 more than the mere housing of his unique and priceless collection, and. therefore, 
 the National Library was decided upon in which to centre the whole of the libraries 
 under Government control. The remaining portion of this national work would be 
 proceeded with in the near future. Although the ^litchell collection had bees 
 given to New South Wales, and had been housed by the people of this State, it was 
 intended for a reference library for the whole of the Australian people, and an 
 such he believed it would occupy a very high position ni the minds of the historians 
 and others, who would, by research, discover the i)riceless value of this patriotic 
 bequest. The selection of this site for its great ]nu"pose could not ]n"obablv be 
 improved upon, while the structure will prove to be an architectural monument for 
 many generation.s. 
 
 Mr. Arthur Dowling saia :^ 
 
 Your Excellency, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, — 
 
 I appreciate very much the complimentary remarks I have hoard to-day 
 about myself, and T thank you for your cordial reception of them. 
 
 I am much gratified that I am the first large contributor to add to .Mi 
 .Mitchell's splendid collection, and I hope that the donation will be an incentive to 
 others to do likewise by presenting their historical records and collections to us for 
 custody here, where they will be treasured and carefully preserved. As the volumes 
 I have given contain matter entirely of public interest, I think they have found 
 their proper hoine. and 1 am very pleased that they are permanentlv deposited 
 here. 
 
 Now I do not think 1 have tlone anything >o praiseworthy, for by reason 
 of the authorship of the books I could not, with propriety and decency, have sold 
 them. In any event. 1 could not legally have done so to my own Trust, and if I 
 had disposed of them with a view to making money out of them they would most 
 ]irobably, in fact, almost to a certainty, have been resold by the purchaser to this 
 Library at an.advanced price; thus I should have indirectly done, or helped to do, 
 what I could not have legally done. 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 93 
 
 The absence of the Hon. the Premier and some of his colleagues is to be 
 regretted ; they are in the country on public business, and could not, much as they 
 wished, return in time to be here, but the Trustees welcome the Acting-Premier 
 (the Hon. C. A. Lee) and thank him for what he has done as Minister for Works, 
 for the completion of the National Library, and for what we have heard him 
 promise to-day, and I am sure it must be gratifying to you to see the Minister of 
 Public Instruction (the Hon. J. A. Hogue), who has Ministerial control of the Public 
 Library, with us, for he has been a good friend in lending a sympathetic ear to 
 Mr. Mitchell's views and influencing the then Government to comply with his 
 conditions and stipulations relating to this magnificent gift, with the result that the 
 State is now the possessor of the whole of his valuable library, which, in addition 
 to other literature, contains the largest single Australian — I should say Australasian 
 — library extant, and this magnificent building, the Mitchell Wing of the new 
 National Library, in which to house it. 
 
 On behalf of the Trustees and the public I thank Mr. Hogue for his suc- 
 oessful advocacy, his sympathy with, and the keen interest he has always taken in 
 our Library matters, and for his presence here to-day. 
 
 Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen, New South Wales has been fortunate 
 indeed in having had a long succession of eminent and successful Governors 
 (portraits of many of whom you will see on the walls of this Gallery) from 
 Captain Arthur Phillip, R.N., the first, who established and proclaimed the Colony 
 of New South Wales in 1788, to our dear old friend. Sir Harry Rawson, who left 
 the State after an extended period of office, taking with him the goodwill, 
 affection, and best wishes of the whole community. We then felt his departure 
 was an irreparable loss, however, and much as we revere and miss him, we pride 
 ourselves in having Lord Chelmsford as his successor. We still have good luck : 
 When His Excellency was Governor of Queensland, we were able to know of his 
 worth and estimable qualities by newspaper reports and hearsay only; now that 
 we have come in contact with him and are able to personally form our own opinions, 
 we are satisfied he is an unqualified success, and we wish him a brilliant and 
 prosperous career. 
 
 I now beg to propose a hearty vote of thanks to His Excellency for his 
 gracious presence to-day and declaring this Institution open, and I ask you to 
 carry it by acclamation. 
 
 The vote of thanks was carried by acclamation ; and the proceedings ter- 
 minated with three cheers for His Majesty the King. 
 
94 THK ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 AN ArPREClATION. 
 
 Reprinted h\ periiiissioii from the Sydney " Daily Telegraph " 
 
 of 9Th March, 1910. 
 
 AUSTRALIANA. 
 
 A WONDERFUL COLLECTION. 
 WORK OF A GENIUS. 
 
 The Mitchell Wing of the National Library of New South Wales, that which houses 
 the library bequeathed to the State by the late Mr. D. S. ^litchell. was formally 
 opened yesterday afternoon by the State Governor. 
 
 There was a large and distinguished gathering. The opening ceremony took 
 place in the ])icture gallery on the first floor. 
 
 Exjierts have valued the Mitchell collection at £ioo,ooo. That is from the 
 commercial point of view. \Miat it is worth as a repository' of the facts of Austra- 
 han history is an incalculable amount. In addition to the collection itself the donor 
 left a sum of ^£70,000 to continue the work he began. The State has nobly housed 
 the magnificent bequest. The building, the arrangement, the furnishing, &c., have 
 all been done under a sense of the permanence, the importance, and the regard for 
 solid comfort which should attach to such work. As far as possible the furnishings 
 are Australian. Nothing is of inflammable material that could reasonabh' be made 
 of more enduring substances. The window sashes, doors, staircases, and book- 
 shelves are of steel, handsomely wrought. Reading tables and desks are in jarrah 
 teak : revolving chairs in American oak. Natural lighting has been studied in the 
 construction to the fullest possible extent, and there is also a very complete installa- 
 tion of electric light. The tables and reading desks are so illuminated that while a 
 well-diffused but brilliant light is thrown on the surface, the source is entirely hidden 
 from the eye. There is no glare. Gas finds no place in the building. All the windows 
 are made of muffled and tinted glass, which diffuses a soft light, and at the same 
 time tends to preserve the leather bindings. 
 
 Since the collection was taken over by the State it has been under the imme- 
 diate care of Mr. Hugh Wright, the assistant librarian of the Free Public Library. 
 Mr. Wrighl is now the Mitchell Librarian, under the general supervision of Mr. Bladen, 
 the princijjal of the Free Library. An enthusiastic and efficient curator of the 
 treasures of the collection committed to him Mr. Wright will be found to be. But 
 intense as has been his work during the past couple of years in overhauling and 
 arranging the books and manuscripts, the pictures, photographs, maps, drawings, 
 documents, coins, tokens, and the hundred-and-onc other things that compose the collec- 
 tion, there is still years of toil ahead of him before he can hope to be cognisant of the full 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 95 
 
 extent of the treasure. There are many drawers full of documents which have yet 
 to be sorted out ; many portraits and pictures of places which have to be identified 
 and classified. 
 
 IN THE IRON SAFE. 
 
 Meanwhile, there is enough on the walls and the shelves, and in the safes and 
 drawers and cupboards, where arrangement has been carried out, to keep the visitor 
 with an eye to see and a mind to comprehend, engaged for a lifetime. It is, of 
 course, in regard to Austrahana that the library has its chief value for us. Apart 
 from the pictures, which are arranged in a fine gallery on the first floor, the rarest 
 and most valuable articles are the original manuscript journals, note-books, letters, 
 and drawings, either of early Austrahans themselves, or of those connected with the 
 earliest history of the continent. From a large safe in his own room on the ground 
 floor Mr. Wright will produce, for instance, the very journal in which Sir Joseph 
 Banks made his notes of the voyage which resulted in the planting of the British 
 flag at Kurnell, on the shores of Botany Bay. The journal covers the period from 
 1768 to 1771 — the whole extent of Captain Cook's voyage in the " Endeavour." 
 It is interesting to note that Botany Bay was not the original name of that haven. 
 It was first known as Stingray Bay. In two or three places Banks first wrote the 
 name " Stingray," but subsequently scored it out and interlined his MS. with the 
 word " Botany." 
 
 A large bound volume contains the receipts for articles purchased, and corres- 
 pondence in connection with the second trip to Austraha which Banks proposed to 
 take with Cook on the " Resolution." Being a man of wealth, Sir Joseph himself 
 outfitted the scientific expedition which he proposed to lead under the guidance of 
 the great navigator, merely stipulating that the Admiralty should furnish him and 
 the members of his expedition with reasonable accommodation. He purchased the 
 necessaries, but when he found that the Admiralty had not met him in the other 
 matter in a sufficiently generous spirit he abandoned the trip, and went to Iceland 
 instead. Among the correspondence in the volume is a letter from Captain Cook 
 to Sir Joseph regarding the furnishing of his (Banks') cabin on the " Resolution." 
 
 Another Banks' treasure is a MS. account of the mutiny of the " Bounty," 
 written for him by Bligh himself. 
 
 explorers' journals. 
 
 In the same safe are some of the original reports made by the explorers, such 
 as Oxley (1817), Allan Cunningham (1829), and Govett (1830-35). Apropos of the 
 latter, a scrutiny of his notebook amply disproves the truth of a number of romantic 
 explanations current on the Mountains as to the origin of the name " Govett's Leap." 
 A favourite story is that the nomenclature arose because of a famous leap for life 
 made by a bushranger or some other marauder when pursued by the arm of the 
 law. William Romaine Govett, on the contrary, was a surveyor on the staff of Sir 
 Thomas Livingstone Mitchell, the Surveyor- General. Describing some of the water- 
 falls on the mountains, Govett wrote in his notebook: — " The most remarkable of 
 these cascades is the one near the Weatherboard Hut, and that which flows into the 
 
96 THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 head of the Grose River, whicli the Surveyor-General named Govett's Lea}>, from 
 the circumstance of my first having come upon the spot when surveying with ]\Ir. 
 Rusden, and having sent in a description of the scene in my official letter." 
 
 On the opposite page of the notel^ook is one of those water-colour pictures 
 with which Govett was wont to give additional value to his notes. It shows a road 
 winding down the side of the mountain, probably near the Victoria Falls, and an 
 ox waggon with the two polers tumbling down the precipice, while the remainder of 
 the team stand on the road. It was his own team. The bullocks took fright at some 
 blacks along the cutting, and bolted. In their downward course they struck a large 
 mass of rock which had become detached from the side of the cutting and fallen 
 on the roadway, with the result stated. " Over it (the waggon) went," Govett 
 wrote, '' accompanied with the shaft bullocks, dashing, thundering, and cracking down 
 the precipice at least 800 feet, where may be seen to this day the skeleton of poor 
 old Redman." 
 
 FIRST AUSTRALIAN PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 Other manuscripts of great historical value are Governor King's account of 
 the settlement of New South Wales in 1806, and of the General Orders issued by 
 Lieutenant-Governor Patterson, 1795-97. The library also contains a copy of the 
 first book, the first newspaper, the first book of Austrahan verse, and the first almanac 
 printed and published in Australia. Of the first book there are in this library, in 
 fact, two of the only three copies known to be in existence. It is a small quarto 
 volume, " printed at the Government Press, Sydney, 1802," and bound in buckram. 
 Its contents are general orders. The first almanac is dated 1804. On it Howe, the 
 printer, made his corrections for the 1806 edition. Barron Field's " First Fruits of 
 Austrahan Poetry " is the poetical work. It was printed in 1819. Of the Sydney 
 Gazette the first files are not so good as those contained in the Free Public Library. 
 
 The MSS. of Sir Henry Parkes' poems, Charles Harpur's poems, some or 
 Kendall's i)oems, and John Farrell's poems are among the rarities of that character 
 which the collector was able to obtain. 
 
 Still turning over the contents of the librarian's safe, one sees two " Books of 
 Hours" — Roman Catholic prayer books — one at least of which dates back half a 
 century before the art of printing — to 1402. They are hand-printed on parchment, 
 with beautifully-illuminated capitals in colour and burnished gold, and illustrated 
 with pictures done in colour. A manuscript copy of the Koran, also a finely-produced 
 work, contains the inscription, " Written by the caligrapher, Muhammad Suhra- 
 wardi. Placed in the Royal Library at Delhi, 23rd Dec, A.D., 1608." 
 
 COINS AND TOKENS. 
 
 A fairly comjilete collection of coins and tokens illustrative of the currency 
 of New South Wales prior to the establishment of mints in the various colonies, was 
 accumulated by Mr. Mitchell. Among them are the Portuguese Johanna, which 
 was current here at £4 ; the Indian rupee, current at 2s. 6d. ; the Dutch guelder, 
 current at 2s..; the Spanish dollar, current at 5s..; and the English penny, current 
 
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 97 
 
 at 2d. There is also a specimen of the " holey dollar," bearing date 1S13. It is 
 explained that in the early days of New South Wales the currency was very restricted, 
 and it was the practice of the colonists to pay for goods brought from England with 
 the coins they possessed, which were then shipped away, being also current in other 
 parts of the world. This accentuated the currency problem. To solve it, the 
 authorities conceived the idea of stamping out the inside portion of the Spanish 
 dollar, thus removing a piece about the diameter of a threepenny piece. The holey 
 dollar retained its face value of 5s. in Australia, but was spoiled for circulation else- 
 where, while the centre portion, called the " dump " was circulated as a new coin 
 with a value of about is. 3d. Mr. Mitchell was able to secure specimens of both 
 the dollar and the dump. The tokens are a most interesting collection, and some 
 of them are of great rarity. But still the treasures of this safe are not exhausted. 
 It also contains a large collection of miniatures, many of them portraits of Captain 
 Cook, but the most exquisite a likeness of Flora Macdonald. There are also Wedg- 
 wood plaques of Solan der. Sir Joseph and Lady Banks, Captain Cook, and others. 
 
 The journal of Mrs. Reiby, recording the incidents of her trip to England in 1820, 
 shows that she was a woman of education, who wrote a good hand. The fact is 
 interesting in view of the more or less general confounding of the lady with Margaret 
 Catchpole. The collection contains a tracing of a letter written by Margaret Catch- 
 pole in 1803, and now contained in the public Record Oftices in London. At that 
 time the girl wTote very indifferently, and her spelling was even worse. The records 
 of the Police Court, Sydney, 1815-16, which Mr. Mitchell also secured for his collec- 
 tion, shows that up to 1816 there had been no improvement in Margaret Catchpole's 
 education ; on the contrary, she had to make her mark as signature to evidence 
 which she then gave in a police court case. 
 
 IN THE MANUSCRIPT ROOM. 
 
 On the shelves in the librarian's room are many rate first editions, autograph 
 presentation copies, &c. The manuscript room adjoining has a rich store of note- 
 books, logs, letters, official documents, proclamations, broadsides, maps, charts, 
 drawings, &c. There are the correspondence and journals of many of the pioneer 
 South Sea Island missionaries, and their translations of portions of the Bible into the 
 native languages. These are of especial value to philologists, as are also the almost 
 mnumerable books in the Australian aboriginal dialects and the Maori language. 
 Braim's manuscript of his account of the Tasmanian aborigines, now an extinct race, 
 is there too. The logs of whalers and missionary ships ; of British warships which 
 were in these waters in the early days; personal diaries of such voyages; journals 
 of the explorers — little that could be of value to the Australian historian, or of interest 
 to the future antiquarian, seems to have escaped the collector's grasp. Sir Oswald 
 Brierly's diary of his voyages on Ben Boyd's yacht, "The Wanderer," and also his 
 diary on the " Rattlesnake," contain the rough sketches of some of his subsequent 
 paintings. 
 
 Volume after volume of autograph letters from prominent politicians, members 
 of the nobility, the crowned heads of Europe, authors, painters, actors and actresses, 
 
qS THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF 
 
 and other {:)eu})le of more or less }:>rominence. occupy the shelves. Of correspondence 
 received by the late Sir Henry Parkes alone there are sixty-three large bound volumes, 
 while the drawers still contain a mass of documents that need to be sorted out. These 
 are the original letters sent to the deceased statesman — from Governors, politicians, 
 officials, and many other people who would naturally correspond with one in his 
 exalted position. Over loo volumes are necessary to hold Tasmanian official docu- 
 ments, letters, &c., covering the period from 1820 to 1850. Two other thick volumes 
 contain nothing but the original death warrants of Tasmanian convicts. The early 
 records of the Hawkesbury Benevolent Society for a long period of years, records of 
 the police courts held at Sydney, Bathurst, Goulburn, Hobart, and other Australian 
 centres of the first and second quarters of last centur3\ files of the early city and 
 country newspapers — public as well as private archives have been ransacked to supply 
 the demand of this insatiable, but far-seeing and discriminating collector. 
 
 ORIGINAL MAPS AND CHARTS. • " - 
 
 A large collection of b-ook-plates, photographs, portraits, proclamations, 
 pamphlets, maps, charts, and other historical material has still to be arranged. Maps 
 relating to Australia range from the dawn of the 17th century to date. There is 
 Bradley's original map of the harbours in the county of Cumberland, N.S.W., 1788-9. 
 Bradley was surveying lieutenant to Governor Hunter, and this maj) gives soundings 
 of Port Jackson, Botany Boy. and Broken Bay, and the Hawkesbury River as far up 
 as Richmond Hill. Bradley's Point (now known as Bradley's Head) was one of the 
 few places named on the map. Other names which appear, in addition to those 
 mentioned, are Sydney Cove, Rose Hill, and Capes Banks and Solander. A map 
 dated 1796 contains the additional names of Kissing Point. Lane Cove, Hunter's 
 Hill. Field of IMars, Toongabbe, Prospect Hill. Parramatta. 
 
 No. I reading room, on the ground floor, is devoted wholly to books relating 
 to Australia. It has. however, been found impossible to get into it all such books 
 which the collection contains. Scientific works about the continent, such, for in- 
 stance, as Australian geologies, are arranged with the geological works in another 
 part of the building. This room. No. i, is more particularly devoted to the history, 
 biography, and travel of Australia and the surrounding islands. No. 2 room, adjoin- 
 ing, is devoted to quartos and folios, which are classified on the same plan as the 
 books in No. i room. Special roller presses have been made for the folio volumes, 
 to save wear and tear in handling. No. 3 reading room, on the first floor, holds 
 the works of general history and biography other than Australian, and the Latin 
 and Greek classics. 
 
 THE PICTURE GALLERY. 
 
 Two collections of the work of individual artists stand out as of supreme 
 miportance in the picture gallery. That of Sir Oswald Brierly, marine painter to 
 Queen Victoria, fills the major portion of the western wall. Its central features 
 are two comparatively large works. " Going to Sea," a scene on the Thames, which 
 would, probably, bring £1,000 on Iln' market any day, and " The 'Black Prince' in 
 a Storm," a picture of almost equal value. " The Spanish Armada off the Coast 
 
THE PITBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. qg 
 
 of Ireland" is a smaller but none the less tine example of the artist's work. A 
 number of the pictures are associated with the surveying ship in which the artist 
 spent several years along the Great Barrier Reef — H.M.S. "Rattlesnake." " The 
 arrival of H.M.S. ' Galatea,' with H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, off Sydney Heads, 
 Jan. 21, 1868," is practically the original of the illustration which appeared in the 
 book which Sir Oswald Brierly and the chaplain of the " Galatea " produced to 
 record the incidents of the Duke's tour. There are several other Sydney scenes, 
 done on the occasion of the artist's first visit to Sydney, when he lived for a time 
 with the late Mr. Bloxsome at The Rangers' Estate, Mosman. A copy by C. E: S. 
 Tindall of the fresco painted by Sir Oswald at " The Rangers " has a place in the 
 collection. " An Emigrant Ship Arriving off Sydney Heads," and a whaling scene 
 at Twofold Bay in 1844, when Boyd Town was a place of importance in the Colony, 
 are striking pictures also. This is one of the best collections of Brierly's work in 
 existence. 
 
 OLD SYDNEY. 
 
 Sixty or seventy of Conrad Martens' works, mostly in water colour, splendidly 
 adorn three-fourths of the long southern wall of the gallery. To the New South 
 Welshman with a bent for the study of the history of his State, and to those with 
 recollections of old Sydney, this collection should be a field of great interest. There 
 are many jiictures, large and small, of Sydney and the harbour as it was in the 
 " fifties," or thereabout. The Bottle and Glass at Watson's Bay, before some of 
 the most remarkable upright stones were blasted away: Manly Beach, as looked 
 at from the sea, and Sydney from the North Shore may be noticed as one takes a 
 hurried view of the works of this distinguished early Australian painter. There is 
 a water-colour painting of Sydney from the North Shore in 1843, which is an exquisite 
 as well as a most informative piece of work, and another from a different point of 
 view done in oils. ^lartens did not succeed so well with oils, and there are only three 
 or four of his works of that kind in the gallery. These pictures show Dawes Point, 
 with its old fort in the centre, but destitute of other buildings, and also without 
 its stone waterside wall. On the other side of Sydney Cove the foreshores come 
 down roughly to the water's edge, where now are the wharves of the P. and O. and 
 the Orient companies. Old Government House is seen on its site opposite the present 
 Works Department building, and further to the left rise the stables of the present 
 Government House, then the only portion erected. The old steeple of St. James' 
 is a prominent feature in the background. Two water-colour views of Brisbane 
 in 1852 and 1853 are valuable historic works, as well as excellent pictures from 
 the artistic point of view. An Illawarra landscape and a view near Blackheath 
 in 1848 are other good examples of a remarkably even artistic faculty and skill. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES AND PORTRAITS. 
 
 On the same wall are hung a number of exam}:)les of the work oi two other 
 notable early Australian artists, J. Skinner Prout and F. Garling. Prout's j)ictures 
 include Hobart Town, with Mount Wellington in the distance ; Norfolk Island, 
 showing Nepean Island; the Nobbys, at Newcastle; the Willoughby Falls, North 
 
100 THE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 
 
 Sydney; and a view on the Plent}', near jMelbonrne. Garling specialised in marine 
 subjects, and these works of his which Mr. Mitchell secured are interesting on the 
 historical as well as the artistic side. One picture shows the Albion Mills, situated 
 at the foot of Druitt-street, the property of J. Terry Hughes, which were destroyed 
 by fire on March 2, 1841. Another is the west side of Circular Quay in 1834, ^^'ith 
 a rakish-looking, two-masted United States schooner alongside a wharf. Pictures 
 of the yacht " Zarifa," the property of Charles Parbury; the steamer " Coonan- 
 barra " ; the R.M.S. " Australian " ; and Launceston in the early part of the century 
 are included in the Garling group. A. Piguenit, " The Valley of the Grose in 1880," 
 is a fine example of the work of that distinguished artist. 
 
 Some effective waterscapes, by F. C. Terry ; a few views of Sydney (principally 
 the Rocks) in the "fifties" and "sixties," by J. B. Henderson ; a picture of the "Rose," 
 the first iron steamer on Port Jackson, by J. Fowles ; a view of old St. Phillip's 
 Church : and a large collection of the works of S. T. Gill, mainly illustrative of life 
 on the Bendigo and other Victorian goldfields, and of Melbourne identities in the 
 middle of last century, are hung in the gallery. Most of Gill's work has a higher 
 historical than artistic value. A sketch of Mosman early in the century, and of the 
 Great Western Road, going down Lapstone Hill to the Emu Plains, evidence that 
 Gill also worked in this State. 
 
 The gallery is also very strong in portraiture and old prints. Many of the 
 earl}' governors, judges, missionaries, explorers, politicians, and other notable men 
 in Australian history are included in the gallery. 
 
 Altogether the collection is, as an expert witness before the Public Works 
 Committee said, one which could have been assembled only by an untrammelled 
 man of genius, with ample wealth and dogged perseverance, with education, and 
 with those much rarer qualities, taste, and discrimination. 
 
 Sydney : William Applearate OuUick. Oovernment Printer. -1011- 
 
^^f^omr 
 
GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKELEY 
 
 liiiii