Toodyay Public Library
| Toodyay Public Library | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Former names | Mechanics' Institute, Newcastle Roads Board, Toodyay Roads Board |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Victorian Free Classical / eclectic |
| Address | 96 Stirling Terrace |
| Town or city | Toodyay |
| Coordinates | 31°33′01″S 116°28′11″E / 31.5503°S 116.4696°ECoordinates: 31°33′01″S 116°28′11″E / 31.5503°S 116.4696°E |
| Completed | 1874 |
| Cost | ₤235 10s |
| Design and construction | |
| Main contractor | Thomas Davey assisted by George Hasell |
| References | |
| Toodyay municipal inventory | |
Toodyay Public Library is located on Stirling Terrace in Toodyay, Western Australia.
One of the forerunners to the library was the Newcastle Mechanics' Institute, which formed in 1866.Charles Harper was elected president. By 1869, however, the Institute had begun to decline from lack of public support.
The Toodyay Young Men's Reading Club was founded on 30 August 1871 and operated from the government schoolroom into the early 1870s. This club presented lectures; its first lecture was given by Rev. J. M. Innes on Charles Dickens, and another was given Rev. Charles Harper – father of Charles Harper, pastoralist, newspaper proprietor and politician in colonial Western Australia – on "Phenomena connected with Sound".
On 3 September 1873 a "tea-meeting" (replete with singing and comestibles) was held to discuss the merging of the Mechanics' Institute and the Toodyay Young Men's Reading Club, with a view to the construction of a new building for the resultant organisation.
Mr. Leeder of Leeder's Hotel agreed to construct the building on generous terms. The debt to finance the construction was repaid in 20 years. Thomas Davey's tender of ₤235 10s was accepted by the building committee on 7 February 1874, with work to be completed within four months. The finished building became the home of the revived Newcastle Mechanics' Institute and was one of the first civic buildings constructed in the new townsite of Toodyay.
On 19 November 1877 the first Newcastle Municipal Council was elected and meetings were held in the Newcastle Mechanics Institute hall. By 1886 the Council was paying an annual rent of £1 for the use of the hall.
The stage, and the fireplace on the western side of the building, were added in 1886. In that year a new piano, costing about £90, was purchased from Messrs. Brinsmead & Company of Perth and £12 worth of books were added to the library. An annual subscription fee of 12 shillings for membership of the Mechanics Institute partially funded the purchase of newspapers and books, heating, stationery and the wages of the secretary and librarian. Concerts and other fundraising events, the hiring of the hall and a government grant supplemented the Institute's income. In 1886 there were 33 members. Mrs Martin took over as caretaker and librarian from Mrs C. Betts, who had resigned the previous year.
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