By Dr Jill Miller

Gerringong council’s free library, established in 1874, was intended to improve the minds of locals rather than entertain them. In July 1874 the Governor authorised the issue of a sum of £200 for the institution. The Department of Justice and Public Instruction subsequently approved the list of books proposed for purchase by the council, except for the works of fiction. 

The Gerringong correspondent for the Kiama Independent in February 1874 hoped the council would ‘make provision for the intellectual improvement of the residents of their district’ by approving a library. In May 1874 he trusted, ‘that the books selected will be of such a character as will interest and enlighten, so that by a careful perusal the ratepayers … may learn how better to exercise their judgment in the choices of their representatives.’ Despite lamenting the fact ‘the class of books most in request are the lighter of the fictitious and pictorial works,’ he soon after conceded that the library was ‘felt to be a great boon in the present dearth of public entertainment or instruction …’

The first proposal for the library came in 1869 from M. E. Robson, as a candidate for the Kiama Municipal elections. He favoured using rates on public works in the same locality they came from. His bugbear was that money from Gerringong was unjustly appropriated for facilities located in Kiama. Robson became the first mayor of the Gerringong municipality from 1871 to 1872.

The Gerringong council voted to create the library in April 1874, concerned that the two-year old Kiama library was not accessible for many Gerringong people. Alderman Lee recommended Mrs. Scott as a competent custodian for a library whose collection could be housed in a room in her general store on Fern Street. The room was also deemed ‘suitable in every way for a council-chamber.’ The lady requested an annual fee of £14 for the space and her librarian duties.   

Mayor Robert Miller noted that the Mutual Improvement Society of Gerringong, part of the School of Arts, might offer about £12 worth of books ‘to form the nucleus of the proposed library.’ This led to a somewhat heated exchange of letters in the Kiama Independent criticising the council for delays in access to the library. The council waited for the society to bring the books and book shelves offered by the School of Arts Committee while the committee waited for the council to arrange to collect them, with both sides saying the other was in the wrong.

The library finally began lending to locals around the end of October, beginning of November of 1874. No rules had been established for borrowers, who were not sure whether they could keep books for one or twelve months. On 10 December council was informed that ‘the librarian had been subjected to annoyance and put to unnecessary trouble by parties coming to the library at irregular hours, some as late as 11 o’clock at night.’ This led to the hours of attendance being advertised.

In 1875 a letter writer to the Illawarra Mercury lamented the fact that the Borough of Wollongong had not managed to open a library due to disagreement over where it should be located while libraries had been established successfully at nearby Gerringong and Kiama. By 1876 there were 18 free libraries in the colony of New South Wales, with the Gerringong library having 429 volumes in its collection and 703 readers over six months. The Kiama library had 1,245 volumes with 874 readers while the Shellharbour library had 1,050 volumes and 112 readers. 

The amount of money spent on books for Gerringong was considerable in terms of the council’s total budget. This led to some angst over what books should be purchased for the collection. A number of prominent local men were invited to help in the selection, including the Member for Kiama in the Legislative Assembly, S. W. Gray.

In 1877 the free library and the librarian Mrs Scott, as well as council meetings, shifted to a new building that was described in the Kiama Independent as ‘void of architectural beauty’ and not suitable for ‘the requirements of Gerringong as a public building for public meetings, lectures, &c. The council made an unwritten agreement for Mrs. Scott to use the space for free in return for acting as librarian. This arrangement proved satisfactory for both sides until amended in 1891 to have Mrs. Scott pay some rent. Alderman

James then noted that the librarian’s duties were very light as library records showed that borrowers themselves made the entries for taking out and returning books. 

When Mrs. Scott died at 85 in 1927, after over 40 years at Gerringong, her obituary noted that as librarian for many years, ‘she was brought in touch with all classes to the community, and by her fine character won the respect of all with whom she came in contact.’ Clive Emery recollected that she used to give children sweets while their parents were choosing books.

The library was moved to the new RSL Memorial Hall in November 1921 and then to the Town Hall in 1959 where it remained until 2021 when it moved into our grand new library in Blackwood Street along with the new museum. GLAM!