*1955 - 1956 LIBRARY EXPERIENCES

The Queen Victoria Building -Southern/Town Hall end looking down George Street.

In 1955 and 1956 I went to finish my Secondary Schooling at Marist Brothers'College Darlinghurst - that will be the subject of a later post. My purpose on this occasion is to mention visits I started making to the City of Sydney Library which occupied two levels at the opposite end of the Queen Victoria Building to that shown in the photograph above. That Northern end on Market Street, across George Street from GOWINGS menswear store - famous for its location and its quirky , rather old-world stock and presentation, and its slogan "Gone to Gowings"was a landmark well into the 1990's when newer management had tried to modernise and popularise the brand. They finally failed  - things had moved on and they never did succeed in re-invention.

 The library was reached by climbing the stairs or riding the ancient lift cage to the first or second floor. Neither option would avoid the heavy odour of ancient wines from the City Council's Cellar in the Basement- a heavy mustiness that was not pleasant but not revolting either . It simply suggested something - in quantity - that was 'off".!

The library itself was not impressive in its reception or counters , everything suggested lack of money, care or attention.The collection however was full of items of interest. I usually visited with my classmate Tony Hannon, now my longtime Brother-in Law. We shared many interests in common especially history. We got a lot of satisfaction out of copies of The Illustrated London News, which were kept tolerably up-to-date. Both older copies and more recent ones were full of interest, especially when they did major photo essays on particular events or places. I regretted its passing in later years. The library also gave access to "Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships"editions from recent times back to the First World War. These were a remarkable source of FACTS and, if you know ANYTHING about teenage males, you will know that they are very keen on facts.The opportunity to absorb all of the interesting information from this large library's extensive collections was giving us a horse and buggy equivalent of the self education the Internet now provides at home. We, or at least I, did not use the library for study purposes on many occasions. For Tony it was a twenty-five minutes bus trip home on the little blue private bus from Bathurst Street to his home. For me it was a train trip to Lidcombe, change for Berala often, then a ten minute walk home - all up about an hour and ten minutes allowing for connections.

A few years later , Tony discovered the United States Information Service Library in Margaret Street. It was rather a different experience. In a smallish very modern building just down from the Assembly Rooms which contained the Scots Church where my Mum's sister Mable had married Robert Campbell Kerr before the War ( WW II).
 The USIS Library was the very model of modernity and efficiency and its carefully planned collection was recent and regularly up-dated with the latest books and selected magazines, all breathing  a healthy, happy optimism.By this time Tony was at University I think and I had left the Seminary ( another future post) and , due to an "accident "I was working for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
I had for a very long time been interested in steam locomotives and railways ( this is not so much an intellectual exercise- an act of the will- no, it is in some way " in the blood "or in the spirit - a type of romantic enthusiasm defying logic. Anyway, I particularly remember a very large format new book that the library took into its collection crammed with fantastic photography on the New York Central Railroad's newest ( and as it turned out,last) mighty steam locomotives the huge 4-8-4 "NIAGARA"Class with their massive 10 Wheel (I think) Tenders. They were the very last word( too true) in post war modern locomotive design, roller bearings on every turning surface and massive boilers to the very limit of the loading gauge , mission : beat the diesels for efficiency.They did well , but it was not "mission accomplished". How I would love to have a copy of that book. A Niagara is one of my 4 locomotive model collection , which I hope my Grandsons may  appreciate in due course. 4 Locomotive models, 3 Grandsons....Hmmmm!

Sadly, in one of those periodic expansion/contraction spasms that American short-term financial reporting recurringly causes, a whole host of USIS Libraries around the world was closed in the 1960s or 70s and the poor old Aussies "who are our Allies anyway" lost their USIS Library for a few years . In a later spasm it was re-opened up in Park St in the City - I never have been there - very big on security I believe. Sometimes I think the best times are behind us all, at least in that regard