Riverway Library: Inside Townsville City Council’s new $8.5m facility
Townsville locals will be able to “borrow” everything they need to kickstart a new hobby or even launch a business venture at the city’s newest state-of-the-art library opening this Saturday.
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Townsville locals will be able to “borrow” everything they need to kickstart a new hobby or even launch a business venture at the city’s newest state-of-the-art library.
The doors of the new Riverway Library will swing open to the public on Saturday, replacing the old facility in Thuringowa.
The large new library is equipped with 24-hour meeting and study rooms, a creative hub with sewing machines and 3D printers, as well as a recording studio if you want to record your masterpiece or start a podcast.
There’s also a business lounge, parenting room and separate spaces where children and young adults can read or play video games.
Townsville mayor Jenny Hill said that while it took “a bit longer than they would have liked” to get the $8.5m council project off the ground, she was happy with the result.
“Libraries are really important — they can change lives,” Cr Hill said.
“We’ll be running homework programs out of here, similar to what we run in Aitkenvale.
“We know those programs have been instrumental in getting kids who might be struggling through school through their exams and into university or into trades.”
The library — co-located with the Pinnacles Art Gallery and Riverway Lagoons — is where the old Riverway Arts Complex used to be before it was severely damaged in the 2019 floods.
“It’s a space that creates a real community feeling here,” Cr Hill said.
“You can bring your family here for a day; you can come to the library, participate in one of the programs, take your family for a swim, kick a football around on the ovals, sit back, have a cup of coffee you can really make a day of it.”
Bluey and Bingo will be the stars of the show at a community fun day being held from 9am-3pm to celebrate the grand opening of Riverway Library on Saturday.
The new chapter comes as Townsville celebrates 85 years of libraries.
Townsville’s first free library service was founded in 1938 — the same year Orson Welles’ adaptation of War of the Worlds was first broadcast on radio, and Superman made his first appearance in comics.
Before the days of free books, DVDs, CDs, learning programs and community hubs, Townsville locals had to spend more than a week’s salary to access the city’s only reading subscription.
The collection that would later become the Townsville Municipal Library started as a private service in 1866, with Robert Townsend and John Melton Black on the Townsville Library and Reading Room committee.
Subscriptions to the Townsville Library and Reading Room cost £1 at a time when the average labourer was paid £38 a year – the equivalent of an average Australian spending $2500 a year on a book subscription today.
Mayor Jenny Hill said she was proud to reflect on how far the service had come.
“Council purchased the building on the corner of Walker and Stanley streets in mid-1938, which was occupied by the School of Arts at the time.
“The building had been devastated by two major cyclones, giving Council the opportunity to fix it and transform it into the Townsville Municipal Library in August that year.
“This was the first free public book service for Townsville,” Cr Hill said.
“Mabel Classen served as the secretary librarian at the School of Arts from 1921, and as the head librarian at Townsville Municipal Library from 1938 to 1964, dedicating 43 years of her life to the library.”
Cr Hill said the library was extremely popular with Townsville residents, with its operation expanding to include a children’s library in 1953.
“The children’s library was so popular that by the time it had been open for six months more than half of the city’s children were signed up as members, with lines extending far past the doors on weekends. This was the first move towards modern library service, with the space becoming a hub for children and families to enjoy,” she said.
“The children’s library was helmed by librarians Miss MacKenzie and Mrs West, who championed children’s learning through giving children joy and fun, not just structured education.
“As well as books for children, the library also offered photography clubs, puppet shows and stamp collecting clubs.”
In 1954 Mrs West said: “Children need an ample supply of carefully selected books if they are to enjoy childhood thoroughly and grow up able to make full use of their abilities and opportunities for service and happiness.”
But it wasn’t until 1971 that first custom-built library space at Aitkenvale Library was opened, with The Philip Leong Building named for one of Townsville’s most influential and philanthropic pioneers. The building included the first accessibility ramps for wheelchair users and parents with prams at a Townsville library, making the service more accessible for residents.
Since bringing a free public library service to Townsville, Council has had libraries at the School of Arts, the old Market Reserve City Building, Commonwealth Building on Flinders Street, Northtown on Flinders St, Aitkenvale, Thuringowa, the mobile library, and now at Riverway.
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Originally published as Riverway Library: Inside Townsville City Council’s new $8.5m facility
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