The first branch library in Granville was opened on the 5 September 1959 in two upstairs rooms at the former Granville Town Hall at 10 Carlton Street Granville. Granville Town Hall was erected in Carlton Street in 1889 and was used as a town hall by the Borough of Granville until the suburb’s amalgamation into the City of Parramatta in 1949. From 1949 the Granville Town Hall was then used as a community hall available for lease. The Granville Branch Library was formally opened as an additional branch of the Parramatta City Library service by Mayor Eric Arthur Mobbs with approximately 100 people in attendance. The Parramatta City Council Aldermen and their wives were also in attendance. The library began with an initial stock of 4,000 books, but the mayor stated in his opening address that the stock of books across the library network would increase by about 100 a week. He also announced that very few local government areas had achieved the record set by Parramatta of opening a main library and 2 branches in less than a year.
A few years later in May 1961 the library’s stock of then 9,000 books was almost lost in a fire in the Granville Town Hall. The assistant-caretaker Mr Lindsay Harris extinguished the fire that was barely 12 feet from the library’s books. Paint was stripped off the ceiling of the room and the timber floor was scorched but luckily the collection was undamaged due to his quick response.
Granville Branch Library continued to operate from the Granville Town Hall location until Saturday May 24 1975. On Saturday June 7 1975 at 3:30pm the Granville Branch Library was officially opened at its new location at 8 Carlton Street Granville where it remained for 45 years. Mr. J.P. Flaherty, M.L.A. performed the opening ceremony.
1n 1993 Granville Branch Library had major extensions which cost $131,000. A new reference room, new carpets, greater disability access and more windows providing natural lighting were added. The library also had major landscaping work done outside the library. The library was officially reopened on the Saturday 25 September 1993.
On Remembrance Day November 11 1997 a terraced herb garden was officially opened by the Parramatta Lord Mayor John Haines in the Granville Library community garden. The garden was dedicated to the memory of Helen Fenech, a long-time worker for the Granville Baby Health Centre and Granville Multicultural Centre. Her sudden death earlier in the year shocked the local community and the creation of the garden was a successful collaboration between Granville Library, Granville Multicultural Centre, Parramatta Council, Granville Tafe Labour Market program and the Granville R.S.L. sub-branch. Unemployed students enrolled at the Granville Tafe were responsible for the construction of the garden. Many of the herbs had been grown by Helen and were donated by her husband John. The local newspaper The Parramatta Advertiser reported that “many visitors to Granville Library have expressed their delight at the new gardens.”
In March 2010 the Parramatta Lord Mayor Paul Garrard invited the community to Granville Branch Library for a free public open day to celebrate the library’s recent refurbishment and installation of a Wi-Fi connection. The refurbishment included the library being repainted, new carpet, furniture and shelving being installed as well as a redesign of the library space to make it more comfortable for the library patrons.
In 2016 as a result of the NSW Local Government Amalgamations, Woodville Ward of Parramatta Council was transferred to the newly formed Cumberland City Council. As Granville Library was located in the Woodville Ward, ownership of the library was transferred from the City of Parramatta Council to Cumberland City Council.
Granville Library is currently located at 1 Memorial Drive, Granville in the newly created Granville Centre. The $25 million multipurpose centre opened in September 2020. In addition to the library with its back of house storage and offices, Granville Centre also includes an art gallery and arts spaces, a Community Centre with a large hall and multipurpose rooms, a meeting lounge and commercial kitchen and a new pool entry and a multi-sports courts and playground.
Neera Sahni, Research Services Leader, City of Parramatta, 2021
References:
Parramatta City Council – Library branches – Granville Library. (VF 823). Heritage Centre Research Library Vertical File Collection.
Parramatta City Library Branches. (VF 832). Heritage Centre Research Library Vertical File Collection.
Wikipedia Contributors. (2020). Granville Town Hall. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granville_Town_Hall
Two New Libraries. (1959, September 9). The Cumberland Argus, p. 1. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131615522
Quick Acting On Town Hall Fire. (1961, May 31). The Cumberland Argus, p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131327716
City of Parramatta Council. (1862-2019). Minute Books, Parramatta Municipal Council. PRS021.
Facelift brightens library. (1993, October 13). The Parramatta Advertiser, p. 24.
Helen’s memory keeps growing. (1997, November 5). The Parramatta Advertiser, p. 12.
Check out the library’s fresh, new look. (2010, March 3). The Parramatta Sun, p. 2.
Cumberland City Council. (2020). Granville Centre opens its doors. Retrieved from http://www.cumberland.nsw.gov.au/news/granville-centre-opens-its-doors