2 King George Place
Timaru District Council Building
Originally McRae’s Stone Store
What did this used to be?
Timaru's Public Library, built with a donation from a wealthy American steel merchant Andrew Carnegie. His goal was to inspire world peace through education.
The ability to acquire knowledge, preserve and pass it on to the future generations can make us powerful. With this in mind, Timaru needed a library. To pay for it, Mayor James Cragie applied to Andrew Carnegie’s library fund for ₤3000. Carnegie was a Freemason and a steel merchant who had one of the largest fortunes in the USA. His goal was to inspire education for world peace. He donated to 2300 public libraries around the world. Timaru’s public library was built with Oamaru stone in 1908. The Municipal Chambers were added next door 1912. The 23m clock tower was built 1933. There’s a Lamp of Remembrance to the those who died in WWI 1914-1919 and WW2 1939-1945.
The library was converted to offices in 1979. See if you can find the words “Public Library” on the facade and the Councils coat of arms.