Granity Community Library is a small public library located in the settlement of

Granity Granity is a small town on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, north-east of Westport on State Highway 67. Karamea is further north. Squeezed between the often-tempestuous Tasman Sea to the west and steep forested cloud-shrouded mou ...

on the West Coast of New Zealand. It is listed as a Category II historic place by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

. Granity was established as a depot for loading coal from the Millerton coal mine into railway trucks to go to Westport for shipping. In 1903 the Granity Library Committee approached the Minister of Railways for railway reserve land for a library building, and were granted a rectangular plot for five shillings a year. However, eight years after the library building had been erected it was discovered it was on the wrong site, and the lease had to be cancelled and a new one drawn up. When the

Westport Coal Company Westport is the name of several communities around the world. Canada *Westport, Nova Scotia * Westport, Ontario **Westport Rideaus, local junior "B" ice hockey team ** Westport/Rideau Lakes Airport *Westport, Newfoundland and Labrador Ireland * ...

's engineering works were located in Granity, the company provided the library with free electric light. At its peak the library had 80 members, and in 1924 its contents were insured for £300. A local recalls the library at the time:

The layout of the library was very different in those days. Books were kept behind glass cases which were on the surrounding walls and down the middle of the library were two long trestles. These held the daily papers from all over the country and even Australia. Magazines and the '' Auckland Weekly News'' were regular features and miners were docked two and sixpence from their pay for the paper service. The library was open daily and a very busy community scene with people popping in just to scan the papers. The Librarian was on a small salary and was helped by young paid employees.

Books are provided by Buller District Library in Westport or received as donations from local residents. The staff are volunteers and the library is run by a committee. Over the years the library has been a meeting space for community groups such as the Countrywomen's Institute, the Silver Band, and the Rovers Rugby Club, a rehearsal space for the local drama club, and a venue for regular

Forty-Fives Forty-fives (also known as Auction Forty-Fives, Auction 120s, 120, and Growl) is a trick-taking card game that originated in Ireland. The game is popular in many communities throughout Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia ...

card game evenings run by the Fire Brigade. The building has been little changed since it was built, apart from losing a chimney in the

1968 Inangahua earthquake The 1968 Inangahua earthquake struck west of Murchison, New Zealand, near the small town of Inangahua Junction at 5:24 am NZDT on 24 May 1968. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.1, a local magnitude of 6.7, a surface wave magn ...

. In 2015 the library was featured in a

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

radio series on tiny libraries.

References

External links

* ''The Search for Tiny Libraries in New Zealand'' (

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

br>Documentary radio, 9 Aug 2015
{{Buller District Libraries in New Zealand Buildings and structures in the West Coast, New Zealand Buller District Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic places in the West Coast, New Zealand

See also

References

External links