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Hororātā Library
Description
TitleHororātā Library
DescriptionThe Hororātā Library opened on Tuesday, 2 June 1874, constructed for a cost of 148 pounds. Upon opening, it contained 120 books with a similar number to be provided by the government at a later date.
The local correspondent for The Press advised it had "a very fair number of volumes chosen by the committee, and paid for by subscriptions obtained for that purpose. The building is remarkably neat and well finished inside. It is stained and varnished, being match lined, and the whole finish reflects great credit on Mr. Prestidge, the contractor. A meeting also took place in the schoolroom on Wednesday at 4 p.m., to endeavor to make preliminary arrangements for an entertainment to be given in the schoolroom towards increasing the funds for the purchase of extra books for the library." (The Press, Volume XXII, Issue 2755, 8 June 1874, Page 2)
According to correspondence from Mr. John Fountaine, the manager of Rakaia Terrace Station, to Sir John Hall (available at Terrace Station Archives), we know that construction started around March 1874 following approval from the provincial government the preceding August. On 27 September, Fountaine wrote to Sir John:
"We have had to raise £50 towards the Library to be in a position to claim the £100 offered by the government. I put your name down for £5 (your usual subscription to the ploughing matches) and as we have had no matches I thought you would have no objection to give it to the Library."
The library was run by a committee of local people, and books were exchanged with Glentunnel Library. On 27 July 1984, Fountaine reported to Sir John about the above successful community fundraising event for the library:
"We had our library entertainment on the 3rd July. We had a great muster, over 140, they came from all directions, a large number of strangers to me. We cleared £10.1.0. We charged 2/- for admittance. Derrett provided Tea & Coffee, cake and bread and butter at 1/- per head for those that liked to get it. We let him have the use of the library for the purpose."
Mr Pole, the Hororātā school master, became the librarian in July 1888. From the mid 1870s, the Rakaia Road Board used the library for its meetings, and it was also where local people could come and view maps and plans of changes in the district.
It was situated at the Hororātā church corner, along with the original Hororātā School. By 1909 the library was well-established, with 22 financial members: books were bought on a regular basis through fundraising efforts such as dances.
When the school burnt down in 1914, the library was moved to the Hororātā Hall site around 1915 or 1916. It operated there in its original building until 1954 when it was incorporated into extensions and renovations of the hall. The library was taken under the auspices of the Malvern County Council at the end of 1984.
Notable books in its collection included:
'Journal of Researches into Natural History and Geology of Countries Visited during the Voyage of the Beagle' by Charles Darwin (1873)
'Treaty of Waitangi or How New Zealand became a British colony' by T. Buick (1914)
'New Zealand or Ao-Tea-Roa' by James Cowan (1908)
Hororātā was then serviced by Selwyn Libraries' mobile library bus until January 2019, when a mobile van (called the Edge Connector Vehicle or ECV) was established.
Source'Malvern Libraries 1875-1986' (1986 leaflet by Mrs. J. H. Richards); Terrace Station Archives
DescriptionThe Hororātā Library opened on Tuesday, 2 June 1874, constructed for a cost of 148 pounds. Upon opening, it contained 120 books with a similar number to be provided by the government at a later date.The local correspondent for The Press advised it had "a very fair number of volumes chosen by the committee, and paid for by subscriptions obtained for that purpose. The building is remarkably neat and well finished inside. It is stained and varnished, being match lined, and the whole finish reflects great credit on Mr. Prestidge, the contractor. A meeting also took place in the schoolroom on Wednesday at 4 p.m., to endeavor to make preliminary arrangements for an entertainment to be given in the schoolroom towards increasing the funds for the purchase of extra books for the library." (The Press, Volume XXII, Issue 2755, 8 June 1874, Page 2)
According to correspondence from Mr. John Fountaine, the manager of Rakaia Terrace Station, to Sir John Hall (available at Terrace Station Archives), we know that construction started around March 1874 following approval from the provincial government the preceding August. On 27 September, Fountaine wrote to Sir John:
"We have had to raise £50 towards the Library to be in a position to claim the £100 offered by the government. I put your name down for £5 (your usual subscription to the ploughing matches) and as we have had no matches I thought you would have no objection to give it to the Library."
The library was run by a committee of local people, and books were exchanged with Glentunnel Library. On 27 July 1984, Fountaine reported to Sir John about the above successful community fundraising event for the library:
"We had our library entertainment on the 3rd July. We had a great muster, over 140, they came from all directions, a large number of strangers to me. We cleared £10.1.0. We charged 2/- for admittance. Derrett provided Tea & Coffee, cake and bread and butter at 1/- per head for those that liked to get it. We let him have the use of the library for the purpose."
Mr Pole, the Hororātā school master, became the librarian in July 1888. From the mid 1870s, the Rakaia Road Board used the library for its meetings, and it was also where local people could come and view maps and plans of changes in the district.
It was situated at the Hororātā church corner, along with the original Hororātā School. By 1909 the library was well-established, with 22 financial members: books were bought on a regular basis through fundraising efforts such as dances.
When the school burnt down in 1914, the library was moved to the Hororātā Hall site around 1915 or 1916. It operated there in its original building until 1954 when it was incorporated into extensions and renovations of the hall. The library was taken under the auspices of the Malvern County Council at the end of 1984.
Notable books in its collection included:
'Journal of Researches into Natural History and Geology of Countries Visited during the Voyage of the Beagle' by Charles Darwin (1873)
'Treaty of Waitangi or How New Zealand became a British colony' by T. Buick (1914)
'New Zealand or Ao-Tea-Roa' by James Cowan (1908)
Hororātā was then serviced by Selwyn Libraries' mobile library bus until January 2019, when a mobile van (called the Edge Connector Vehicle or ECV) was established.
Source'Malvern Libraries 1875-1986' (1986 leaflet by Mrs. J. H. Richards); Terrace Station ArchivesConnections
Attribution
Researched ByMrs. J. H. Richards, Kate FosterWritten BySarah Davy
Written BySarah DavyClick on the image to add
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Hororātā Library. Selwyn Stories, accessed 01/05/2026, https://selwynstories.selwynlibraries.co.nz/nodes/view/6109
