169 years ago, on 11 February 1856, our Library first opened our doors to the public. It had been long in the planning. The colonial government had allocated £10,000 for the building and £3,000 for the purchase of books and the expenses of management in January 1853 and the foundation stone for the Library and the University of Melbourne were each laid on 3 July 1854.

At left, Melbourne Public Library as it looked in 1856 (edited from 1859 photo); H3952
At right University of Melbourne, 1858; H896

Both institutions presented a remarkable vision for early colonial Melbourne. The primary driver for both was Redmond Barry, who was chancellor of the University and President of the Library trustees from their inception to his death.

While the Library sought inspiration from the great libraries of Europe, it was also unique amongst them. Not for our Library a hallowed hall of privilege for academics, this “voluntary university” and “great emporium of learning” was for everyone. ¹

Access was to be as simple as possible and readership available to anyone aged over 14 years old and with clean hands. ².

At left – Sir Redmond Barry, ca 1863; H90.90/80
At right – First Reading Room, Public Library, Melbourne, 1862; IMP30/08/62/8

Redmond Barry outlined the distinguishing features of the Library. Noting that the establishment of the Institution “was an experiment…the Trustees resolved to adopt rules which would impart its benefits to the largest number of persons.”

All needless and arbitrary restrictions on free access to the building and the books, and the combination of minute checks, which in other libraries only operate as vexatious obstructions to the student without ensuring corresponding advantages or the expected security, were therefore removed. Admission was granted to all classes of residents and strangers alike, without the necessity for any letter of introduction or authorisation.

Visitors were “at liberty to take from the shelves any volume” and to study with as much ease as one would in a “private chamber”.³

While for the first few months the Library was only open during daylight, once the gas lighting was turned on in May 1856 the hours were extended until 9:00pm, six days a week. It was hoped these hours would include Sunday, but this remained a vexed issue in Victoria. The Library only commenced permanent Sunday opening in 1972.⁴

The Library has always been a research collection, available within the Library building, but in 1859 the trustees established a duplicate collection for distribution to such lending libraries as existed.  This Travelling Library was a very innovative scheme when it commenced in 1860 and it was a service that ran for over 100 years. ⁵

The Public Library, Melbourne, 1858?; H3949 ⁶

Redmond Barry contributed so much to Melbourne’s early colonial development ⁷. The primary figure in the establishment of the Library, Melbourne University and the National Gallery of Victoria, he was also actively involved with the Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Society, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Society, the Royal Society of Victoria and even the Horticultural Society.

At left – Sir Redmond Barry’s residence off Bourke Street, 1915, H294. Painting by John Mather⁸ At right – Statue of Sir Redmond Barry, 1887; H39357/111. Photo by Charles Rudd [by James Gilbert, completed by Percival Ball]

In the 1840s, Redmond Barry acted tirelessly and freely to protect indigenous Australians faced with colonial law⁹. Even before the Library opened he made his own library available to anyone who wandered into the kitchen of his cottage¹⁰. He enjoyed his position in high society but didn’t seek personal wealth and certainly worked with great zeal and energy in developing the community.

At left –Queen’s Hall Reading Room, Melbourne Public Library, 1859; H3679. At right – National Picture Gallery at the Public Library Melbourne, 1865; IAN25/01/65/8 (Newly opened North wing of Queen’s Hall)

Unfortunately Redmond Barry’s achievements tend to be overshadowed by his role presiding over the trial of Ned Kelly for the murder of police at Stringybark Creek. It is worth noting that a jury found Ned guilty and the death penalty remained on the statutes for capital crime until 1975¹¹.

Redmond Barry was a stern judge when crime was a major concern for colonial authorities. He was particularly severe when Ned Kelly’s mother came to trial for an alleged assault on Constable Fitzpatrick. It does seem though that the good he did (which was considerable) has been interred with his bones¹².

In 2003 the Library opened the Redmond Barry Reading Room. This was formerly the Museum’s McCoy Hall and it is now the Library’s major research room. Here too the charismatic shadow of Ned Kelly looms large across Redmond Barry’s legacy with Ned’s armour now on permanent exhibition in Redmond Barry’s Reading Room.

Many have contributed to Victoria’s cultural and educational legacy, but few, if any, deserve as much credit as Redmond Barry, and his contribution is worth celebrating on our Library’s 169th birthday.

At left – Display of animals in McCoy Hall, National Museum, Melbourne, ca 1910; H12936. At right – McCoy Hall was redeveloped as the Redmond Barry Reading Room opening in 2003. Ned Kelly armour display at far end. Use slider for full view.

Further Reading

Fricke, G L (2007) Ned’s nemesis : Ned Kelly & Redmond Barry in a clash of cultures, Arcadia, North Melbourne.

Galbally A (1995) Redmond Barry : an Anglo-Irish Australian, MUP, Carlton.

Redmond Barry Number La Trobe Journal No. 73, August 2004 [All the articles in this issue are concerned with Redmond Barry and the early days of the Library]

State Library Victoria – history [State Library Research Guide – online]

References

1. Barry, R (1877) Two papers read by Sir Redmond Barry, at the Conference of Librarians, held at The London Institution, October, 1877, G Norman and Son Printers, London, p 13
2. Clean hands were very important as all items were available to anyone who entered the Library and mid- 19^th century Melbourne, unsewered, grimy and smoke filled, was generally a dusty, dirty place
3. Public Library : report of Trustees accompanying estimates for the service of the year 1859 Parliamentary paper no. 22. Parliament of Victoria.
4. See our blog The Sunday Question
5. See our blog From the Travelling Library to the Internet: a Library beyond the building
6. The lithograph shows Joseph Reed’s design for the whole facade with the two corner pavilions. The central part of the Library behind the portico was the extent of the Library in 1856. The South wing (at right) was completed in 1859 and the North wing (at left) in 1864. The building at far south (right) (now the Wheeler Centre) was completed in 1886 (the protruding area in 1889). The building at far right (now the Tulk Building) was built as a single story in 1866 with the final three floors not added until 1961. The statuary above the entrance and the fountains were never added.
7. See Ryan P ‘Barry, Sir Redmond‘, Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) website, ANU, accessed online 21 January 2025. See also Galbally A (1995) Redmond Barry : an Anglo-Irish Australian, MUP, Carlton.
8. The house was often referred to as Melbourne’s first public Library as the door was left open for anyone to enter and borrow any of Barry’s books. He later moved to a larger residence in Carlton. See ADB entry above
9. See Galbally, pp 54-55
10. See ADB entry above
11. The trial was heavily reported in newspapers of the time. See also Fricke G L (2007) Ned’s nemesis : Ned Kelly & Redmond Barry in a clash of cultures, Arcadia, North Melbourne, Vic for a detailed analysis of the trial
12. Jones I (2010) Ned Kelly : A short life, Hachette, Sydney. See chapters 7 & 8. For a report from the time see The Greta shooting case, Ovens and Murray Advertiser, 10 October 1878, p 4.