Upper Riccarton War Memorial Library
The Upper Riccarton War Memorial Library was built in 1919 to commemorate local residents who served in the First World War.
In 1898, Charles Bowen gifted land on Hansons Road in Upper Riccarton to the Crown, who in turn reserved the land for a public library. In that same year, the land was vested in trust to the Riccarton Public Library. However, by 1918, the library building had fallen into disuse. Since the library committee had not been formally dissolved, the management of the property still lay with the trustees, despite there being uncertainty as to who the remaining trustees were.
On 6 March 1918, a meeting was held in the Upper Riccarton Oddfellows’ Hall to revive interest in the library. Since the site was considered unsuitable, the MP for Riccarton, George Witty, proposed that the site be sold and that a new location on Riccarton Road be purchased. It was decided that a meeting should be held, attended by members of the original committee to officially dissolve the committee. This was followed by another meeting on 21 March where the former committee members formally resigned, and a new committee was established.
At a meeting held by members of the Riccarton Library on 7 June 1918, a letter by John Edward Hanson was read whereby he offered to exchange a section of land on Riccarton Road for the land where the library currently stood. By July 1918, the Minister of Lands had granted permission to the Upper Riccarton Library Committee to exchange the site of the original library on Hansons Road for a new one on the main road. In that same month a working bee cleared the site where the new building was to be erected.
At a residents’ meeting held on 9 October 1918, it was decided to sell the old building and establish a committee to oversee the collection of funds to erect a new library in honour of soldiers form the district. On 14 October 1918, a deputation of the Upper Riccarton Library Committee met with the Waimairi County Council. George Witty asked the council to help the committee to build a new library as a memorial for the local soldiers fighting in the war. Councillor Cross moved that £100 be contributed. On 19 October 1918, tenders were advertised to remove the original building from the Hansons Road site.
On 25 January 1919, a meeting was held in the Oddfellows’ Hall where the plans submitted by the architect, Roy Lovell Smith, were displayed. The decision was made to advertise for tenders and to appoint four of the attendees to the building committee.
The foundation stone was laid on 15 March 1919 by Lady Georgina Elizabeth Bowen who was a long term resident of Riccarton. She had noticed that the original library, which stood on land donated by her husband, Sir Charles Bowen, was in poor condition. Previously she had been told that young people in Riccarton did not want to read but instead preferred to go into the city for their amusement. Lady Bowen felt that the war, with all its international locations, had changed that attitude with youth were now wanting to learn about the outside world.
At the ceremony, George Witty, the MP for the district, stated that he hoped that children would be encouraged to acquire knowledge and that people should not live for themselves but for the community. Henry Thacker, the MP for Christchurch East, hoped that the library building would be expanded upon to include a technical section, a social room, and tepid baths.
By May, the brick and stone work of the building had been completed by the builders, Cotton and Firth.
The opening of the library took place on 22 November 1919. Inside was a roll of honour board with the names of 172 soldiers who had served in the First World War which was unveiled by Mrs Teschemaker. It was one of the first memorials to those who had served in the war. 200 books were donated to the library from the estate of Bessie P. Grigor. The books originally belonged to her brother, R. Pollock, who had left them to her in his will before being killed in the war.
By 1943 the name Upper Riccarton War Memorial Library had been adopted.
In June 1947, a meeting was held to establish a committee to fundraise for a memorial for those who served in the Second World War. A memorial plaque of white marble, in honour of those who had served from Upper Riccarton and Sockburn, was installed and unveiled on 1 May 1949.
In May 1949, Plunket began to operate from rooms at the library. In 1963, the Riccarton branch of the Plunket Society relocated to new rooms which had been built behind the library.
On 10 October 1951, the land was vested in the Waimairi County Council. A memorial wing extension was completed by June 1954. In September 1960, the county engineer advertised tenders for the construction of further additions made from concrete and concrete block.
The library was operated by a trust until the building was closed in 2017.
The following are listed on the memorial to those who served in the First World War:
Maxwell Stewart Bain; Ian Campbell; George Chaney; Albert Henry Clarke; William Francis Clarkson; Charles Edward Coffey; Robert Albert Crawford; Leslie Percival Davison; Leonard Reginald DeRungs; Patrick Devine; William Arthur Fairburn; Edward John Perkins Frew; Charles Thomas Gaskill; William Thomas Gaskill; William Thomas Gawler; George Hamilton Gillanders; Lawrence Clyde Goodwin; Owen Leonard Haase; James Michael Hagerty; Edward Hanson; Charles Francis Horwell; John Stuart (Stewart) Jarman; Henry (Harry) Allan (Allen) Wilson Lake; George Macann; Robert MacGregor Mackintosh; D McKay; Henry Gill McKenzie; Samuel McQuigan; Claude Findley Manson; Henry Ernest Manson; Thomas Coster Newnham; George Albert Pine; Charles Herbert Raxworthy; John Robert Raxworthy; Thomas Arthur Raxworthy; F S Smith; Albert Stemmer; Samuel Hayden Townsend; Henry Walter Vicary.
References
Riccarton Whispers, Star, Issue 12375, 20 July 1918, p.7.
Riccarton Whispers, Star, Issue 12381, 27 July 1918, p.7.
Tenders, Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17925, 19 October 1918, p.13.
Riccarton Whispers, Star, Issue 12502, 14 December 1918, p.12.
Riccarton Library, Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 18049, 17 March 1919, p.9.
Pro Patria, Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 18261, 24 November 1919, p.6.
Riccarton Whispers, Star, Issue 12543, 1 February 1919, p.12.