Excerpts from the brief
The site is located within a distinctive civic block on Argent Street bounded by Chloride, Sulphide and Blende Streets [...] Its buildings are public in nature and largely characterized by civic decorum. the old Town Hall, Courthouse, Police Station and TAFE, are all stately freestanding historic buildings.
The site extends from Argent to Blende Street between the old Town Hall and the existing Charles Rasp Memorial Library. The space between the two buildings is currently used as a carpark.
This site has housed a library for well over 125 years.
For many years the library was housed in the Town Hall which was opened by Sir Henry Parkes in August 1891. In 1911, a new section was added to the rear of the Town Hall to house the growing library and provide additional office space. excerpt from Broken Hill City Council 2017 The Town Hall was opened in 1891 and contained the Free Public Library within it. In 1973 it was proposed to completely demolish the Town Hall to make way for a modern council facility. The community successfully argued to save and restore the front 10m depth of the building, protecting the historical streetscape of Argent Street. What remains now is a well-preserved, ornate ‘thick’ façade – an historically important and architecturally delightful remnant. The Town Hall facade is a natural attractor, drawing people curious to see what might be within and behind it - a perfect fit for a Visitor Information Centre.
The existing library is a welcome place for the Aboriginal community. The new library should build on this legacy. The Wilyakali keeping place – a community managed place for the safekeeping of cultural material - is an important component of the brief.
A unique function of the Broken Hill Library is the Outback Letterbox Library service which provides free books by mail/freight to isolated people in Far Western New South Wales. It is staffed by volunteers.
