The West End School of Arts opened in January 1889 and featured a reading room stocked with a decent selection of books, and a community hall. While most libraries of the time charged a substantial entry fee that poorer people could not afford, the School of Arts functioned in part as a public library that was accessible to the less well-off. The School of Arts faced financial difficulties by 1893 and the South Brisbane City Council took over the running of the library. It served this function until the construction of the adjacent West End Library in 1928. The hall was also used for a wide variety of purposes, including meetings of local and community organisations, weddings, parties, music lessons, and a kindergarten. Unfortunately, the building was burned down by arsonists in 1968.

Geographic Description 1: Inside The Green Belt

Geographic Description 2: Brisbane River

Geographic Description 3: Flood Plains; Hills (Hill End); Ridgeline (Short; leading into Highgate Hill)

Citations

Further research is underway.

Image Citations

West End Library. Archive: Brisbane City Council. [https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/things-to-see-and-do/council-venues-and-precincts/libraries/library-locations/west-end-library]