Albany War Memorial Library (21 Library Lane)

Albany was still a lightly populated rural area when residents began agitating for a library. On Peace Day, 19 July 1919, a resolution was passed to construct a war memorial to soldiers who fell in the Great War. Residents decided that a library would accomplish two goals and set to work. They hired Sholto Smith of Mullins & Smith as architect and he designed the stucco-and-brick, cottage-style building still standing today. The Albany War Memorial Library was opened by Governor-General Lord Jellicoe on 21 December 1922.

Inside the library, the window on the east wall commemorates the 23 local men who died in World War I, while a nearby plaque honours 7 men who died in World War II. The building remained the community’s public library until a larger facility opened in 2004. The War Memorial Library is a Category A heritage building and the entire block is protected from development. The totara tree in front was planted to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Country Women’s Institute in Albany.

Continue south along Library Lane.