Birkenhead Library and Civic Centre (204 Hinemoa Street)

When the Borough of Birkenhead was formed in 1888, it needed a place to build its council chambers. Although the Highbury area was still poorly developed, the presence of nearby churches and its location at the meeting place of the roads to Lucas Creek and Northcote made it ideal for the building. Construction was delayed due to funding until the early 1900s, when Fred Souster and F. A. Pitt were hired to design and build the structure. It opened in January 1906 on Hinemoa Street. In 1925, the chambers were remodelled and rotated to face Rawene Road and the new Birkenhead Civic Reserve. It was situated directly beside the borough’s first petrol station, Sutcliffe’s Garage and Service Station.

The need for a local library was less dire. In 1929, residents petitioned for a library but five years later, a vote was taken and the proposal was rejected. Instead, lending books were held by the Zion Hill Methodist Church on Onewa Road. On 14 November 1949, the Free Birkenhead Public Library opened in the basement of the Council Chambers with Nell Fisher appointed its first librarian. It was only in the 1960s that demand grew sufficiently for a purpose-built library

The old council building was demolished in 1967. The O’Sullivan Brothers were hired to design a contemporary structure, which was opened by Governor-General Sir Arthur Porritt on 20 April 1968. The council staff offices were initially in the basement of the new building, but they moved to a mezzanine above the library in 1974. When North Shore City amalgamated in 1989, Birkenhead council workers continued to use the building until it was demolished in May 2005. The current building opened on the same site on 13 March 2010 with the council offices no longer needed but some civic spaces still available for local purposes.

Walk straight ahead from the front of the library and enter Nell Fisher Reserve.