By Roselyn Fauth
The Public Library, Timaru, circa 1909, Timaru, by William Ferrier. Te Papa (O.051443)
I first read these words when I was learning about Timaru's early public library. If you look today, you can still see the words "Public Library" on the facade that is part of the Timaru District Council's building. These words belong to Andrew Carnegie, the Scottish-born steel magnate turned philanthropist, who spent much of his life giving away the fortune he had amassed in America. It would be easy to dismiss him as “just another rich man telling us what to do with money,” but the more I’ve learned about Carnegie, the more I’ve realised his words aren’t really about money at all. They’re about responsibility...
Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1835 to a family who knew hardship. His father was a weaver, his mother worked to keep the family afloat, and books were rare luxuries. When the family emigrated to America, young Andrew found himself working in a cotton factory as a bobbin boy at just thirteen. The turning point in his life came not through luck, but through the generosity of another man — Colonel James Anderson of Allegheny, who opened his private library of 400 books to local boys on Saturdays. Carnegie never forgot the impact of that gesture. He later wrote that without those books, he would never have had the education that shaped him.
It’s no wonder then, that libraries became his great gift to the world. I was astounded to learn that between 1883 and 1929, Carnegie funded over 2,500 libraries across the English-speaking world. Here in New Zealand, 25 towns and boroughs applied for grants, and seventeen Carnegie libraries were built — including in Fairlie, Temuka, and Timaru.
Timaru’s Carnegie Library opened in 1909. I absolutely love this building. Its grand, and the result of architects reinterpreting the buildings by ancient greek and romans from over 2500 years. The stone building on King George Place, near Stafford Street became a focal point for learning and civic life. Later, the Timaru District Council added their own chambers to the structure, creating a physical joining of public knowledge and public governance. It feels quite appropriate, doesn’t it? I think it is a reminder that democracy, education, and culture are inseparable.
I was interested to know what Carnegie’s vision was. What motivated him to give across the globe? He believed that a library should be free, public, and permanent. It should belong to everyone. And it should stand not just as a warehouse for books, but as a cornerstone of progress. The fact that we still use and adapt these buildings today shows how right he was. I think at the time there was a feeling that knowledge was power, and if people could be more informed, they could prevent wars and empower world peace.
I think Carnegie Wealth was more about a trust, than a prize.
Carnegie’s probably most famous essay, The Gospel of Wealth (1889), argued that the rich should see themselves as trustees of their wealth. To die with money unspent on the greater good, he declared, was a disgrace. But he also believed charity should not simply hand out alms. Instead, it should create opportunities... universities, parks, libraries, observatories, art collections. Places and institutions that lifted people up and gave them the tools to grow.
And that’s where I think we can connect his philosophy to our own local heritage. Because here in Timaru and South Canterbury, we are surrounded by examples of “wealth” turned outward to enrich others — not always in money, but in vision, effort, and imagination.
Andrew Carnegie with his wife Louise Whitfield Carnegie and their daughter Margaret Carnegie Miller in 1910. By Unknown photographer - Chicago Daily News from LOC, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31244221
Our own shared wealth
Think about the Landing Services Building at the foot of George Street. Once the lifeline of our port, where goods were hauled ashore with a surfboat service, it is now the last remaining building of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Instead of crumbling into ruin, and lost to a carpark, it has been preserved and repurposed, I think it is a monument to not only enterprise, but survival and guardianship.
Timaru Landing Services Building - Courtesy Phillip Brownie.
The Breakwater is built of immense blocks of concrete, and afford great shelter to the shipping in the Port, which in the graiun season presents a very animated appearance, lying as it does in the centre of a very large agricultureal district". Timaru Breakwater. From the album: Scenes of New Zealand, circa 1880, Timaru, by Messrs F. Bradley & Co. Te Papa (O.042435).
Or the old Customhouse is another survivor of Timaru’s bustling port era. It reminds us of the flow of trade, people, and ideas that shaped Timaru and the wider region. Both these buildings are everyday lessons in resilience, links to the past, connection, purpose and re purpose.
Customhouse, c.1902. ½-044242-F, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.
Then there’s the Aigantighe Art Gallery, once the Grant family home, gifted to the city in 1955. It became a place where the public could engage with art which as you know I am a deep advocate for.. The generosity of that gift to the public continues to ripple through generations inspiring the creators, collecting the creations and giving the community a place to engage, entertain, make sense of the world inspired by someone elses artistic lens. Just as Carnegie argued, it wasn’t about providing a handout; it was about creating opportunities for people to grow, imagine, and be inspired.
The same principle applies to the Timaru District Council building, which was joined to the original Carnegie Library. This joining of civic governance with a temple of learning is more than just a practical choice of architecture... it is purposely symbolic. It tells us that communities are strongest when knowledge, culture, and leadership are built side by side.
The Public Library, Timaru, circa 1909, Timaru, by William Ferrier. Te Papa (O.051443)
After lengthy negotiations with Carnegie by the Mayor James Craigie, a gift of £3,000 was promised. Architect Walter Panton designed the classical Corinthian order building which was opened in June 1909. The builders were Messrs Hunt and Werry, and the stonemason Samuel McBride.
It was built with a cellar; the ground floor housing the librarians’ office and public newspaper and magazine room. Upstairs had the ladies’ and children’s room and the lending and reference library. Over the main entrance is a bust of Craigie, carved by Mr Hood, (who also worked on St Mary’s Church). The library also received a donation of £2,500 from the winding up of the Timaru Mechanics’ Institute, donating their extensive library and fittings. As a condition of the Carnegie donation, the council gifted the site to the public, and was to make the library free to ratepayers. But the council then realised that since a tenant also pays rates via one’s landlord, the library should indeed be free to all residents. The main council offices were built to adjoin the library. - pressreader.com/the-timaru-herald
The Greeks adopted columns from the Egyptians, Minoans and Mycenaeans and had three distinct orders. Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Romans evolved to Tuscan, and Composite styles.
Study of Timaru's CBD facades... a legacy of built heritage. Architecture inspired by Greeks and Romans, and reinterpreted over 2500 years. - Photography Roselyn Fauth
The arts, heritage, and responsibility
I only learned recently that Carnegie also funded pipe organs for churches and public halls, because he believed music had the power to uplift entire communities. In Timaru, we can see echoes of that same belief in the investment made by local people into art, architecture, and heritage. From the stonework of our churches, to the grandeur of our civic buildings, to the spaces where music and art are shared freely, these are all legacies that enrich us.
Enrichment is not only about what others have left behind. Carnegie was clear: the responsibility to use whatever “surplus” we have — be it money, time, or talent — lies with each of us. Wealth, in his words, is not to be hoarded, nor frittered away, but to be directed toward the “general good.”
What does that mean for us today?
Reading about Carnegie makes me reframe my own questions. It’s not just “How do I want to spend my day?” but “How can I create value from my day, and what would that look like?”
For some, it might mean speaking up to protect a historic building from demolition. For others, it might mean volunteering in a gallery, a school, or a community project. It might be donating to an arts fund, or simply bringing someone along to an exhibition or concert. It might be giving time to plant trees, record oral histories, or mentor a young person.
Carnegie believed that everyone could share in this responsibility — not just the millionaires. “Those without surplus can give at least part of their time,” he wrote, “which is usually as important as funds, and often more so.”
A local legacy, a personal challenge
Standing outside the old Carnegie Library today, I think about how one boy in Scotland, who once couldn’t afford books, used his fortune to ensure that millions of other boys and girls never faced that same barrier. His wealth has long been spent, but the enrichment continues.
So maybe the question for us is this...
What will be the enrichment we leave behind? In our town, in our families, in our communities? What buildings will still stand in a hundred years because we cared? What opportunities will still exist because we gave our time, our imagination, or our voice?
Carnegie’s words still hold: “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” But richness, as I see it, is not measured in dollars. It is measured in what we pass on. Our heritage, our arts, our shared spaces — these are the wealth of Timaru. And it is up to us to use them, defend them, and add to them, so that the generations that follow can stand a little taller because of what we chose to give.
Side Quest: What I’ve Learned by Reflecting on Andrew Carnegie’s Past
The power of generosity to change a life. Carnegie never forgot the man who opened his personal library to poor boys in Allegheny. That one act of generosity set him on a path that shaped not only his own future but millions of others’. It makes me ask: what small act might I do that could ripple far beyond what I see?
Wealth isn’t only about money. Carnegie’s words — that the man who dies rich dies disgraced — weren’t just about dollars. They were about surplus. Whatever surplus I have — time, creativity, skills, even encouragement — can be invested to enrich others. That’s something every one of us can apply.
Legacy lives in places and people. A library, a gallery, a heritage building — these aren’t just bricks and mortar, they are reminders of choices made to invest in the “general good.” Looking at Timaru’s Carnegie Library, or the Aigantighe, or the Landing Services Building, I see how people’s decisions continue to enrich us decades later. It makes me conscious of what I’ll leave behind.
Responsibility is personal. Carnegie didn’t believe in leaving wealth for someone else to distribute after death. He believed in rolling up your sleeves and using what you had while you lived. That challenges me. It means asking not “what should someone do?” but “what can I do, today, with what I have?”
Enrichment reframes my days. Instead of asking, “How do I want to spend my day?” I’m learning to ask, “How can I create value with my day?” That’s a much bigger, and more inspiring, question.
Side Quest: More about the library and the history of the site
Timaru District Council Building (Former Public Library) 2 King George Place & Latter St LN:2075 C:2 1908-1911 Architect Walter Panton (Panton & Son) Builder Werry & Hunt and then B R Tooth & Son. In 1904 the borough council purchase this site from Dr Gabites for 1150 pounds.
The 1909 Oamaru stone building was funded by USA steel merchant Andrew Carnegie to establish a Public Library. In 1911 the Timaru Borough Council erected its municipal offices next door in the sameclassical style. The building was designed by architect Walter Panton. The council chambers remained as they were for 20 years before additions were carried out in 1926 by W J Harding. The 7ft Clock tower designed by Victor Panton and built by W J Harding was added ion 1934 to house the mechanism given to the city by form mayor James Craigie which was originally in the Post Office clock tower. in 1958 a brick faces showroom and second story was added, in 1862 the parapet including pediments finals were removed and the 1979 the library was converted to office by McDonald and Wilson contractors Ledy Construction.
Significant elements include bluestone foundation, rusticated Oamaru stone façade, Corinthian capitals, keystones and medallions, clock tower.
Did you know? There is a light at the top of the clock tower, this is the Lamp of Remembrance and was installed in 1946 as a memorial to the men of the city who died in two world wards. It has burned continuously ever since.
The original library with the Carnegie grant before the building had additions and modifications. Illustration by Roselyn Fauth
Picture postcard entitled "The Public Library Timaru. NZ", circa 1915. The public library on the corner of George and Latter Street possibly soon after the building was finished. The postcard is addressed, on the verso, to "Miss Kate Sherlock Russell Sqr Timaru" and has a half penny New Zealand stamp. Ferrier, William, Photographer, Timaru. South Canterbury Museum 1999/144.1
Issued by P. W. Hutton Booksellers and Stationers, Timaru. 1911 F.T. Series No. 1228
William Ferrier took this photo of the Post Office and the Public Library, Timaru. Hocken Snapshop hocken.recollect.co.nz/24086
Before the Library was built Eliot Whatley created an artwork showing the view from Lynwood House in 1874. This was the town house of George and Elizabeth Rhodes on Corner of George and Latter Streets in Timaru. George Rhodes and his brothers profited from the growth of Timaru by selling their sections of land in the town center. They also contributed to community life: St Mary's Church (Anglican) at Timaru was built between 1860 and 1861 on land given by them, and George was one of the first wardens. George was also a justice of the peace and a member of local committees and institutions. George's life was productive but brief. He died of typhoid fever at Purau on 18 June 1864 at the young age of 47. In Timaru, street names such as George Street and Elizabeth Street honor the Rhodes family still. The Levels was sold but, determined not to leave the region she had such happy memories of, Elizabeth and her five young children lived in their town home "Linwood House" which stood behind the present Council chambers. In 1867 Elizabeth married Arthur Perry, a charming young barrister from Tasmania who had commenced a law practice in Timaru. They remained at Linwood until 1873 when they purchased Beverley from Henry Le Cren. A large house on 8 hectares of land at the junction of Wai-iti Rd and the Great North Road, now Highway 1. It was to become a garden of note in the district.
Dr Edward Butler (1834-1870) also lived at Lynwood House. He is mentioned in a Strathallan diary as having lived in a one roomed house. His dispensary burnt down in the 1868 fire. He is burred at Timaru cemetery with his son beside him who was born 1864 but only lived 3 months.
Timaru Herald - 7 October 1899 Latter Street presents several sorts of busy-ness just now. The Corporation men are cutting down the hip of the street itself. Mr Broadhead is building a good sized cottage on the former site of the Linwood stable yard, just at the rear of the Trinity Church; and Mr Pringle is pulling down the old Linwood house; one of the earliest of pretentious wooden houses in Timaru.
In front of the South Canterbury Museum and Perth Street, diagonally across from the Timaru Council Buildings, is the beautiful Kate Sheppard Memorial Garden. There is also a lovely camelia name for her in the garden. This was gifted to the city by the citizens of Timaru to celebrate the centennial of Women's Suffrage and there is a remarkable story of why and how Kate Sheppard achieve her goal of getting NZ women the vote. The gardeb was officially opened by Dame Miriam Dell on July 3rd 1993. The plantings follow a purple and white theme - the official suffrage colour. Some fine trees are significant such as the beautiful copper beach. - pressreader.com/the-timaru-herald
South Canterbury celebrated 125 years of Women's Suffrage in 2018. The South Canterbury Museum also performed a re-enactment and, as part of a NCWSC and Zonta-led ceremony, showed and spoke about their suffrage display. The ceremony also involved the planting of the Kate Sheppard camellia at the Kate Sheppard Memorial Garden in Timaru, which, like the Knottingley Park's suffrage garden, was created for the 100th anniversary. The Timaru District Library also had a display on the history of Women's Suffrage. stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/south-canterbury-celebrates-125-years-of-womens-suffrage
Suffragist Movement in New Zealand
- Married women didn’t have control over property that they had brought to their marriage.
- Had to prove aggravated adultery if they wanted a divorce – husbands only had to prove adultery.
- 1875 – Women ratepayers were able to vote in local body elections.
- 1877 – Women were able to stand for school committees and take part in the election of these committees.
- 1869 – Women in Wyoming give franchise.
Can you find a stone face?
Over the main entrance is a bust of Mayor James Craigie (1851-1935), carved by Mr Hood, who also carved most of the stonework on St. Mary’s Church.
He arrived in New Zealand from Scotland bin 1867 and began business as a painter and decorator in Timaru in 1873.
He was chairman Timaru Harbour Board 1906-10, Mayor Timaru Borough 1902-13 and Member of Parliament 1908-22. Cragie gave many gifts, Statue of Burns (Botanic Gardens) Oak Trees Craigie Avenue, Chimes for Town Clock 1913 (hung in Chief Post Office until 1933 then transferred to Municipal Buildings) and to the South Canterbury Art Society to lay the foundation of the public collection for the future art gallery the Aigantighe. James Craigie was the Mayor for ten years, and President of SCAS. He gifted 5 artworks, Charles Goldie Memories, The Last of Her Tribe 1913. William Greene Scene in Surrey 1909. Thomas Kennington The Mother 1895. John Perrett Mount Cook from Lake Pukaki 1896. John Perrett Mt Cook from Lake Pukaki c.1896. See a copy of the South Canterbury Arts Society 6th Exhibition 1913 here: christchurchartgallery.org.nz/1913-SCAS
Andrew Carnegie was a man of contradictions. A 19th Century self made man, and described as the wealthiest man in the world (worth $557 billion NZD in to-days terms), he increased the working hours and decreased the wages of his workers so that he could give bigger philanthropic donations worldwide to his two projects, public libraries, and pipe organs inside churches. Timaru benefited with a donation for each project.
After a year of negotiations with Carnegie by the Mayor James Craigie, a gift of £3,000 was promised. The library also benefited from a donation of £2,500 from the winding up of the Timaru Mechanics’ Institute, who also donated their extensive library and fittings to stock the library. As a condition of the Carnegie gift, the Council gifted the site to the public, and were to make the library free to all ratepayers. The Council considered that as a renter also paid rates by default, the library would be free to all residents within the boundary.
https://www.carnegie.org/publications/the-gospel-of-wealth/?