This week, with his online friends going back to school, Roy thought it would be a perfect time to take them to a place which they might be able to visit in the course of the school year. He thought a library would be a perfect place to visit because it is the sort of place people might need to go for school work. Many libraries have fascinating secrets, from statues and works of art, to secret nooks and crannies and Roy loves them all. This week he thought he would show you the secrets of Gordon Library - a secret garden and a tiny museum!
If you would like to visit Gordon Library, it is located at 799 Pacific Highway, Gordon. As well as having plenty of books to look at and people to help with school work and research, the beautiful old building next door to the library itself (which is the old Gordon Primary School) has meeting rooms, a tiny little museum and a beautiful secret garden. The museum is open when the Historical Society rooms are open. At the moment, you can visit between 10am and 2pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (other than the first Saturday of the month). Roy thinks you can visit the secret garden whenever the library is open.
The museum at Gordon Library is located in an old school building, part of what was once Gordon Primary School. The school opened in 1871 and operated as a school for over 100 years, only closing in 1989. There are displays in the corridors of the old school which show some of the history of the area and of the school. The museum itself occupies only one, small room, the room which once belonged to the Headmaster. This is part of the reason why the museum is called 'The Headmasters Office'. The museum has old school photographs, school equipment, toys and memorabilia relating to school life and is a really interesting place for children, showing them just how different school life is today compared to times gone by.
Just behind the museum, in the outside courtyard area, you will find the Secret Garden. The garden is only a small grassy area, but is a magical place for children. There is a wonderful seat curving around one of the corners of the garden, with mosaic figures from folklore, nursery rhymes and fairytales. A cast metal panel, depicting fairies and pixies, takes pride of place in the centre of the seat. The seat mosaic was created by the artist Suzanne Holman and is a beautiful place for children to sit and read while the metal panel was created by her father, Hal Holman. A baby giraffe, also by Hal Holman is also on display in the secret garden.
