The Kent Road Street Library was gifted by four daughters to their parents for Christmas 2021 – their mother Maree, a retired school librarian and their father Neil, an avid reader who devours books at warp speed.
Little did they know at the time, a few weeks later Maree would be diagnosed with cancer and be facing surgery and months of chemotherapy.
Establishment of the Kent Road Street Library was put on hold until June 2022. It is painted in bright colours and adorned with rainbow matchsticks and fun stickers from one of the couple’s granddaughters. Colourful bricks have since been added as a pathway to the library.
Neil enjoys curating a selection of books to make sure it is always full and seeing what the locals donate in turn. They even have an official stamp for each book so that wherever it ends up, the reader knows it was once part of the Kent Road Street Library.
About a year later, Neil – who also has a very impressive veggie garden – added the “Veggies on Kent” community pantry next to the street library, to share the surplus of produce he grows and enable others to share and benefit from community generosity, especially during difficult financial times.
The couple are proud of their street library, which is well-known and well-frequented in their small country town. They look forward to maintaining it for many years to come.
