My Account
Descendants of the library founders. Photo, Jenny Enderby.
Leigh resident Jo Evans made a convincing Charles Septimus Clarke, regarded as the library’s founder.
Library volunteer Averil Lovegrove and Clarke family descendant Val Stern at the commemorative board.
Some of Leigh’s founding families shared stories from their family histories at celebrations marking Leigh Library’s 150th anniversary on May 22.
The event drew more than 200 people with many coming from as far away as Canterbury and Wellington.
The library is understood to be the second oldest* community library in New Zealand and has been run by volunteers since it opened in 1871.
The morning’s events paid tribute to library founder Charles Septimus Clarke, who surprisingly made an appearance in person and gave a first-hand account of his life in Leigh.
Descendants Vern Smith (Clarke family), Jackie Atkins (Wyatt), Val Stern (Matheson), Julie Greenwood (Greenwood) and Ian Bradman (Witten) also spoke.
Library president Sheryl Corbett recounted the library’s beginnings and thanked the legion of volunteers who had supported the library over the decades.
Organisers were overwhelmed by the response from the large number of family descendants who attended, as well as the Leigh community.
Library secretary Wendy Brown said the occasion had also drawn praise from new residents in Leigh, who had appreciated learning something about the village’s history.
A special thanks was reserved for the Mahurangi Community Trading Post for its generous donation, which had made the celebrations possible.
The anniversary concluded with lunch at the Leigh Hall, where a local history display generated many memories for those who grew up in the area.
The library today houses around 4000 books and has 565 adult and 187 child members. The librarian is Tracey Lawton.
*The oldest is Leithfield Library in the South Island.
