Ipswich School of Arts Library, Soldiers' Memorial Hall, Nicholas Street (1921-1947)

When the Soldiers' Memorial Hall opened on 26th November 1921, the School of Arts Library relocated to the top floor.

The Soldiers' Memorial Hall was first suggested in 1918, by the newly formed Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia (now the Returned Services League).  Following the signing of the Armistice, Council arranged, with the State Government, for land, located in the former Pump Yard and City Gardens, to be set aside for the Memorial Hall.

In desperate need for a larger Town Hall, Council had initially suggested that the two projects be combined.  This proposal was rejected; however, a comprise was met with the School of Arts Library being relocated to the top floor, enabling Council expansion into the rooms previously occupied by the Library for the previous seven decades.

Returned service men were automatically given membership to the Library, which was still operating under a subscription model.  

When the Library relocated, the committee consisted of Ald. Oliver Perry (president), Mayor A.T. Stephenson, Alds. G. Wilkinson, F. Barker, Messrs. G. Wilkinson and George Brockwell Gill, and librarian Mrs. N. Brown.  

For years, the inadequacies of the space were noted on, in letters to the editor of the Queensland Times and at Committee meetings.  Despite the room being "a good room", one letter writer commented that there would be little chance of reviving interest and keeping the School of Arts functioning when it is placed in a room:

at the top of about fifty steps and away from the centre of the city, with no inscription or sign to mark its locality.  Neither elderly nor young people like to toil up these steps on a hot day.  (H. Greaves, 24 October 1940)

The committee also acknowledged the limitations of the space, citing it as the "chief cause of stagnation", with little progress to be made under the present conditions (School of Arts, Queensland Times, Tuesday 23 April 1940, p.4)

The Ipswich School of Arts Library relocated to the old Bank of Australasia building, on the corner of Nicholas and Brisbane Streets (next to the Old Town Hall, current Ipswich Art Gallery), reopening on 25th June 1947.