[ vii ] 



complete it, will enable your Excellency to judge of the design preferred by 

 the Trustees ; their desire was to secure for the Public a building combining 

 internal convenience with external propriety of style, which would admit of 

 extension without violating the proportion of that part of the structure, the 

 erection of which was at the time contemplated, and of a class in accordance 

 with the improved taste and prospects of the country. 



It is due to the other competitors to remark, that several of the plans, 

 in particular that of Mr. Burgoyne, to whom the second prize was awarded, 

 were deserving of honorable mention. 



The more pressing exigencies of the public service, and large demands 

 upon the revenue, interrupted for some months the further proceedings of the 

 Trustees ; and it was not until the 3rd July, 1854, that the chief Foundation 

 Stone was laid by His Excellency Sir Charles Hotham, a day deservedly 

 memorable as that upon which was also laid the chief Foundation Stone of a 

 kindred institution the Melbourne University. 



The portion of the building to be now opened consists of the centre, a 

 square of 50 feet by 52 feet in height, forming an entrance hall, well adapted 

 for a museum, or for the reception of statuary or works of art ; and a chamber 

 above lighted by windows and a dome, the dimensions of which are 50 feet 

 by 50 feet, with a height of 32 feet. The extent of bookcases at present 

 finished will receive about 8,000 volumes ; the space will admit of shelving for 

 several thousands more. 



The outlay, including the fittings, furniture, and other incidental expenses, 

 has been 16,000. 



By the immediate intended enlargement, Two Wings will supply accom- 

 modation for the Librarian, and additional room for objects of Natural History, 

 and a complete collection of Geological Specimens, also a Reading-room, which, 

 with that already built, will be about 150 feet in length ; and a staircase and 

 portico, the absence of which deprives the building of its most striking archi- 

 tectural features. As two side walls and a back wall are already erected, the 

 whole may be finished for as has been estimated about 13,000, a sum which, 

 when placed at their disposal, the Trustees will be delighted to expend with 

 the strictest regard to economy. 



As soon as circumstances permitted, the Trustees forwarded to England 

 2,500 for the purchase of books ; and being anxious to consult the wishes of 

 those who would become the readers, requested the Public, by a series of 

 advertisements inserted in the newspapers for some months, to favour the 

 Trustees with catalogues and lists of such works as might be required. They 

 also wrote to several gentlemen members of this community, then in Europe 

 with the hope of enlisting their co-operation in London and elsewhere in the 

 selection of the books ordered, and in obtaining by gift or purchase from the 

 British Museum, the Libraries of the Universities or Colleges, or from other 

 public or private Societies, copies of any works of value. 



