Library #8 | Semaphore Library
The library building with stories to tell
Semaphore Library is not only a beautiful library in an historic building, it is also perfectly located, with an ice-cream shop at the front of the building, and close to the beach.
A northwestern suburb of Adelaide, Semaphore is about 14 kilometres from the city centre. The library is one of five libraries in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield library service.
Like the story of many South Australian libraries, Semaphore Library is young and old.
On arrival at the library, Emma told me some of the building’s rich backstory and gave me a helpful brochure on the History of Semaphore Library.
Semaphore Library was established as a public library in 1978, and was previously located in the former Central Provision Stores (CPS) building at 34 Semaphore Road.
In 1994 the library moved to the Semaphore Institute building.
The Institute Building was built in 1884, and when you walk into Semaphore Library, your eye is immediately drawn to the 34ft high ceilings, and the elaborate art deco decoration around what was the stage.
Semaphore Institute operated a library in the building from 1884 up to 1975, in various parts of the building.
Over the years, the Institute Building hall was used for live theatre, concerts, a youth club with a boxing ring on the stage, and a cinema.
The building was vacant from 1985 to 1993, when it was converted from a theatre to a library, maintaining the art deco features.
Where once there was a boxing ring, the stage is now the location for the computers.
It was lovely to see a plaque on the wall in memory of Arthur Mortimer. I had recently been reading about the incredible work that Mortimer did to advocate for public libraries in the Western Suburbs of Adelaide, in A Trunk Full of Books.
In the mid-1970s, when the Institutes were being phased out, and local councils were taking on the role of setting up public libraries, there were no public libraries in the western suburbs of Adelaide, despite having a population of over 200,000 people.
Arthur Mortimer was a librarian, and a resident of the western suburbs. He set up the Concerned Residents of the West (CROW) to advocate for expanding library services across South Australia.
With some very clever stunts and constant political lobbying, CROW secured a commitment from the Dunstan Government to build libraries in the Western Suburbs, which resulted in seven public libraries being established across various councils in 1978 and 1979 in Adelaide’s western region.
I loved the Citizen Science area, which focussed on the algal bloom event that South Australia has been dealing with in 2025, and other projects for budding citizen scientists of all ages to engage with.
I also really liked the showcase book displays highlighting books under useful categories such as “If you like John le Carre, you may also like ….,” beach reads, trending and politics. It had a bookshop feel to highlight books that library users may not know about.
From Secret Ballot to Democracy Sausage. How Australia got compulsory voting is now on my reading list, and I hadn’t heard of Judith Brett’s book until I saw it on the showcase display.
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Having visited this library recently your description highlights its special characteristics. I too was in awe of the splendid Art Deco ceiling and stage decorations enveloping the friendly contemporary library shelves below.
I liked the connection to the location through views out to old Semaphore buildings from the computer mezzanine.
Thank you for drawing attention to John Mortimer and his innovative lobby group CROW, as another important catalyst figure in developing libraries for our communities.
I am currently reading "What you are looking for is in the library." So glad to see it on display there!