Objects of Substance – Historic Library Furniture

In front of the maple bookcase, left to right: Natalie Wu (8B); Allegra Fotheringham (8G); Chloe Liu (8E)

It was originally thought the maple bookcase was the one referred to in the 1933 School Magazine— "a fine bookcase was bequeathed to Girls Grammar in 1933 by Lieutenant Colonel Plant in memory of his daughter, Mrs Fin(d)lay. It was first housed in the ‘Main Hall’ of the Main Building and contained some ofthe Colonel’s own collection, as well as the library collection which had been rapidly expanding following Sophia Beanland’s bequest of £500 in 1925’ (Brisbane Girls Grammar School, 1933). However, more research is necessary to confirm which bookcase was bequeathed by Lieutenant Colonel Plant. When that 1958 building was demolished to make way for a much larger library in 1975, the maple bookcase was not included in the furniture of the more modern library. It seems to have been put in storage and fell into disrepair. However, in the 1980s, two young resource teachers, Mrs Kristine Cooke (Harvey, 1967) and Ms Anne Farley, noticed the bookcase being loaded onto a truck outside the Western Wing.