Robert Kay (librarian)
Robert Kay (19 June 1825 – 24 April 1904) was one of the founders of the
History
Robert Kay was born in
On 1 June 1859 he has appointed secretary to the Board of Governors of the South Australian Institute (which then consisted of (later Sir)
In 1860 the Library was housed in the Institute Buildings, North-terrace, and under Kay's direction the first of the present Library Buildings were opened in 1884. (In 1873 the foundations of the western wing of a proposed new block were laid, but there the matter ended until 1876, when fresh plans were drawn, and another set of foundations put in. Again the work went no further until 1879 when the west wing was finally commenced. The earlier work was condemned, and had to be removed before the Public Library could be started.)[2] The Museum followed in 1895, and the art collection, which was housed in the Jubilee Exhibition Building, finally had its own premises around 1900. Kay was still director when he died.
Other interests
Kay was a member of the
He was a capable musician, and until deafness set in was a violinist with the Philharmonic Society Orchestra and sang in the church choir.
Family
In 1853 he married Ann "Annie" Catcheside (1826 – 9 May 1886); they had five daughters, notable for the influential Misses Kay's School,[3] which they conducted at the family home, 10 Trinity Street, College Town c. 1888 – December 1904. A stained-glass window to her memory, depicting the Good Shepherd, was installed in the Unitarian Church, Wakefield Street. It was incorporated into the Norwood meeting-house in the early 1970s.
- Florence Kay (1854 – 19 March 1935), occasionally, as "F. Kay", credited in art examination results,[4] the only sister so mentioned. Her work was shown at School of Design exhibitions.
- Sarah Kay (1855 – 23 May 1938)
- Christina/Christine? Kay (1858 – 26 October 1942)
- Margaret Kay (1859 – December 1941)
- Mary Alice Kay (1861 – 1931)
- Margaret Overbury (sister of Mary Anstie Overbury) taught at their school for six years.
His brother William Kay J.P. (1829–1889) preceded him as a migrant to South Australia, arriving in 1850. He also briefly farmed at Woodside, perhaps together, and was a member of the same church. He was MLA for East Adelaide 1875–1878, was a founder of the Unitarian church in Adelaide, and on the boards of several prominent companies.[5]
References
- ^ "Death of Mr. R. Kay". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 25 April 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 3 May 2014 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "An Important Institution". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 4 June 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 4 May 2014 – via National Library of Australia. This reference contains interesting details of the "cultural precinct" of North Terrace and list of chairmen of the Board of Governors to 1898.
- ^ "When We Were Girls Together". The News (Adelaide). Vol. XXVI, no. 3, 926. South Australia. 20 February 1936. p. 13. Retrieved 13 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- The Chronicle (Adelaide). Vol. 47, no. 2, 412. South Australia. 12 November 1904. p. 41. Retrieved 13 March 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Death of Mr William Kay". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 28 March 1889. p. 4. Retrieved 3 May 2014 – via National Library of Australia.