Courtesey of Northern Territory
Carl E. Schultz Collection Image No: PH0315/0066
Borroloola is a small and very isolated town 954km south-east of Darwin and 380km east of the Stuart Highway. It is home to one of those great Australian legends that no-one can really get to the bottom of. It is said that back in the 1890s Cornelius Power decided to establish a town library and was given a small amount of money to do so. Power was the officer in charge of the local police station and once awarded the money he set out to achieve his aim by ordering some books from London’s Mudie’s Select Library. That much we do know.
No-one is quite sure what happened between this time and the 1920s but by this time the library seems to have been really flourishing with around 3,000 books available. So how did this happen? Some believe a special grant of books had come from the Victorian and later first Australian Governor General Lord Hopetoun. Others say that a successful request was met by Carnegie Trust of the USA which saw the collection substantially grow. There is no doubt a few other ideas out there as well.
The Court House was Borroloola’s original home to the library and when this was knocked down the collection was shifted across to the local jail. Of course this lead to many jokes about Borroloola’s criminals being the best read in Australia. These boasts were later somewhat supported when former inmate and cattle duffer Bill Harney went on to author a few books of his own. His newfound success didn’t stop there though; he went on to be appointed Uluru’s official curator in 1958.
Following WWII the books were moved to Darwin and kept in a shed behind the Northern Territory Administration Buildings. They weren’t well looked after there with most ruined by insects and the hot and humid tropical climate. Any books worth salvaging were no doubt taken into private collections.
Ref: Elder, B. (2005), The A-Z of Australian Facts, Myths & Legends , New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. p39.
The Fossicker 
about 55 years ago Stan Johnson who had worked in NW Qld for decades told me that the Borroloola Library was provided by the American Carnegie who it was said used the method of a random pin on a world map as to where he would provide a library
Not sure if that is truth or legend but considering the location perhaps it’s possible! Thanks Peter.