Designed by early Canterbury architect, Samuel Charles Farr, the Coronation Library, a small timber building at 103 Rue Jolie in Akaroa, has had an exceptionally long period serving as the town’s public library, since it was built in 1875 through until 1989, and it continues to operate as a public facility. The building has architectural, aesthetic, historical, social and cultural significance.

The Akaroa Literary Institute was founded in 1861, initially occupying a space in the Akaroa Land Office but after a decade it had outgrown the premises. In 1873 Daniel Watkins, Akaroa’s first doctor and pharmacist, donated the site at 103 Rue Jolie, for a purpose-built public library. Such institutions were considered important for cultural growth, reflecting social philosophies of harmony and self-improvement.The building was designed free of charge by architect, Samuel Farr, and, with financial assistance from the provincial government, it was opened in 1875. When first built, it was a typical colonial public building: a fairly simple weatherboard box with an Italianate façade.

The Coronation Library is a single storeyed weatherboard building set back slightly from its Rue Jolie frontage amongst trees and lawn on a small suburban-sized section. It has a T-shaped plan and its exterior incorporates a number of Arts and Crafts style elements, including Marseille tiles, casement windows with shingled hoods and cusped brackets. Beyond the room into which the front door enters is a spacious reading room, around nine metres long, with original match lining and book shelves.

A series of floods in the early 1900s caused significant damage to the library. The building was repaired and remodelled in 1911-12, with assistance from a grant scheme initiated to commemorate the coronation of King George V in 1911. Many libraries across New Zealand were developed or redeveloped under this scheme, and it was at this time that the newly re-named Coronation Library at Akaroa was handed over to the Akaroa Borough Council. The 1911-12 renovations stripped the exterior of much of its classical decorative elements and it was given a fashionable Arts and Crafts make-over, including a tiled roof as an improvement on the old shingles, leadlight and hooded windows and electric lighting. The building operated as the town’s main library until 1989, when a new library opened at Akaroa Area School. A local trust continues to care for the Coronation Library building and maintains a reference library of New Zealand material.