COLE’S BOOK ARCADE IS NOW A MEMORY

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 12800, 22 July 1939, Page 6

COLE’S BOOK ARCADE IS NOW A MEMORY

Melbourne, July 12 A picturesque page in Melbourne's history was turned last night when the doors of Cole’s Book Arcade closed for the last time, bringing to ah end one of the most famous business-

es in Australia. Cole’s Arcade was opened on Melbourne Cup Day 5 6 years ago, and has been everything from a library and place of entertainment to a popular meeting place and social centre. Edward, William Cole, who established and fashioned It with more than a touch of genius, first opened a bookstall in the Melbourne Eastern Market about the time of Victoria’s biggest gold rush, and set out to devote his life to the dissemination of \ the printed word. j

Ten years later the Eastern Market stall was abandoned and the famous Arcade was opened in Bourke-

street, and, reflecting his philosophical nature, Cole adopted the rainbow sign which was over the entrance to the Arcade and which is still printed boldly across.the cover of the funny picture book which Cole himself compiled and of which more than 600,000 copies have been sold.

Col© accumulated more than 1,00,000 books, put in cages containing a dozen monkeys, a large aviary nd an Orchestra, and the Arcade, dth its half-mile of public walks; ecame a place of entertainment. Death of Founder Five thousand people visitejl the place daily and many of Melbourne’s older doctors and legal men learned much of what they knew during long evenings of reading and study in the Arcade. In 1918 Cole died, but the business went on, and 10 years later was moved to Swanston-street.