The Roman philosopher Cicero famously wrote that to add a library to a house is to give that house a soul.

After years of accumulating books, articles, newspapers and other memorabilia the Kytherian Association has finally unveiled the jewel in its crown: a fine Hellenic-themed library and cultural resource centre on the first floor of New Kythera House at 24 King Street, Rockdale.

The range of subject matter covered in the library is wide, including Kythera - its history, culture & people; Greek immigration to Australia and the USA and the migrant experience; the Greek War of Independence; Byzantium and Greek Orthodoxy; archaeology and the Minoan colonisation of Kythera; Classical Greece and the history of the Parthenon; Greek folkloric costumes and dancing; Hellenic cuisine; photography; the Smyrna catastrophe and Greece during World War II; modern Greek history and much more.

The library has been named the Nicholas Anthony Aroney Library in honour of the great benefactor. His trustees, in recognising the true spirit of his generosity, have expanded the scholarly horizons of the will by generous bequests to assist with the ongoing acquisition and collating of books and other materials.

The cultural resource centre also features computers, a copier and scanner and printers to enable members to carry out research.

We hope to be able to open Kythera House on a regular basis for our members to use the facilities. A Kytherian Book Club is also being planned. More details will follow.

We are confident that we now have a rich and varied cultural resource centre that will serve as a valuable inheritance for generations to come. For our library is more than just a room full of books. It is a place where our history, our sense of being, comes to life. It is indeed a library for the soul.

Kytherian Association of Australia Library
Email: culture@kytherianassociation.com.au