FROM the bustling crowds at Sydney’s Circular Quay, the F8 ferry pulls away. Ten minutes later, the noise fades. The boat glides into Thames Street Wharf in the suburb of Balmain, quiet, unhurried, tucked away from the city’s rush.
Passengers step off. A few look at their phones. Some gaze out at the water. But there are always those who pause, bending down to browse the bookshelves inside the ferry shelter. Some take a book, or leave one behind.
There’s no check-out, no obligation to return a book, not even a lock or a door — just an unspoken understanding: take one if you like, leave one if you can.
This is the Thames Street Library, a tiny street library hidden inside a red wooden ferry shelter, with blue water stretching out behind it. Running entirely on trust, it has become a beloved landmark in this part of Sydney.
Its founder and sole librarian is Imma Thiel, 88, a retired English teacher who lives nearby. A lifelong reader, she had too many books which were taking over her home. So about seven years ago, she had an idea: people were always passing through the wharf; why not put the books there?
Thiel painted a small bookshelf red, filled it with books, and left it inside the ferry shelter. The next day, a pile of books appeared next to it. So she painted another shelf red. Soon, that one was full too.
“No, I haven’t got any more shelves,” she remembered thinking. — Xinhua
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