On 4 July a large bookcase was relocated to the Carmelite Library and installed in front of the stage. The timber bookcase was originally located in the library at Raheen, an Italianate mansion in Kew built in the 1870s.

Raheen was the official residence of several Archbishops of Melbourne from 1917-1981, most notably Archbishop Daniel Mannix, who was Archbishop from 1917 to 1963. Subsequent owners of Raheen, the Pratt family, donated the bookcases to the Archdiocese of Melbourne in 1986.

Prior to its relocation to the Carmelite Library, this particular bookcase had been housed at Mannix College, a residential college associated with Monash University. The foundation stone of the Carmelite Hall where the Carmelite Library is located was blessed and laid by Archbishop Daniel Mannix in 1918.

So, it is somewhat fitting that one of the bookcases from his home of 46 years is now located centre-stage within the Carmelite Library. The lockable top section of the bookcase will be used to house items from the Carmelite Library’s Rare Books collection, and items from the Folio collection will be housed on the lower section shelves.