Guide to the Autobiography of James Francis Plunkett (as filmed by the AJCP), 1874-1926

 

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Collection context

Summary

Collection number:
M2503
Creator:
Plunkett, James Francis
Extent:
6 items
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:
Account of his early life and education, his journey to Australia, life on the Victorian goldfields and his later life in New Zealand.
Biographical / Historical:

James Francis Plunkett (1831-1917), who was born in Southampton, was the son of Charles Plunkett, who originally came from Waterford, Ireland. Charles Plunkett died in 1838 and James was sent to Sedgley Park School, a Catholic school at Wolverhampton. In 1846 he entered St Mary's College, Oscott, which trained priests for the Diocese of Birmingham. After leaving the college, he was a bookkeeper and clerk in London and in 1851 he returned to Sedgley Park as a teacher. In the following year he was briefly a postulant at St Mary's College, Rugby.In October 1852 Plunkett joined his mother, stepfather and brother and sailed from England on the ship British Isles. They arrived in Melbourne in February 1853 and after a brief stay travelled to the gold diggings at Bendigo. He returned to Melbourne in 1854 and worked on a short-lived newspaper, The Arm Chair. He married in 1864 and in the same year he opened a Catholic school for boys at Elsternwick which he called 'Oscott'. It closed in about 1868, possibly due to competition from the newly-arrived Christian Brothers.In 1871 Plunkett and his family moved to New Zealand where he opened another Catholic school in Auckland. After a few years he abandoned the school and from them on worked as a newspaper reporter and editor. He had a long association with the New Zealand Herald (Auckland) and also worked for the Kumara Times, The Star (Christchurch) and The Press (Christchurch). He retired in 1912.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:
Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.
Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: