Guide to the Collections of the Royal Irish Academy (as filmed by the AJCP), 1828-c.1877
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Collection context
Summary
- Collection number:
- M945 - M946
- Creator:
- Royal Irish Academy
- Extent:
- 7 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.
Cited 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:
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Papers relating to colonial administration in Western Australia 1828-49. The papers are divided into four groups:
Papers including: establishment of the Swan River colony and the affairs of the settlement to 1847; allocation of land; list of passengers on the Parmelia; reports on progress of the colony; and copies of the Western Australian Almanack 1842 and 1844.
Papers relating to Madden's term as Colonial Secretary in Western Australia 1847-49. Includes material on: administration; land prices; convicts; sheep farming; the work of the Jesuits; and documents on Madden's resignation.
Correspondence 1846-49 mainly between Madden and Rev. John Brady on: the Roman Catholic mission in Western Australia; education of Catholic children; official attitude towards the Ladies of Mercy; letters concerning land at Victoria Plains; and other church matters.
Papers relating to: Indigenous Australian affairs 1832-49 including: legal status of Indigenous Australians; flogging as a form of punishment; the work of the Wesleyan Mission; and reports by Madden on improvement of conditions and education of Indigenous Australians.
Newspaper cuttings, notes and unpublished essays written by Madden 1848-55; correspondence by Madden; literary, historical, political and travel notes, including references to Antarctic exploration.
Notes (82 p.) for the autobiography of Thomas F. Meagher, containing details of his early life and education, political beliefs, the formation of the Irish Confederation, and his arrest with O'Brien and Mitchel on a charge of sedition.
Extract of a letter from Meagher to William German 28 October 1851 about a boat built in Hobart for communication between his farm and cottage; letter from Meagher to Charles Gavan Duffy about his escape from Tasmania in 1852; note about a presentation by the people of Victoria to W.S. O'Brien 1855.
- Biographical / Historical:
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The Royal Irish Academy was founded in 1785 and granted a royal charter in the following year. Its aims were the promotion and investigation of the sciences, polite literature and antiquities and the encouragement of discussion and debate between scholars of diverse backgrounds. Its council was composed of eleven members representing the sciences and ten members representing the humanities. It was originally based in a house in Grafton Street, but in 1851 it moved to an eighteenth century house at 19 Dawson Street. In 1890 its collection of museum objects and antiquities were moved to the Dublin Science and Art Museum (now the National Museum of Ireland).
From its earliest years the library of the Academy was a major centre for research in many disciplines, especially Irish history, archaeology, language and culture, and natural history. It is famous for its collection of medieval manuscripts and in addition holds a comprehensive collection of Irish publications, several outstanding formed collections, and a wide range of journals. The Transactions of the Academy were first published in 1787, followed by its Proceedings in 1836, and it has published various journals, the Dictionary of the Irish language, and many monographs. It is also actively involved in cooperative projects, such as the Dictionary of Irish biography and Documents on Irish foreign policy.
Richard Robert Madden (1798-1886), the son of a silk manufacturer, was born in Dublin. He was educated in a private school and studied medicine at Paris, Naples and London. As a young man, he travelled widely in the Middle East and he published an account of his travels in 1829. He practised as a surgeon in London from 1828 to 1833 and then went to Jamaica as a special magistrate. In 1836 he was appointed superintendent of the liberated Africans and judge arbitrator in Cuba and published a number of works on slavery. In 1841 he was sent to West Africa to inquire into the administration of British coastal settlements and from 1843 until 1846 he was the Lisbon correspondent of the Morning Chronicle.
In 1847 Madden was appointed Colonial Secretary of Western Australia and he arrived in Perth in March 1848. The colony, which at that time had a European population of 3706, was ruled by an oligarchy, led by the military commandant and acting governor, F.C. Irwin. Madden had a strong interest in the welfare of the indigenous people and supported Bishop Brady's plans for a Catholic mission. He urged the new governor, Captain Charles Fitzgerald, to disallow Irwin's draft ordinance that authorised the summary flogging of Aboriginal labourers. He also initiated a census and the public auction of Crown lands. However, his stay in the colony was a short one. In December 1848 he learned that his son had drowned in the Shannon River and in the following month he took leave and returned to Ireland. He resigned his office in March 1850.
Madden was secretary of the Loan Fund Board at Dublin Castle from 1850 until 1880. Most of his time in his later years was spent on research on modern Irish history. He was the author of The United Irishmen, their lives and times (1842-60), The literary life and correspondence of the Countess of Blessington (1855), A history of Irish periodical literature from the end of the seventeenth to the middle of the nineteenth century (1867) and Literary remains of the United Irishmen of 1798 (1887). His memoirs were published posthumously in 1892. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy and the Society of Medical Science.
Reference: Bob Reece. The colonial career of Richard Robert Madden, Australian Journal of Irish Studies, vol. 4, 2002, pp. 18-28.
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.
Cited 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:
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Parkes PlaceCanberra ACT 2600, Australia
- Contact: