Guide to the Papers of Katharine Susannah Prichard, 1851-1970

Summary

Collection number:

MS 6201

Creator:

Prichard, Katharine Susannah, 1883-1969

Extent:

3.9 metres and (24 ms boxes + 1 small phase box + 36 sound/av carriers)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Katharine Susannah Prichard, National Library of Australia, MS 6201, [series/file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers of MS 6201 are arranged in the following series: 1. Family papers and photographs, 1851-1970, including papers of Thomas Henry Prichard and Hugo Throssell and photographs of Ric Throssell. 2. Notebooks, literary fragments and jottings, 1914-ca. 1940. 3. Literary drafts of novels, ca. 1925-1950; short stories, 1903-1959; poetry, ca. 1894-1960; drama, 1909-1959; articles, lectures and broadcasts, 1908-1960; and autobiography, ca. 1962-1963. 4. Political writings and papers, 1917-1969. 5. Correspondence, 1908-1969. 6. Reviews and clippings by and about K.S. Prichard, 1908-1969. 7. Non-family photographs, ca. 1900-1960s. 8. Miscellaneous papers, 1905-1961. 9. Printed materials, 1926-1969 (24 boxes).

Biographical Note:

Katharine Susannah Prichard was born in Levuka, Fiji in 1883, the daughter of Tom Prichard, Editor of the Fiji Times. She grew up in Tasmania and then Melbourne, matriculating from South Melbourne College. After working as a governess in South Gippsland and the far west of New South Wales, she returned to Melbourne to teach. During this time she attended night lectures in English literature where she was taught by Walter Murdoch.

In 1908 she travelled to London, working as a freelance journalist for the Melbourne Herald and, on her return, worked as the social editor of the Herald's women's page. In 1912 she again left for England to pursue a career as a writer. During her four years in England she published two novels, The Pioneers (1915) and Windlestraws (1916), and met the Australian Victoria Cross winner, Captain Hugo Throssell. In 1919 she married Throssell and moved to Western Australia. By then she was a committed Communist and, in 1920, she became a founding member of the Communist Party of Australia. In 1922 she gave birth to her only son Ric Throssell. While she was on a trip to the Soviet Union in 1933 her husband committed suicide.

From the 1920s until her death in 1969 she lived at Greenmount, Western Australia, earning her living as a writer of novels, short stories and plays. Her novels include Black Opal, 1921; Working Bullocks, 1926; The Wild Oats of Han, 1928; Coonardoo, 1928; Haxby's Circus, 1929; Intimate Strangers, 1939; and the goldfields trilogy The Roaring Nineties, 1946; Golden Miles, 1948; and Winged Seeds, 1950. Prichard remained a member of the Communist Party of Australia until her death, with her political concerns being reflected in most of her published work. Her novels were published throughout the world and translated into numerous languages. In 1951 her international stature was recognised when she was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Provenance:

The bulk of this collection was sold to the National Library in 1990 by Prichard's son Ric Throssell. Although the collection did not become the property of the National Library until 1990, it has been physically stored in the Library since 1980 when it was given the accession number MS 6201. Between 1980 and 1991 the collection had an interim arrangement which was controlled by means of a despatch inventory. During this time the collection was used by some researchers who had obtained access permission from Ric Throssell.

According to Ric Throssell, his mother destroyed most of her unpublished manuscripts in addition to those letters which she regarded as purely personal. After her death Throssell, following his mother's instructions, burnt the remainder of her unpublished manuscripts and strictly personal correspondence.

Arrangement:

The collection comprises : 1) Family papers and photographs, 1851-1970, including papers of T.H. Prichard and Hugo Throssell and photographs of Ric Throssell. 2) Notebooks, literary fragments and jottings, 1914-ca. 1940. 3) Literary drafts of novels, ca. 1925-1950; short stories, 1903-1959; poetry, ca. 1894-1960; drama, 1909-1959; articles, lectures and broadcasts, 1908-1960; and autobiography, ca. 1962-1963. 4) Political writings and papers, 1917-1969. 5) Correspondence, 1908-1969. 6) Reviews and clippings by and about K.S. Prichard, 1908-1969. 7) Non-family photographs, ca. 1900-1060s. 8) Miscellaneous papers, 1905-1961. 9) Printed materials, 1926-1969.

At the same time as it purchased the Prichard collection the Library also purchased Throssell's own personal papers (MS 8071). Because Throssell had had possession of his mother's papers since her death in 1969, and had used them when writing his biography Wild weeds and wind flowers, the two sets of papers suffered a degree of intermingling and reorganisation. In sorting the two collections estrays from both collections had to be relocated into the other collection. While the original order of the Prichard collection had been greatly disturbed, where it was discernible it has been retained. The series divisions have been artificially devised by staff of the Manuscript Section.

This collection also incorporates a consignment of papers which Prichard donated to the Library in 1969. This material, which had previously been accessioned at MS 1094, consisted largely of corrected typescripts of her published works (now located in Series 3,4,6,8 and 9) and some printed material (now in Series 14). This earlier consignment has been microfilmed (Mfm G11,726-G11,730).

Container List:

Box	Files	Date Range
1	Series 1, Files 1-7 (+ Hugo Throssell's map case)	1851-1970
2	Series 1, Files 8-16	1916-1969
3	Series 2, Files 1-8	1914-c.1940
4	Series 3, Files 1-10	1925-1941
5	Series 3, Files 11-17	c.1945-48
6	Series 3, Files 18-25	c.1949-50
7	Series 4, Files 1-7	1903-?
8	Series 4, Files 8-14	1932-1959
9	Series 4, Files 15-18	1959
9	Series 5, Files 1-2	c.1890s-1950s
10	Series 6, Files 1-8	1909-1927
11	Series 6, Files 9-16	c.1931-1959
12	Series 7, Files 1-8	1908-1960
13	Series 8, Files 1-9	1962-63
14	Series 9, Files 1-7	1917-69
15	Series 9, Files 8-12	1938-68
16	Series 10, Files 1-8	1908-1967
17	Series 10, Files 9-16	1930-68
18	Series 10, Files 17-24	1948-69
19	Series 11, Files 1-7	1908-63
20	Series 11, Files 8-14	1928-68
21	Series 11, Files 15-17	1960s
21	Series 12, Files 1-4	c.1900-1960s
22	Series 13, Files 1-7	1905-1961
23	Series 14	1926-1969
24	Series 14	1926-1969

Related

Separated Material:

The Prichard consignment as valued contained over one thousand letters to Ric Throssell (1943-69). These were shifted into the Throssell Papers (MS 8071, Series 7).

The 1990 consignment of this collection also included a number of tape recordings, mostly of family communications. These have been transferred to the Library's Oral History collection.

See also MS 1147 - the Papers of Thomas Henry Prichard.

See also MS 649 for an additional draft of Working bullocks, c.1925-26.

Indexed terms

Subjects:

Literature

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for research.

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Katharine Susannah Prichard, National Library of Australia, MS 6201, [series/file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

Contact us