Guide to the Papers of W. Farmer Whyte, 1766-1959

 

Collection context

Summary

Collection number:
MS 563
Creator:
W. Farmer Whyte and Whyte, Farmer, Mrs
Extent:
(1 archives box + 1 packet + 3 ms boxes + 1 large folio box + 1 item in drawer)
Language:
English and English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of W. Farmer Whyte, National Library of Australia [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

the original MS 563 consignment comprises correspondence, legal documents, newspaper clippings, articles, photographs, a cheque and reference material relating to a range of notable people, as well as printed Australiana and other published matter.Manuscript letters to Farmer Whyte in the consignment were written by James Bryce, Ethel Curlewis, L.H. Allen, Victor Daley, Norman Lindsay and Jim Taylor. The legal documents, many from Brisbane dated 1857-1874, together with accounts and land sales papers, includes the 1835 conditional pardon for William Clarke bearing the seal of George III. There is material describing Charles Dicken's links with Australia including a letter written by James B. Rudd and a memo by T.H. Williams that refers to an article by Farmer Whyte on Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens. Material relating to World War I and war memorials includes an unsigned typescript letter from Berlin, 1914, describing the environment as the war broke out. There is also a Craftsmen's keepsake on Sir Henry Parkes for 1935-1936.Published matter includes copies of two journals: Old times, vol. 1, no. 2, issued in Sydney in May 1903, and The Harefield Park boomerang, no. 6, March 16, 1917, and newspaper cuttings. Also, nineteenth century issues of The Sydney herald, 23 January 1837, Sydney morning herald, 4 July 1846, and The Empire, 29 July 1853 and 4 May 1857.The non-Australian documents in this consignment include manuscript letters of Lord Birdwood, John Walker to Reginald F.D. Palgrave, T.B. Lord Macaulay, Sir Walter Scott, Thomas Carlyle to J. Kaines, Sir Henry Irving, G.B. Lord Rodney to Arthur Murphy, Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington to the Duc de Richelieu, Sophie Dumaresq to Eliza O'Connell (cross-written), and autograph signatures of J.H. Leigh Hunt and Robert Louis Stevenson. The consignment includes a copy of the publication Della Nuova Guinea: memoria del. prof. Amato Amati (Milano, 1869).

The MS Acc23.094 consignment comprises correspondence, photographs, drafts of articles and talks, poetry and other writings. Included amongst drafts is a manuscript written in 1925 by William Farmer Whyte, who was Editor of The Daily Telegraph at that time and was asked to travel to Japan to cover first hand the effects of the earthquake that destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama at that time. This manuscript covers 4 months of travel in Japan and several other Asian countries, including Manchuria, at that time, making acute observations and reporting on conversations he had with knowledgeable and influential people in those places. Correspondents include W.P Bluett of Koorabri property, Ion Idriess, and Whyte himself. The photographs document Australian and international politicians and dignitaries as well as Robert Louis Stevenson's home in Samoa.

Biographical / Historical:

Journalist and author. William Farmer Whyte was born at Bombala, New South Wales, in 1877 and attended Bombala and Orange Superior Public Schools. After working for the Bombala times and as a journalist in Sydney, Whyte travelled to New Zealand as sub-editor on the New Zealand Herald, 1907-1910. He also visited Samoa and Tonga and contributed to the Cyclopedia of Samoa (Sydney, 1907) and collaborated with H.J. Moors on With Stevenson in Samoa (London, 1910). In 1910 Whyte toured the United States where he interviewed President Taft, Andrew Carnegie and Thomas Edison for articles commissioned by various Australian newspapers. Whyte joined the Sydney morning herald and became known for his forceful wartime editorials. In 1918 he chaired the Australian Journalists' Association's inquiry into education for journalists.

Whyte was appointed to newspaper editorships with the Brisbane Daily mail, 1918-1921, and the Sydney Daily telegraph, 1921-1923. In 1927 he joined the federal parliamentary press gallery in Canberra and conducted the Federal News Service, supplying political articles and his The Canberra times column, "Over the Speaker's chair" to country newspapers throughout Australia. In 1937-1939 he edited a monthly magazine, Australian national review. In 1952 Whyte edited the Australian parliamentary handbook and in 1957 he published a biography of William Hughes titled William Morris Hughes: his life and times. Whyte died in Canberra in 1958.

Collection Retrieval Advice:

Please note: each class in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there are multiple Box 1's). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.

Indexed terms

Names:
Whyte, Farmer, Mrs

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1253598) for the access conditions.
Conditions Governing Use:
Conditions for copying and publishing of this collection may apply, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1253598).
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of W. Farmer Whyte, National Library of Australia [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact: