Guide to the Papers of John Meredith, 1948-2001

Summary

Collection number:

MS 1007

Creator:

Meredith, John Stanley Raymond

Extent:

(31 ms boxes + 1 packet + 10 sound/av carriers)

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of John Meredith, National Library of Australia, MS 1007, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The collection comprises papers relating to Meredith's long career in the folk music industry. There is correspondence; research material from field trips and for his books; transcriptions of songs; drafts of his writings, including those for several of his books; musical scores; scrapbooks; diaries and photographs. Correspondents include Hugh Anderson, Gwenda Davey, Charles Edward, Ron Edwards, Martin Fitzgerald, Mary Gilmore, Alfred Hill, Catherine Jeffries, John Low, Vance Palmer, Pamela Rosenberg, Yvonne White, Stephan Williams and Chris ("Woody") Woodland.

Biographical Note:

Folk musician and folklorist John Stanley Raymond Meredith was born at Holbrook, New South Wales, on 17 January 1920. A self-taught musician, Meredith formed the original Bushwhackers band in 1952 and was a founding member of the Bush Music Club (1954) and early editor of its magazine Singabout. In 1954, he also became secretary of the new Australian Folklore Society. Meredith spent many years collecting and recording hundreds of traditional Australian folk-songs and bush-dance music. In 1960, with the aid of a government fellowship and together with Hugh Anderson, he collected material for Folksongs of Australia, Vol. 1, which was published in 1967. A second volume was published in 1987. Meredith went on to publish a number of books relating to the Australian folk music scene and to write many of his own songs, including two ballad operas The wild colonial boy and How many miles from Gundagai?

Meredith's contribution to Australian Music was recognised when he was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia in 1988, appointed a Member in the Order of Australia in 1992 and awarded an Australian Folk Trust Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995. John Meredith died in Albury, New South Wales, on 16 February 2001.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The papers were acquired from John Meredith in a number of instalments dating from 1964 to 1999. Following his death in 2001, further papers were received from Gay Scott in 2003.

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1170340).

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 John Meredith, National Library of Australia, MS 1007, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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