Guide to the Papers of L. J. Blake, 1845-1990

Summary

Collection number:

MS 7033

Creator:

L. J. Blake

Extent:

16.5 metres and (118 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of L. J. Blake, National Library of Australia, MS 7033, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part available for research; part permission required for research until February 2042 (MS 7033, Boxes 71-118). Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers of Les Blake reflect his long career as a writer, educationist and historian, and include well-organised research files, literary manuscripts, correspondence and personal papers. The main subject strengths are local history (Victorian localities, especially Geelong, Prahran and the Wimmera), history of education in Victoria, Australian literature, overlanding (including the original diaries of the Mollison Family, 1845-1870) and gold. Blake prepared biographical studies of many Victorians, the most notable being Peter Lalor, Percy Leason and John Shaw Neilson. All the research material for his unpublished biography of Steele Rudd, based on a manuscript by Winifred Hamilton, is in the collection, as well as correspondence with a great many Australian authors represented in Blake’s book Australian Writers (1968). Over the years Blake served on a number of Victorian commemorative committees (Captain Cook, Matthew Flinders, C.J. La Trobe, Norman Lindsay) and his papers include minutes and reports of those committees.

Biographical Note:

Leslie Banford James Blake was born in Bendigo, Victoria in 1913. He joined the Victorian Education Department in 1931 and attended the Melbourne Teachers’ College in 1934. From 1935 to 1942 he taught at country schools and, after serving in New Guinea and New Britain with the AIF, he taught at Geelong schools from 1946 to 1953. He graduated B.A. and Dip. Ed. At Melbourne University in 1952 and went on to gain the B.Ed. in 1954. He lectured at Geelong Teachers’ College from 1953 to 1958. He then became a District Inspector of Schools, based at Horsham (1958), Ferntree Gully (1964), Doncaster (1967) and Frankston (1972). He retired from the Public Service in 1976.

Les Blake published his first book, Teaching social studies, in 1956. He was the author of more than twenty books, including Australian writers (1968), Gold escort (1971), Place names of Victoria (1976), Peter Lalor : the man from Eureka (1979), several works on John Shaw Neilson and many Victorian local histories. A bibliography of his writings compiled by his son in 1975 lists hundreds of articles, speeches, reviews and radio scripts (see Box 44, File 258). As historian of the Education Department, Blake edited and co-authored the huge Vision and Realisation : A centenary history of state education in Victoria (3 vols. 1973) In 1974 he was seconded to the Premier’s Department as State Historian and edited Letters of Charles Joseph La Trobe (1975). He continued to write on historical subjects until his death.

Blake was awarded an O.B.E. in 1974 for Services to education, to history and to the community. He was a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria and of the Australian College of Education and was made an honorary Master of Education by the University of Melbourne in 1974.

Blake died in Melbourne on 4 June 1987.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Les Blake donated his papers to the Library in 1984-86 under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme. Following his death, the remaining papers were purchased from his son, Micheal Blake, in 1988. In 1992 Michael Blake added some papers relating to the film director Raymond Longford.

The first consignment (36 boxes) was received from Blake in April 1984. The second consignment (34 boxes) arrived in September the same year. A third consignment was received in 1986. This was found to contain mainly printed materials, which were accessioned into the general National Library collection, and the small manuscript component was integrated with the last major consignment of Blake’s papers, acquired from Blake’s son Michael in October 1988, a year after Blake’s death. This part of the collection fills 45 boxes.

Arrangement:

Only boxes 71-115 of this collection have been arranged in series. The first 70 boxes were arranged, listed and packed by Blake. Although he placed together much of the related material, it should be noted that boxes 62-70 in particular include a variety of unrelated papers and publications. A summary list of boxes 1-115 is provided, followed by detailed lists of the contents of Files in boxes 1-36, boxes 37-70 and boxes 71-115.

Readers should note that there were considerable overlaps in the subject matter of the various consignments.

Indexed terms

Names:

L. J. Blake

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1179854).

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 L. J. Blake, National Library of Australia, MS 7033, [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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