Guide to the Papers of Ferdinand Henry Wright, 1897-1978

Request this via the Catalogue
 

Summary

Collection number:
MS 8119
Extent:
4.4 metres and (31 boxes)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Ferdinand Henry Wright, National Library of Australia, MS 8119, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Biographical Note:

Ferdinand Henry Wright was born at South Yarra, Victoria on 29 September 1888, the son of Edmund Wright. In 1904 he commenced working for the Batavia Sea and Fire Insurance Company, a firm with which he was associated for the next sixty years. In 1918 he became Australasian General Manager, a position he held until his retirement in 1953. In 1935 Wright became the Australian manager of the British based firm Royal Exchange Assurance, which by then had become the sole owner of the Batavia Insurance Company. After his retirement Wright became the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Australian and Eastern Insurance Company, the name which the Batavia Sea and Fire Insurance Company had adopted after Indonesian independence. At around the same time he also became director of a number of other companies including S.H. Lock and Co., Bradford Cotton Mills Ltd, Felt and Textiles of Australia Ltd and Godfrey Phillips Ltd.

In 1909 Wright enlisted in the Australian Army reserve, joining the 6th Infantry Regiment. A year later he was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant. During the First World War he served as a Captain with the 14th Infantry Battalion. After landing on Gallipoli on Anzac Day 1915 he was seriously wounded and invalided home to Australia. Between the Wars he continued his association with the Army, achieving the ranks of Lieutenant-Colonel with the 29th Battalion in 1926, and Colonel in 1943. During the Second World War he served as a Senior Liaison Officer attached to Army Headquarters, and carried out several secret missions to Malaya, New Guinea and the Netherlands Indies.

From 1921 to 1951 Wright was Consul for the Netherlands in Victoria, after which he became Consul-General until 1954. Wright also spent forty years as a member of the Council of the Melbourne Chamber of Commerce. He represented Australia at a number of conferences of the International Chamber of Commerce. In 1911 Wright married Rosa Davies. They had five children: Henry, Ferdinand Heathcote, Rosemary, Margaret and Patricia. Heathcote achieved a Master of Business Administration at Harvard, and later became a Manager of H.C. Sleigh and Company. Rosa died in 1961 while Wright died in 1981 at the age of 92.

Provenance:

This collection was donated to the National Library in 1982 by Colonel Wright's grandson Michael Wright.

Arrangement:

At the time of donation the collection was in great disarray and a preliminary state of decay. With the exception of the bound correspondence the collection was in no discernible order. Consequently the arrangement of the collection is one artificially devised by the staff of the Manuscripts Section.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn1567156).
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 Ferdinand Henry Wright, National Library of Australia, MS 8119, [box number and series and/or file number]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact:
Contact us