Guide to the Papers of Roger Milliss, 1887-2020

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Summary

Collection number:
MS 8344, MS Acc22.009
Creator:
Milliss, Roger
Extent:
(152 ms boxes + 5 medium Folio-boxes + 6 Map-folios) + 5 albums + 9 audiovisual carriers + 5 digital carriers
Language:
English and English
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Roger Milliss, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.
Availability:
Available
Access conditions:
Part permission required for research during the lifetime of Roger Milliss; part not available for research. Not for loan.
Cultural Sensitivity Advisory Notice:

Cultural Sensitivity Advisory Notice: Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other First Nations people are advised that this collection may contain names and images of deceased people and other content that may be culturally sensitive. Please also be aware that you may see certain words or descriptions within this work which reflect the author's attitude, or that of the period in which the work was created, and may now be considered inaccurate, inappropriate or offensive.

Background

Content Summary:

MS 8344 comprises correspondence (including letters of Milliss to his parents), drafts of books and other writings, typescripts, notes, theatre programs, cuttings and printed material. The correspondents include Susë Wolf, Anne Whitehead, Alec Robertson, Ray Williams, Marie Gollan, Morag Loh, Maurice Isaacs, Dorothy Hewett and Humphrey McQueen.

MS Acc22.009 comprises diaries, personal and professional correspondence, research and drafts for unpublished historical non-fiction works; research materials for works by Roger Milliss such as "Serpent's Tooth", "Waterloo Creek: the Australia Day massacre of 1838, George Gipps and the British conquest of New South Wales", the "Wallabadah manuscript", "Jane Franklin's journey, Melbourne-Sydney-Hobart, a travel journal April-August 1839", and "Jesse Jane - a tale of rape, sex and politics in NSW 1883-84"; drafts, notes and interviews for unpublished manuscript of the biography of Lyall Munro; scripts and unproduced spin off film proposals for "Serpent's Tooth" and "Demons at dusk : massacre at Myall Creek"; other unpublished manuscripts by Roger Milliss including "'K', Saint Vladimir : a passion in 14 stations and an epilogue in heaven", "How MacDougall topped the score", "Mister Commissioner Mayne", "The Spanish Swindle", and "Amongst the Farms"; editing projects and miscellaneous writings from other authors. Also featured is material relating to Milliss' application to access ASIO files under the Freedom of Information Act, including files for Roger Milliss, Bruce Milliss, David Milliss, New Theatre and others; publications and documents of Search Foundation (established in 1990 as a successor organisation of the Communist Party of Australia); and a small amount of Milliss family material such as correspondence, family history and photographs. Also included are photocopied publications relating to the Gamilaroi people and Gamilaroi language, including "Languages of the Kamilaroi and other Aboriginal Tribes of New South Wales" by R.H. Mathews, "Kamilaroi and other Australian languages" by Rev. William Ridley. There are also works containing Aboriginal names and place information which may be useful for family research titled "Aborigines on Bassendean [Western Australia] from 1902 names taken from Station diaries, ledgers and records kept by W.J. Broun and members of his family", "Aborigines on Bassendean [Western Australia] names taken from station ledgers and diaries kept by W.J. Broun from 1909 to 1957", and "Aboriginal School Bassendean records - June 1923 [Western Australia]".

Biographical Note:

Milliss was born in Katoomba, NSW in 1934. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Sydney University in 1955 and a Diploma of Education from Sydney Teachers' College in 1956. He taught English and Drama in Sydney and Wagga Wagga before becoming a journalist.

Between 1962 and 1964 Milliss lived in Moscow and worked as Sub-editor of Moscow News. In 1965/66 he worked in Nairobi as Editor of the Pan Africa and travelled through other parts of East Africa. After returning to Sydney, Milliss worked as Sub-editor and feature writer for Tribune (1966-70). Milliss' other journalistic appointments included casual sub-editor TV Times (1969-70) and Herald and Sun Herald (1979-82).

Milliss' published works include City on the Peel (1980), The Wallabadah manuscript (1980), the autobiographical work Serpent's tooth (1984) and Waterloo Creek (1992). He has also written a number of articles and theatre reviews, which reflects his strong interest in politics and the theatre, as well as film and television scripts.

In 1990 Milliss was awarded a Harold White Fellowship by the National Library. He worked on the diary of Lady Franklin (MS 114).

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.

Reading Room Access Note:

For preservation reasons, we are unable to deliver digital and audiovisual carriers to the Special Collections Reading Room. Please contact (Ask a Librarian) to enquire about access.

Provenance:

The Library purchased the papers from Roger Milliss in 1991 and 2022.

Arrangement:

MS 8344, Original consignment: The Papers had been listed and roughly sorted before coming to the Library. The arrangements of these files have, therefore, been maintained (for example Series 5-9).

Roger Milliss has decided to keep the letters he wrote to his parents with his papers. These group of correspondence (Series 1) has therefore been kept with Roger Milliss' Paper, and not with the Papers of Bruce and Edith Milliss (MS 8345).

Part of the papers was in disarray and it was therefore necessary to rearrange them (for example Series 1-4 and 10-11).

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:
Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2073456).
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-vn2073456).
Preferred citation:
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Roger Milliss, National Library of Australia, [class/series/file/item number(s)]'.
Location of this collection:
Parkes Place
Canberra ACT 2600, Australia
Contact:
Contact us