Guide to the Papers of Sydney Tomholt, 1919-1973

Summary

Collection number:

MS 5807

Creator:

Sydney Tomholt

Extent:

2.8 metres and (20 boxes, 3 folio items)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Sydney Tomholt, National Library of Australia, MS 5807, [box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

Represented in the papers is a large sequence of draft manuscripts and associated papers relating to Tomholt's chief work, an unfinished trilogy based on the life of Governor Macquarie, in which he was involved in meticulous research for over 20 years. Also filed in the collection are two letters from George Bernard Shaw to Tomholt (dated 1919), and correspondence with a number of Australian writers and intellectuals with whom Tomholt maintained a close association, such as C.K. Bliss, Tom Inglis Moore, R.D. FitzGerald, Hugh McCrae, R.G. Howarth, Nancy Keesing and Rosemary Dobson.

The collection also contains a series of autographed editions, including copies of McCrae's Satyrs and sunlight (1922), Inglis Moore's Emu parade (1941) and Six Australian poets (1942), Dobson's Child with a cockatoo and other poems (1955), FitzGerald's To meet the sun (1929) and Keesing's Imminent summer (1951) and Three men and Sydney (1955), all inscribed to Tomholt, and most containing letters from and notes about their authors.

Biographical Note:

A respected Australian playright and critic, Sydney Tomholt spent much of his early adult life overseas, firstly as a soldier in France and England during World War I, and then as a businessman and editor in China, Mongolia and the Philippines. After returning to Sydney in 1932 he worked successfully as a radio scriptwriter, at the same time gaining recognition as a serious dramatist, principally as a writer of one-act plays. Despite the acknowledgment Tomholt received, including encouragement from George Bernard Shaw, the deeply psychological themes of his plays proved too adventurous for Australian theatre of the day and were rarely staged.

Date	Event
1884	Born 6 January, Fitzroy, Melbourne
early 1900s	Began writing, chiefly one-act plays
1911-15	Joined the Gloria (gas) Light Company
1912	Married pianist Hilda Merle Cotham, 2 November
1914	Moved to Sydney to open office of Gloria Light Company
1915-16	Joined AIF and fought as reinforcement to 24th Battalion in France
1916-17	Evacuated due to illness and attached to the Pay Corps in London
1919	Studied drama at University of London
1921	Divorced from first wife
1922-32	Editor and businessman in China, including Mongolia, and in Manila for the Pacific Commerical Company, where he met Tom Inglis Moore
1924	Financial editor of the <em>China Press</em> and <em>Shanghai Times</em> and married a White Russian refugee, Mary Kouptzova
1933-37	Chief dramatic scriptwriter, 2GB Radio, Sydney
1936	Publication of <em>Bleak dawn and other plays</em>, a collection of ten one-act plays
1937	Production of 'Anoli-the blind', Independent Theatre, Sydney, 6 February
1937	Publication of 'Searchlights' in <em>Best Australian one-act plays</em>
1937-44	Film, music and drama critic for the <em>Sydney Morning Herald</em>
1940	May Hollingworth production of 'The woman Mary' for the Sydney University Dramatic Society, 1 June. The production was revived in December and won first prize in a British Drama League competition
early 1940s	Productions of 'Leading lady' and 'Dimmed lights', Sydney
mid 1940s	Awarded Commonwealth Literary Fund fellowhips
c.1950-60	Managed a literary agency
1974	Died Darlinghurst, Sydney, 23 April

Provenance:

This collection of papers, which documents the various aspects of Tomholt's writing and business career, was received in twelve instalments - in 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000 and 2001 - from Maxine Poynton-Baker (formerly Murray-Jones), his longtime friend and companion.

Indexed terms

Names:

Sydney Tomholt

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2958228).

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 Sydney Tomholt, National Library of Australia, MS 5807, [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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