Guide to the Papers of John Molony, c.1930-2018

Summary

Collection number:

MS 6634, MS Acc06.031, MS Acc22.126

Creator:

John Molony

Extent:

(118 boxes, 12 cartons, 1 folio box)

Language:

English and English

Preferred citation:

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

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Part requires permission for research; part not available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Biographical Note:

John Neylon Molony is an academic, historian and author. He was born in Melbourne on 15 April 1927, the first son of Michael Joseph and Bridget Jane (neé McInerney). Between 1933 and 1944, he was educated at Sea Lake State School and St Patrick's College, Ballarat.

In 1945, Molony began studies for the priesthood at Corpus Christi College, Werribee. His achievements at the College were such that he was selected to undertake a six-year study program at Propaganda Fide College in Rome. He left Australia in 1947 and was not to return until 1954. Molony was ordained a priest in Rome in December 1950. He continued his studies at the Propaganda Fide College and in 1952 completed post-graduate studies in Canon Law. In 1953-54 he practised Canon Law in Boston, USA.

Molony returned to Australia in 1954 to take up duty as a priest at St Patrick's Presbytery, Ballarat. During his time at Ballarat, Molony was a chaplain and teacher at St Patrick's College. In addition, in 1955-63 he was the Canon Lawyer for the Ecclesiastical Court of the Victorian Province and Director of Catholic Action organisations.

In 1964, Molony decided to leave the priesthood and in a civil ceremony in 1965 he married Denise Margaret Chandler, with whom he has four children. He was granted a dispensation from the priesthood in 1966 and was married in that same year in a private Catholic ceremony. In 1969, Molony and his wife agreed to tell their story in an episode of the ABC-TV documentary series Chequer Board.

Molony's long involvement with the Australian National University (ANU) began in 1964, when he was employed as a Research Assistant in Medieval History in the School of Social Science. He was to go on to become Head of the Department of History and to hold the Manning Clark Chair of Australian History from 1982 until his retirement from the University in 1990. On his retirement, the ANU appointed Molony as an Emeritus Professor of History.

During the early years of his career as an academic at the ANU, Molony also continued with his studies. In 1968 he was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts with his thesis 'The Roman mould of the Australian Catholic Church' and in 1971 to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with his thesis 'John Hubert Plunkett in New South Wales, 1832-1869'. Both theses were subsequently published.

Molony returned twice to Rome to study. In 1974, he was awarded an exchange scholarship by the Italian Government to undertake one year of study in Rome. He also lectured at the university there. In 1984 he took sabbatical leave of one year to undertake research at the Vatican Library and Archives.

Following his retirement from the ANU in 1990, Molony was appointed to the Keith Cameron Professorship of Australian History at University College, Dublin. He held this position until 1993.

In 1993, on his return to Australia, Molony was appointed to the Foundation Research Professorship in History at the Australian Catholic University in Canberra. He left the University in July 1996.

Throughout his life, as well as maintaining a close relationship with the Catholic Church, Molony has played an active role in the community. He has been a committee member of a number of organisations including the Australian Labor Party, the Indo-China Refugee Association, the Eureka Stockade Memorial Trust and several Australian Rules Football groups. He has also been a long-standing member of the Dante Alighieri Society, holding the position of President from 1976 until 1990. In 1990, in recognition of his contribution to the interests of Italian culture, Molony was awarded the 'Onorifecenza Cavaliere OMRI' by the Italian Government.

Collection Retrieval Advice:

Please note: each consignment in this collection has a separate box number sequence (i.e. there may be multiple Box 1s). Please cite the relevant Class number as well as the Box number when requesting retrieval of material from the collection.

Provenance:

The bulk of the papers were acquired from John Molony in 1998, under the Taxation Incentives for the Arts Scheme (TIAS). Three earlier small consignments were received from Molony - two donated in 1981 and 1985 and one acquired under the TIAS in 1989.

Arrangement:

The Library has arranged the original consignment into 32 series.

The papers were accumulated by Molony over a long period of time and, on receipt, comprised mainly manila folders and a large quantity of loose papers. The loose papers were grouped by the Library according to series and placed in folders. The manila folders created by Molony were kept intact. Molony allocated titles to many of the manila folders and these titles have been used in the folder descriptions within each series. Where no title was available, the description is based on the contents of the folder.

Indexed terms

Names:

John Molony

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn662473).

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], National Library of Australia, Papers of John Molony, [class number, 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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